Tune in to the Rotoworld Football Draft Marathon this Thursday!
Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals continue to run RB2 by committee
James Conner has gotten both preseason games off and the Cardinals have replaced him with a committee in both outings. Pro Football Focus’s Nathan Jahnke has tracked all of the preseason snaps we care about and charted Trey Benson with a 47 percent snap share with the starters (Arizona’s second-team offense) in their latest preseason game. We saw similar usage for the rookie in his first preseason appearance. Benson never earned half of his team’s carries or rushing yards in three seasons of college ball. Early signs point to him being a committee back in the NFL.
Atlanta Falcons
Ray-Ray McCloud gets the night off
The Falcons rested everyone we care about and even some players who aren’t relevant. Ray-Ray McCloud was among the veterans who got the day off. He has run with the first-team offense throughout camp and looks like a solid pick in the final rounds of best ball drafts.
Baltimore Ravens
Devontez Walker banged-up
Devontez Walker played six snaps with the reserves. Head coach John Harbaugh said he is dealing with a rib injury after the game. Walker has been limited by the issue in practice recently, but the fact that he isn’t getting many reps and is banged-up doesn’t bode well for his rookie season outlook.
Buffalo Bills
Keon Coleman getting all of the work
Keon Coleman has run 100 percent of the routes with the starters during Buffalo’s two preseason contests. Mack Hollins missed the Bills’ preseason opener and was back for their most recent game. He ran a route on 8-of-9 passing plays. Both Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Curtis Samuel are banged-up, bringing some potential clarity to this room. If they are forced to miss Week 1, Coleman and Hollins would play outside receiver roles with Khalil Shakir running out of the slot.
Carolina Panthers
No value in the tight end room
Even with Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas sidelined, rookie tight end J’Tavion Sanders split reps with former wide receiver Jordan Matthews. If you couldn’t tell, no Panthers tight end is worth drafting.
Chicago Bears
Gerald Everett plays over Cole Kmet
For the second week in a row, Gerald Everett simply played ahead of incumbent tight end Cole Kmet. Everett out-snapped Kmet 6-3. Kmet is entirely undraftable while Everett, who has played under Bears OC Shane Waldron for five NFL seasons, can be treated as a late-round flier in Best Ball and TE premium leagues.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jermaine Burton still buried
The Bengals rested their starters and receiver Charlie Jones missed Cincy’s second preseason game with an injury. Jermaine Burton started alongside the other backups but rotated with Cole Burgess, resulting in a 33 percent route rate. He likely needs an injury ahead of him on the depth chart to be a meaningful contributor as a rookie. The fact that he was primarily an outside receiver in college and the Bengals need to replace Tyler Boyd’s slot role doesn’t help Burton either.
Cleveland Browns
Pierre Strong out-snaps D’Onta Foreman
There are plenty of opportunities to go around in the Cleveland backfield sans Nick Chubb, but the Browns didn’t make things any easier for us in their second preseason game. After resting during the team’s first preseason outing, D’Onta Foreman was out-snapped by Pierre Strong this time around. Strong took the field for 10 snaps with the starters compared to just three for Foreman. The latter makes sense as a stylistic complement to Jerome Ford and I would still bet on Foreman to spell Ford more often than Strong, but the second preseason game muddied the waters.
Dallas Cowboys
Rico Dowdle gets the day off
Rico Dowdle played more than most would have expected in the Cowboys’ first preseason game, but that was clearly the product of injuries knocking out other Dallas backs for that contest. With Royce Freeman now healthy, Dowdle got the day off along with Ezekiel Elliott this time around. I’m projecting this to be a two-back committee until further notice.
Denver Broncos
Receiver rotation is almost settled
The Broncos ran out the same receiver rotation as last week with Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick seeing the bulk of the snaps. Josh Reynolds was the third receiver and held that role decisively. Marvin Mims SZN is over after seeing just two snaps with the starters through two games. Troy Franklin has only played with the reserves and the consensus among the beat reporters is that his rookie season is shaping up to be a redshirt campaign.
Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams were the only backs who saw snaps with the first-team offense. McLaughlin ran eight routes to Williams’ three. Samaje Perine is a cut candidate and didn’t play with the starters this week. Perine led all running backs in yards per route run last year and finished 14th in receptions. It’s wheels up for McLaughlin.
Bo Nix looked even better in his second preseason game and should be named the team’s starting quarterback any day now.
Bo Nix could not have looked more comfortable on this drive for the Broncos. We're seeing it all from him out there pic.twitter.com/f8KgIWNSVx
— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) August 19, 2024
Detroit Lions
Kalif Raymond rests again
Kalif Raymond rested for the second straight preseason game and was the only Detroit receiver to do so after Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. The Lions may still sub Donovan Peoples-Jones or Daurice Fountain in whenever they need a bigger third receiver on the field, but Raymond’s role is secure.
Green Bay Packers
Not much going on here
The Packers rested their top four receivers, two tight ends, and three running backs, so we didn’t get much info from their second preseason game. Bo Melton has gotten some buzz as a late-round dart in Best Ball circles. He played with the backups while Dontayvion Wicks and the rest of the wideouts were rested.
Houston Texans
Tank Dell is the odd man out again
Tank Dell ran 6-of-11 routes with Houston’s starters. Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs were at 10 and nine respectively. Dell showed an elite ceiling as a rookie, but there is obvious concern about his playing time. Through two preseason games, the Texans have used 11-personnel on 57 percent of their plays with the starters on the field. They ran 11-personnel on 61 percent of their snaps last year. That rate ranked 22nd in the league.
Indianapolis Colts
Colts give both RB3s a try
Jonathan Taylor got the night off and Trey Sermon is dealing with a hamstring issue. Sermon seemingly had the RB2 job locked up before suffering the hamstring injury. His Week 1 status is now in doubt. The Colts split the backup reps between Evan Hull and Tyler Goodson. The Indy Star’s Joel A. Erickson believes they will keep both backs on the roster. Without a clear option emerging between the two, Indy’s backup situation is a fade until we get an update on Sermon.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Brian Thomas Jr. stacking practices
Tank Bigsby continued to run as the Jags’ RB2, though D’Ernest Johnson did get in the mix with the starters, almost exclusively on passing downs. That’s not the fun stuff though. The most important news from Jacksonville has been Brian Thomas Jr.’s resurgence. The rookie got off to a cold start in camp but has since turned things around, stacking practices for nearly a week.
The BTJ of the last 7+ days is not the BTJ from early camp. He’s stacked several good days together https://t.co/Q90tO7A26x
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) August 14, 2024
The “practice stacking” has been a strong sign for players in training camp.
Kansas City Chiefs
Is Carson Steele going to be a thing?
UDFA running back Carson Steele put together a good game with the backups last week and was rewarded with reps alongside Patrick Mahomes in his second preseason appearance. Steele took over after Isiah Pacheco left the game and played 11 snaps with the starters. Deneric Prince did not play with the starters and Clyde Edwards-Helaire was out with an illness. Steele continued to look like a battering ram later in the game.
Kansas City Chiefs rookie RB Carson Steele has avoided six tackles on seven rushes and created 35 of his 37 rushing yards after contact this preseason, per @TruMediaSports.
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 18, 2024
BEAST pic.twitter.com/DPcwck0BIc
Steele was a running back at UCLA but has seen reps at both halfback and fullback. Andy Reid has generally utilized a fullback in his offenses but went without one last year. Steele is listed at 6’/228. He could play a Swiss Army Knife role for a Chiefs offense that loves to do weird stuff with its skill position players.
Of note, Justin Watson was healthy this week and ran as the Chiefs’ third receiver over the likes of Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney. Marquise Brown remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Las Vegas Raiders
Zamir White falling
FantasyLife’s Dwain McFarland has a succinct breakdown of the committee Vegas has run in two preseason games.
