The pads are on and popping with all 32 training camps underway. We are mere days away from an actual football game being played -- everyone rejoice! That means that your fantasy drafts are approaching quickly, which leads to plenty of questions about draft strategies and lineup choices. That's why Fantasy Football Audibles is back for the preseason to help clear away the offseason fog and get you prepared for the big day.
This is really a win-win decison since both Jordy Nelson and Julio Jones are top six fantasy receivers in the current NFL.com fantasy positional rankings and should challenge to be top five wideouts in the stat sheets as well. If you somehow have both of these players on your roster -- your league mates should be seriously questioned -- best-case scenario would be to start them both. But since this is an either/or situation, I'll lean with Nelson against the Bears whom he has repeatedly victimized during his career. Last season in two games against Chicago, Nelson caught 16 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns. Another performance to match those would be a nice way to start the season.
This should be a no-brainer. The play here is to keep Andre Ellington. Yes, even with two other running backs on your roster. The reason is that finding productive fantasy rushers is getting harder these days. Meanwhile, a player like Travis Kelce is still likely to be around for a couple of rounds in most keeper leagues. I know we've repeatedly harped on how shallow the fantasy tight end position is, but unless you're talking about Rob Gronkowski (and maybe Jimmy Graham), there's little reason to spend a keeper spot on anyone else at the position.
Speaking of tight ends ... we come to a couple of AFC South pass-catchers. These two posted similar totals in 2014. Coby Fleener finished as the sixth-best fantasy tight end, just 12 points ahead of the ninth-ranked Delanie Walker. The big difference was Fleener doubling up Walker in the touchdown category. With the number of available targets in Indianapolis, it might be tough for Fleener to reach that scoring plateau again in 2015. Meanwhile in Tennesee, Walker isn't likely to have the same level of competition when it comes to targets. The veteran set franchise records for a tight end with 63 catches for 890 yards and four touchdowns just a season ago. Those numbers seem perfectly reasonable yet again this season.
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarcasG.
