Fantasy players to watch in training camp: AFC North

With training camp less than three weeks away for most teams, it’s the perfect time to get a head start on your fantasy football research. We will learn a lot about every player in camp, but some players stand the most to gain or lose in camp. These players are generally newcomers to their current NFL team or just players who may see an increased or decreased role due to the supporting cast around them.

In this series, it will be our job to highlight these players in an effort to help you get ahead of the game in your research. Over the next four weeks, we will preview every division and pinpoint four to five players to track during training camp and the preseason. We broke down the NFC and AFC last week (keep up with the whole series here) and we will featured the North divisions this week. Let’s jump in.

Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

We kick off the division with a player who promises to be arguably the most volatile and talked-about fantasy entities of 2017. Bryant has played just 21 games in his three NFL seasons, but he has already racked up 15 touchdowns, 1,363 total yards, and 17.3 yards per catch. On the flip side, Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season, his quarterback publicly called him out for it, and he will be one small off-field mistake away from another full-year suspension — it could theoretically come at any time.

The narrative: Bryant is one of the most high-upside WR2 picks available

At 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds with a 4.42 40-yard dash and 39-inch vertical jump, it never made any sense for Bryant to fall into the fourth round of the NFL draft. But he did and the Steelers benefited. Bryant has said and done all the right things since being reinstated, and during OTAs, Ben Roethlisberger said he looked like “a stud, as usual” on the field. In Todd Haley’s scheme, on an offense that has defenses focused on stopping Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, and with a track record of scoring touchdowns on big plays, it’s hard to deny Bryant’s fantasy upside.

What reports to focus on: For Bryant, it’s all about how he deals with adversity and staying out of trouble off the field. Bryant has added 10 pounds of muscle. Bryant also had a son and reportedly changed the crew he hung out with during his suspension. As long as Bryant continues to run with the first-team offense, like he did during OTAs, and as long as he stays out of trouble, the sky's the limit for his 2017 fantasy value. With that said, drafters should proceed with caution immediately if an off-field issue surfaces during camp.