Preseason Roundup: Week Three, Part One
The preseason is upon us and that means we finally get a chance to see free agents with their new teams and our shiny new rookies in real game action. This is week three, so we’re getting an extended look at most of our players. We also get at least some glimpses of some role players and get a taste for what they may (or may not) be able to do if given a bigger opportunity as well. While many fantasy football players won’t pay much attention to these games, they’re perfect for the true dynasty enthusiasts to get an early idea on depth charts, player usage and even unearthing a future sleeper. We’ll go through the preseason games as they conclude each week and post this series with some short notes on what we observe during each game.
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia
This was just a bad week for the Steelers. First, they found out running backs Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were both busted on marijuana charges, then they went to Philadelphia and delivered a lackluster performance. In fact, the Steelers were down 24-0 before Ben Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller on a 27-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. There really wasn’t much to gather from this game on the Steelers side, though it’s obvious they believe Dri Archer can be a playmaker. It also seems they’re going to try really hard to fast track the development of Markus Wheaton.
The Eagles looked solid again this week and much of the worry about Nick Foles’Â slow start this preseason seems to be going away. Â Foles was again solid and looks like he has a nice command of the offense. The real story for dynasty league owners revolves around the backup running back position, though. With Chris Polk out yet again, Matthew Tucker (10 carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns) and Henry Josey (four carries for 48 yards) showed the coaching staff they can each play yet again. The cuts for the Eagles are going to be very interesting as whoever backs up LeSean McCoy would have some nice value as a handcuff or roster stash. Philadelphia is going to have some very tough choices to make at the running back position and dynasty owners will be watching this very closely over the next couple of weeks.
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Jacksonville at Detroit
The story of the night for the Jags (and for the rest of the league) was the performance of undrafted free agent Allen Hurns who had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown on the night.  With Allen Robinson and Cecil Shorts on the shelf, the depth chart in Jacksonville is wide open. It’s going to be interesting to see just what this performance does for him. In other Jags news, Blake Bortles looked good yet again as he finished the night going 10-for-17 for 158 yards and a touchdown. The belief is Chad Henne will start, but the leash is going to be very, very short. If the preseason is any indication, the Jags have their quarterback of the future as Bortles simply looks like he has “it.” Storm Johnson (five carries for 11 yards) has been a real disappointment thus far as well. He’s looking like a practice squad player at this point.
Outside of a long touchdown run by Reggie Bush, the Lions didn’t do much on offense. Sans Bush, nobody had more than 44 yards rushing or receiving, though it continues to be heartwarming to see Ryan Broyles making plays on the field. It’s also pretty apparent the Lions are more than willing to use Bush, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick in the backfield this season. It’s going to be tough for Bush or Bell to really separate themselves here, but both will have value and hopefully a decreased workload will keep both of them healthy as well. Eric Ebron had two catches, but he still looks lost at times. Patience will be rewarded eventually with him, though.
Carolina at New England
For the Panthers, the development of Kelvin Benjamin has to be really encouraging. It looks like he’s going to be a target monster this season and he produced a nice 5/47/0 line on Friday night. Meanwhile, the combination of Jason Avant and Jerricho Cotchery had a total of zero catches. The Panthers’ running game was fairly non-existent and really didn’t do anything of note against the Patriots. There’s been a lot of talk about the dynamic 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart returning to past glory this season, but color me skeptical. Stewart looks like he has more left in the tank than Williams, but it’s really hard to say how long he’ll be considered healthy.
The New England offense looked ready for the regular season, led by Tom Brady (17-of-21, 204 yards and two touchdowns), Shane Vereen (five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns) and Julian Edelman (eight catches for 99 yards). The Patriots are bound to spread the ball around to their running backs, but Vereen certainly looks like the safest bet of the bunch. At receiver, the interesting story is again revolving around Kenbrell Thompkins, who may just find himself starting again this season. While Thompkins hasn’t exactly been electric, he’s been solid and more importantly, seems to have the trust of Brady. It’s also going to be interesting to see if the Patriots keep Ryan Mallett on the roster. Jimmy Garoppolo has been good enough so far that the Pats likely won’t be able to sneak him through waivers if they wanted to keep just two quarterbacks.