Zamir White and Alexander Mattison have played the same drives in two preseason games.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) August 19, 2024
Week 1 - three drives:
- White: 45% snaps, 55% attempts
- Mattison: 38%, 27%
Week 2 - eight drives:
- White: 35%, 33%
- Mattison: 33%, 42%
Hard to be confident in White as clear-cut RB1.
Zamir White has also played deeper into both preseason games than most locked-in starters do. The one thing fantasy managers can hang their hats on is talent, and White has a massive edge in that category. He ranked 14th in Next Gen’s rush yards over expected and third in success rate last year. Alexander Mattison was all the way down at 35th and 22nd in those stats respectively.
Los Angeles Chargers
Brenden Rice on the rise
The Chargers gave five different receivers reps with the starting offense. Brenden Rice was on the field for all 10 of those snaps. Quentin Johnston did not get a rep until later in the game, though Rice also played after the starters left the field. Rice may not be definitively ahead of DJ Chark and Johnston, but his most recent preseason usage puts that on the table.
Kimani Vidal was one of three backs to see work with the starters. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards got the day off. Vidal ran hard and picked up some chunk gains. Reports of his demise may have been premature.
some Kimani Vidal runs for the sickos pic.twitter.com/bdTT3ETF2d
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) August 18, 2024
Los Angeles Rams
Jordan Whittington pushing Tutu Atwell off the roster?
The Rams’ starters got the night off, allowing the team to give rookie receiver Jordan Whittington an extended look. He went for 52 yards on five grabs and leads the Rams in catches, yards, and yards per route run this preseason. Tutu Atwell fell out of the rotation at the end of the 2024 season and is now at risk of being cut.
Miami Dolphins
WR3 battle narrows
Odell Beckham is on the PUP list and won’t practice this week. River Cracraft and Malik Washington got the bulk of the reps with the starters of Miami’s second preseason game. Per head coach Mike McDaniel, Cracraft is now dealing with a significant upper-body injury and will be out for some time. Until Beckham returns, the WR3 job is Washington’s to lose.
Minnesota Vikings
Jalen Nailor continues to show out
The Vikings gave their first-team offense the night off and Jalen Nailor saw a full complement of routes. Nailor proved once again to be the team’s best option for their WR3 vacancy left by K.J. Osborn by reeling in a 31-yard grab. Nailor is averaging 3.92 yards per route run in the preseason and ranks 11th in PFF’s receiving grades.
New England Patriots
Patriots’ receiver room becoming clear
Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton have emerged as the starting outside receivers with Demario Douglas in the slot. The undersized “Pop” Douglas won’t see much action in 12-personnel looks but is so cheap in fantasy drafts that it may not matter. As Jahnke noted, Ja’Lynn Polk has served as the backup to Osborn at the X receiver spot in their two preseason games. While we’d rather see him start in these contests, I can’t find it in my heart to worry about that.
Osborn is on a one-year, $4.5 million deal and Tyquan Thornton is a gadget player with 338 career receiving yards through two seasons. Polk might not see an 80 percent route rate in Week 1, but he is a second-round pick with incredibly weak competition for routes as a rookie.
Another note on the Patriots is that Drake Maye can spin it.
That's one hell of a ball moving left in the pocket, Drake Maye. pic.twitter.com/I9qhXnC0QC
— Jake Burns (@jake_burns18) August 16, 2024
The Athletic’s Chad Graff mentioned that Maye has begun to “force the issue” of being the Week 1 starter.
New Orleans Saints
The package grows
Taysom Hill was on the field for 14-of-22 snaps with the starters and saw five carries including a goal line plunge. Jamaal Williams was a disaster last year and Dennis Allen hates Kendre Miller.
Dennis Allen expressed concern when Kendre Miller got hurt three weeks ago about being able to make the team from the training room. He said that hasn’t changed at this point. Not just with Miller but any young player who hasn’t gotten to show enough for a true evaluation.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) August 14, 2024
Hill is this team’s best RB2 option and he also happens to run routes as a tight end and throw passes.
Cedrick Wilson served as the team’s WR2 in their second preseason game. Rashid Shaheed was out meaning that Wilson is the WR3 when everyone is healthy.
