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We are officially now in the hype season, or as we call it, NFL training camp. This is a time where you will hear plenty of praise for players from coaches, teammates and beat reporters. Maybe it’s a simple as someone slimming down and adding muscle or a receiver got contact lenses finally or last season a player’s shoes were too tight, but now they’re nice and comfy. Whatever the hype, as fantasy players, we hear it as affirmation about a player we like or hollow praise about a player we don’t like.
Throughout camp we’ll keep an eye out for the hyped player of the day and see if the praise is something we should take notice of or disregard. For today, that player is Washington running back Bryce Love.
Love went to Washington with the 112th overall pick in 2018 after concerns about his surgically repaired knee knocked him down in the draft. Love wasn’t able to get back on the field his rookie season and instead had another surgery on his knee. He finally was able to get over the injury hump and passed his physical for the start of training camp.
Then, with news of Derrius Guice getting let go, Love’s chances to contribute in 2020 went up. He’ll need to win time with Adrian Peterson and Antonio Gibson both in the mix, but so far he’s shown up well in training camp, as seen by the hype going on right below here.
The hype
Rivera said he really appreciates how hard Bryce Love has worked to get back. Rivera said he was multi-denominational and said Love could be an "every down back."
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) August 19, 2020
Bryce Love is back and he’s better, to quote Bryson Tiller. He’s stepping into a system that shadows what he did at Stanford. And after conversations with former teammate Christian McCaffrey, he’s ready to go in Scott Turner’s offense. https://t.co/KweVllDiiq
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) August 21, 2020
With Peterson out Bryce Love gets first work with 1st team offense. His role as second back seems quite real
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) August 19, 2020
Is the hype real?
Love was a big play maker at Stanford, as he had 13 plays that gained over 50 yards in his college career. His teammate in college, Christian McCaffrey, went to a similar offense in Carolina under offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Turner has followed coach Ron Rivera to Washington and they are implementing that same offense Love learned in Stanford. That kind of familiarity should help Love’s confidence as he works to win snaps in training camp.
Is the hype too much?
The Washington Football Team is weak at offensive line and there are quite a few running backs who have a chance to get touches this season. The good news is that Adrian Peterson isn’t the same player he once was and Antonio Gibson is raw and will have a bigger learning curve that Love. Peyton Barber is a veteran who could see work, but isn’t as dynamic as Love. Much will depend on how well Love has recovered and if he can be the player he was in college, but he’s in a good spot to get a chance to prove himself this season.