Dynasty Fantasy Football Preseason Notebook: Week Three, Part Two
Week three of the 2018 NFL preseason is in the books and we’ve seen the last of most key players until Week One. The third game of the preseason typically has been referred to as the “dress rehearsal” for the upcoming regular season as teams have tried to create a feeling that the game means much more than it does. This year, the tides have turned. After multiple injuries cast a major shadow on the first full week of preseason action, teams have seemingly grown unwilling to risk the health of their stars. We’ve seen top players for the Packers sit out and other teams, including Dallas and the Rams, expected to sit their stars as well. While we’re all ready to see something resembling “real” football, it is also completely understandable to lean this way.
Regardless, not every team sat their key players, so let’s take a look at the important notes from the final nine games of the weekend.
Bears 27, Chiefs 20
The Chiefs defense was exploited in this game as the Bears took a 24-10 lead at halftime and then held on to get the win. What makes this even worse for Kansas City is that the Bears rested their starters and backup quarterback Chase Daniel carved them up. Among the highlights for Chicago was the first career touchdown for former first-round pick Kevin White, who has battled injuries throughout his career. White made a nice grab on a well-thrown ball from Daniel and taunted the defender as he crossed the goal line. I would tell White to act like he’s been there before, but…
The strategy was completely different on the other sideline as head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs played starters into the early part of the second-half. This resulted in solid numbers for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for nearly 200 yards and a touchdown and receiver Tyreek Hill, who caught eight balls for 88 yards. The Chiefs were in catch-up mode from the start and had virtually no running game to speak of, though it was running back Kareem Hunt who was on the receiving end of the lone Mahomes scoring pass. Hill’s running mate, Sammy Watkins, had another disappointing game – he caught just one of four targets for 15 yards and that was actually his first pre-season reception.
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Rams 21, Texans 20
The Rams sat their offensive starters, including quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley and receivers Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks, but their backups still did enough to get the win. Rookie John Kelly continued his strong preseason, rushing for 64 yards and two scores on 15 carries. It is difficult to project much production from Kelly, set to play behind Gurley, but if he does ever get an opportunity, he looks like a clear difference maker. Now is not the time to go buy Kelly in your dynasty leagues though. Wait until a few weeks into the season when Gurley is dominating the touches. Gurley played the second-highest snap percentage in the league in 2017, with over 76% of all Rams offensive snaps. Kelly leads all NFL backs this preseason with three rushing scores (tied with Denver’s Royce Freeman) and fantasy points.
The Texans were without receiver Will Fuller, who was dealing with a hamstring injury and the other starters saw very little action, playing less than a quarter. With Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins and Lamar Miller playing sparingly, we got a stark reminder of how little depth this Houston team has at their skill positions. While D’Onta Foreman and Keke Coutee are young and have long-term upside, both are dealing with injuries. Outside of that duo, there is little to be excited about when it comes to Houston’s depth.
Steelers 16, Titans 6
With a new coaching staff and maturing young stars, expectations are sky high for the Titans offense this season. That made Saturday’s “dress rehearsal” performance against the Steelers even more disappointing. Quarterback Marcus Mariota played most of the first-half, but only managed 43 passing yards and failed to lead any scoring drives. Second-year receiver Corey Davis, whom many are projecting to have a breakout season in 2018, failed to record a catch, but just missed a long touchdown early in the game on what looked like a poorly thrown ball from his quarterback. Preseason darling Taywan Taylor caught only one of the five balls thrown his way in this game and played behind Tajae Sharpe, as he’s done in each pre-season game. With veteran Rishard Matthews set to return soon, this looks like a tricky pass-catching depth chart to predict on a weekly basis. Personally, I’m still on board for a Taylor breakout season, but that is dependent on several factors, the greatest of which is increased playing time.
For the Steelers, it was the same story as what we’ve seen in previous pre-season games. Although the stars saw little to no action, the young depth on the roster is encouraging. Second-year running back James Conner totaled 70 yards, much of that as a receiver and budding superstar receiver Juju Smith-Schuster posted a 6/46 stat line – that gives Smith-Schuster a pre-season total of eight receptions for 121 yards and two scores, which ties him for the preseason lead among wideouts. Both tight end Jesse James (back) and rookie James Washington (abdomen) were forced to leave the game with injuries. The severity of both injuries has yet to be announced, but this is worth watching, especially in Washington’s case, who has the looks of the next great Steelers draft pick at the wide receiver position.
Colts 23, 49ers 17
Andrew Luck looks to be back. These are words I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to write. There are still many boxes for Luck to check, beginning with Week One against the Bengals, but he looked like his old self in this one. Luck got out of a crowded pocket to rush for a first-down and then hit his new target, tight end Eric Ebron for a 15-yard score. Ebron finished with five receptions for 54 yards and the touchdown. With Marlon Mack still out with a hamstring injury and now being considered iffy for Week One, the Colts gave rookie Jordan Wilkins the bulk of their carries and he gained 28 yards on 14 carries. Fellow rookie Nyheim Hines continues to disappoint. The good news was that he didn’t fumble, which he’s done three times in the previous two games, but Hines actually lost one yard on six total touches. One of these trio will emerge as a fantasy option, but I have no idea which one it will be, which pushes me to choose the cheapest if I want a piece of this backfield. For now, that is still Wilkins.
