Episode Summary: Training Camp News – August 4 (August 4, 2026)
Adam Levitan and Evan Silva run through another round of training camp news and Silva’s latest Top-150 changes. Josh Downs is having a breakout summer — Ben Solak reports Downs will play in two-receiver sets, and Colts beat writer Stephen Holder says Downs has looked amazing at camp. The Vikings’ QB battle is making Adam queasy on Justin Jefferson — if Kyler Murray cannot cleanly beat out J.J. McCarthy, that is a real problem for a first-round pick. And Silva bumped every Lion he could — Jameson Williams to WR21, Amon-Ra St. Brown ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sam LaPorta way up, and Jared Goff to QB12 — because he wants as many Lions as possible on his teams. Plus 49ers WR chaos post-Ricky Pearsall, Jeremiyah Love sliding to pick 30, Daniel Jones full go eight months post-Achilles, Kenyon Sadiq’s sports hernia recurrence, and Coby Bryant’s knee injury adding to the Bears’ shootout case.
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Key Topics
- Injury and camp news: Ricky Pearsall out for the year (PCL) triggers Deebo Samuel signing, Alec Pierce still on active/PUP with no timetable, Jonathan Taylor + Daniel Jones full go, Kenyon Sadiq back on the shelf with sports hernia, Coby Bryant 8-10 weeks with knee, Rashee Rice still individual work only, Xavier Worthy banged up his shoulder.
- Silva rank changes: Jameson Williams WR21 (up from 27), Amon-Ra St. Brown ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sam LaPorta up to ~75 overall, Jared Goff QB12 (up from 15), A.J. Brown down to WR14, Carnell Tate down to WR35, Wan’Dale Robinson up to WR45, J.K. Dobbins up to RB27, Jordan Mason up to RB32.
Takeaway #1 (15:25): Josh Downs is having a breakout summer. Ben Solak now expects him to play in two-receiver sets.
- Ben Solak visited Colts camp and came away expecting Josh Downs to play in two-receiver sets this season. Solak expects Downs’ slot rate to be reduced and for him to play more outside. This is the dream. Stephen Holder, ESPN’s Colts beat reporter, added that Downs has looked amazing at camp. The Colts still might sign Keenan Allen, which wouldn’t be great, but if that doesn’t materialize, this is the cleanest runout ever for Downs.
- Adam has been drafting a lot of Downs. On his Thursday show with Matt Harmon, Harmon — who was one of the first to declare Tyler Lockett a budding future star — compared Downs to Lockett. Alec Pierce is still on active/PUP with no timetable, per Shane Steichen, this morning, and Daniel Jones is running around at camp without any restriction eight months after Achilles surgery. That is huge for the entire offense, and it opens the door for Downs.
- Through the first 10 games last year, the Colts averaged 32.1 points per game, most in the NFL. They will regress. But these Colts guys are going relatively late for a team that literally led the NFL in scoring through the first 10 games. In a half-PPR home league, if you wanted to take Jonathan Taylor over Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, or Saquon Barkley, Adam and Silva are both on board with that. Silva has JT at No. 8 overall.
Takeaway #2 (31:50): The Vikings’ QB battle is making Adam queasy on Justin Jefferson.
- Adam did not think this was going to be a real battle, but it is. The Vikings are splitting reps roughly evenly between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy. If you knew Kyler was going to win the job, you would give him as many reps as possible to get accustomed to the system. That is not what they are doing. Adam still thinks Kyler wins the job in Week 1. But part of his take is that if Kyler cannot cleanly beat out McCarthy, then how good is Kyler really? He got benched for Jacoby Brissett last year.
- Adam is a little queasy on Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison now, and he does not want to be. Evan is also queasy — he is not taking Jefferson in the first round like the market is. Evan has Jefferson at 14 overall. The market has him at 11 overall, and Evan sees him going at No. 8 all the time. Evan will not take him there.
- The Vikings only gave Murray a one-year, $1.3 million contract, so their investment on his side is not large. They actually have a lot more invested in McCarthy. Evan’s most likely outcome is Kyler starts 13 games and J.J. gets a few, which is a major problem for best ball if McCarthy is playing late in the year. And Adam does not want to be holding a Jefferson bag in Week 15 if it is going to be McCarthy under center in season-long leagues, either. Maybe both Adam and Evan have been leaning too much on Kevin O’Connell’s track record.
Takeaway #3 (41:34): Silva bumped every Lion he could. Get as many Lions on your fantasy team as possible.
- Silva moved Jameson Williams from WR27 to WR21. He moved Amon-Ra St. Brown ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He moved Jared Goff from QB15 to QB12. And he moved Sam LaPorta way up to roughly 75 overall, ahead of Harold Fannin Jr. at tight end. Evan wants to be higher than market on every Lion he possibly can this year.
- The Lions’ secondary is in absolute shambles. Drew Petzing was willing to drop Jacoby Brissett back 50 times a game last season, and Jared Goff is way better than Brissett in a similar pocket-passer style. They play indoors. They get to play the Bears and Packers. Silva thinks the Lions are going nuts this year and are the team most likely to lead the NFL in scoring.
- The Lions are one of Adam’s four premier potential shootout teams alongside the Bears, Saints, and Bengals. Not only will they lead the NFL in touchdowns, but they will do it through those four skill guys: Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta. When Gibbs is your feature back, you are way more likely to go more dropbacks, which is even better for St. Brown, Williams, and LaPorta.
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About Establish The Run
Establish The Run was founded by Adam Levitan and Evan Silva, two of the most respected analysts in fantasy football and sports betting. ETR delivers high-quality, actionable analysis across season-long, best ball, DFS, and props.
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