New York Giants at New York Jets
For all the hype around the NFC East, the worst single team in the league would probably be the combination of the Giants’ offense with the Dallas defense. New York again struggled. Eli Manning finished the night going 12-of-21 for 139 yards and a touchdown, but it really wasn’t that good. If this offensive line doesn’t protect him better, it’s going to be another long season. On the bright side, Ryan Nassib looks to have sewn up the backup job as he completed 8-of-12 passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns.  Corey Washington was hyped up a ton before the game as he was supposedly going to get time with the first team offense, but he had just two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Still, his progress needs to be noted and he should easily be on dynasty radars. The bright spot on this entire offense this season could be Rashad Jennings, who has looked very solid throughout the preseason.
For the Jets, Chris Johnson likely capped off his preseason with a nice 42 yard night on nine carries. He won’t be near the workhorse he was in Tennessee, but he hasn’t exactly looked washed up so far. Meanwhile, Geno Smith has looked pretty good this preseason and left no room for a quarterback controversy with Michael Vick. For more on Smith, check back with DLF tomorrow (spoiler alert).
Oakland at Green Bay
If you’re still holding on to Matt Schaub in hopes he can rekindle some magic, it’s time to give up. Schaub finished 13-of-27 for 11o yards and looked awful doing it. He doesn’t do well when protection breaks down and frankly looks like he has happy feet in the pocket right now. Derek Carr isn’t ready yet, but Matt McGloin has outplayed Schaub by a mile this preseason. Schaub will still be the starter in week one, but don’t expect him to hold on to that for long. Maurice Jones-Drew had a nice touchdown run in the game and that was easily the best he’s looked in a long time. Last year’s preseason phenom Brice Butler (3/60/2) had a nice line, but it was done mostly in garbage time. He’s still a nice prospect, but expecting anything from any receiver on the Raiders is going to be foolish this season.
For the Packers, Davante Adams has reminded every dynasty owner it takes time to adapt to the NFL game. He’s a great rookie pick this year, but it’s going to take some injuries or some really quick development for him to post anything respectable this year. In fact, he didn’t catch a single pass on Friday night. Aaron Rodgers looked solid, but the best news for dynasty owners has to be the continued stellar play of Eddie Lacy, who looks to be the best fantasy running back the Packers have had since the heyday of Ahman Green. Lacy looks decisive, strong, nimble and fast – in short, he looks like a nightmare for opposing defenses. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Lacy finish in the top three in running back scoring this season.
Chicago at Seattle
The Bears went to Seattle and simply got their lunch handed to them. There really isn’t much positive news from the Chicago side to report here, though Jay Cutler did have two touchdown passes called back by penalties. Chicago was down 31-0 at the half and really didn’t have a chance to get much going offensively until it was too late. They tried to get an extended look at Ka”Deem Carey, which I guess is noteworthy. However, his 42 yards on eight touches didn’t really do much to impress.
For the Seahawks, Russell Wilson looks like a man possessed at the moment. He completed 15-of-20 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushed four times for 23 yards and another score. So far this preseason, Wilson has completed more than 75% of his throws and has accounted for five touchdowns, all while making it look incredibly easy. In fact, the Seahawks scored touchdowns on their first four possessions on Friday night. Wilson has sneaky QB1 value and has been somehow flying under the radar – this performance (combined with his dominant effort last week) should end that. Christine Michael and Robert Turbin both looked good tonight as Marshawn Lynch played only one series. They’d likely spilt carries in the event of a Lynch injury. Jermaine Kearse (4/63/1) showed again he’s more than a one hit wonder and Percy Harvin (3/61/0) looked like his old self. In short, Seattle is really deep and really good.
We’ll recap the rest of the games later this week!
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Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