The 49ers offense was mostly quiet in the final pre-season action for Jimmy Garoppolo and company. The quarterback played into the second-half, passing for 135 yards and leading a pair of field goal scoring drives. With the San Francisco backfield dealing with multiple injuries, veteran Alfred Morris led the way with 84 yards on 17 carries. Until we know more about the health status of Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida, Morris should be at the top of dynasty players’ watchlist. Starting receivers Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garcon combined for 102 yards on five receptions. The 49ers lost linebacker Reuben Foster to a concussion in the second half. He’s already suspended for the first two games of the season, but this is a concern as he had a history of head injuries during his college career.
Jaguars 17, Falcons 6
The story of this game, unfortunately, was the serious knee injury sustained by Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee. There has yet to be an official announcement about the severity of Lee’s injury, but based on post-game comments from teammates, including quarterback Blake Bortles and other wideouts, we can assume Lee will miss the entire season. Injury expert Dr. David Chao also shared his opinion via Twitter that Lee had likely suffered multiple ligament tears on the play.
The question for dynasty players is which receiver will benefit from Lee’s absence. If the remainder of the preseason game is any indication, it will be former Colts receiver Donte Moncrief, who caught three of his five targets for 62 yards. Even with Lee’s loss, this remains a crowded depth chart with Keelan Cole (1/4), Dede Westbrook (2/11) and rookie DJ Chark set to contribute, not to mention tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and running back TJ Yeldon.
The winless Falcons continued to struggle offensively, which will happen when Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman aren’t on the field. Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for only 57 yards and running back Tevin Coleman totaled 48 yards in the game.
Ravens 27, Dolphins 10
Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson played the best game of his young career, throwing for 98 yards and rushing for another 39, along with a pair of touchdowns- one on the ground and one through the air. The Ravens cruised to a win as starting quarterback Joe Flacco sat out and running back Alex Collins barely played. The lack of production from former early draft picks Breshad Perriman and Kenneth Dixon continues to be disappointing. Both can be considered dynasty roster cloggers.
The first-team offense for Miami got on the board when quarterback Ryan Tannehill hit veteran receiver Danny Amendola for a 16-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown for the Dolphins first-team unit all pre-season. Running back Kenyan Drake enjoyed his best game of the short preseason, totaling 68 yards on only five touches, highlighted by a 36-yard grab from Tannehill.
Saints 36, Chargers 7
New Orleans put up huge offensive numbers as running back Alvin Kamara led off the scoring with a short touchdown run and rookie receiver Tre’Quan Smith ended it with a five-yard touchdown catch in the fourth-quarter. Smith has enjoyed a strong preseason with at least 39 receiving yards in each game and although he was playing deep into this game, he has the potential and path to quickly climb this depth chart – this is a reminder that we should always lean towards adding pieces of elite offenses when drafting in the second and third rounds of rookie drafts.
Scoring just seven points in their regular season tune up, there was little to be excited about for the Chargers offense. The real bright spot was backup running back Austin Ekeler, who saw first-team run with Melvin Gordon sitting this one out. Ekeler totaled 63 yards, including a pair of long runs in the first-half.
Bengals 26, Bills 13
The Bengals defense was too much for rookie quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills defense didn’t put up much of a fight as quarterback Andy Dalton and Cincy took an early lead. Allen struggled throughout the first half, completing just half of his 12 passes for 34 yards and taking five sacks. Late in the half, Allen left the game to be evaluated for a concussion. Although he cleared the protocol, he did not return to the game. An earlier report suggested wideout Corey Coleman was not a lock to make the final 53-man roster and he did himself no favors in this contest, making a pair of catches, but failing to actually gain yardage.
The Bengals got off to a hot start when Dalton hit second-year wide receiver John Ross for a 57-yard score. Although the ball was underthrown, Ross did a good job adjusting and then juked a pair of defenders to get into the paint. On a later drive, Dalton connected with receiver AJ Green for a 14-yard score. Green finished with an impressive 4/50/1 line for the game. Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert made his pre-season debut, catching one of three balls for 11 yards. Following the game, head coach Marvin Lewis said Eifert was “ready to go.”
Cardinals 27, Cowboys 3
We knew the Cowboys did not plan on playing most of their starters, including quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. What we didn’t know was just how bad their second unit was. Arizona kicked off the scoring with a fumble return, which was the first of eight turnovers by the Dallas squad. Both offenses were, well offensive. Quarterback Josh Rosen and running back David Johnson also stayed on the sidelines, as did Larry Fitzgerald. Arizona rookie back Chase Edmonds rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries and looks to have claimed the top backup spot to Johnson.
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