New York Giants
He’s him
Malik Nabers is him.
WHAT A CATCH 😮💨
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 17, 2024
📺: FOX5/Giants App pic.twitter.com/3f5JHlJKmQ
Nabers earned a 33 percent target share with the starters while playing nearly every snap. He also had a 14.3 aDOT. Nabers is pricey in Best Ball leagues but is one of the best picks on the board on more casual sites.
Wan’Dale Robinson operated as the team’s primary slot receiver but left the field when the Giants moved out of three-wide sets. Jalin Hyatt and Darius Slayton split the WR3 role, removing both from the redraft conversation.
New York Jets
Braelon Allen is a late-round steal
Braelon Allen looked like the primary backup to Breece Hall once again. Saleh’s praise of Allen was even more encouraging.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh on Braelon Allen:
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) August 18, 2024
“We picked him for a lot of reasons, because he’s actually really good out of the backfield and route-running, he’s really good in protection, too. We think he’s an all-around good back and he’s a very powerful runner, too, and he’s… pic.twitter.com/HWGoaxOMjb
Allen could work his way into a part-time role as a rookie and has incredible contingent value.
Philadelphia Eagles
Keneth Gainwell backs up Saquon Barkley
Philly gave their starters the day off and Kenneth Gainwell got all eight snaps with the second unit before hitting the bench. Will Shipley was the third man up. Shipley is unlikely to see the field much when Saquon Barkley is healthy, but the fact that he appears to have already cemented himself as the third option is a good start. Gainwell has never seen more than 14 carries in an NFL game. If anything happens to Saquon Barkley, Shipley would undoubtedly step into a meaningful workload alongside Gainwell.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Van Jefferson keeps the WR2 job
Van Jefferson has played 35-of-38 snaps with the starters through two preseason contests. He is this year’s DeVante Parker. Take that for what it’s worth.
Pat Freiermuth’s snap count in the first preseason game was underwhelming but he still logged a 78 percent route rate. His snap share remained disappointing this week and his route rate followed suit. He ran a route on 62 percent of Russell Wilson’s dropbacks. On a run-heavy team, part-time Freiermuth feels like an easy fade.
San Francisco 49ers
Jacob Cowing making plays
The 49ers were without Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall for their second preseason game, though Brock Purdy still took 11 snaps. Fourth-round rookie Jacob Cowing was on the field for all but one of them. Cowing played deeper into the game than Purdy and eventually made an incredible catch at the end of the first half.
38-yard strike ‼️ @josh_dobbs1 x @jaycowing_#NOvsSF on FOX
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 19, 2024
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/bEyhMjUZzU
He ended the day with four catches for 51 yards and a 19-yard rush. Cowing is buried on a depth chart stacked with talent but we’ve seen Samuel deal with injuries for years, Aiyuk’s status with the team is still up in the air, and Pearsall is currently sidelined with an injury.
Seattle Seahawks
Kenny McIntosh RB3
Kenny McIntosh started the Seahawks’ second preseason game and played 20-of-28 snaps before Sam Howell left the field. He took over for Zach Charbonnet after a few snaps in the team’s first preseason outing. The former Georgia back has 86 yards on 16 carries and has caught all four of his targets for 16 yards in the preseason. He looks like a good bet to serve as the team’s RB3.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucky Irving solidifies RB2 role
Rookie running back Bucky Irving has had a quiet camp and didn’t operate as the clear RB2 in his first preseason outing. That changed this week after he played all 12 snaps with the starting offense and then got the rest of the night off. Chase Edmonds is injured and has been out for nearly four weeks. Though he could be ahead of Irving as the RB2, an extended absence for a player who isn’t guaranteed a roster spot could push him off the roster bubble.
Tennessee Titans
Treylon Burks filling in at X
Treylon Burks sat with the starters in Tennessee’s second preseason game. Head coach Brian Callahan gave us more info on what Burks’ role will look like early in the year.
I followed up on this today with Brian Callahan, who confirmed Treylon Burks will play the X, and NWI (though more multiple) will focus primarily on playing Z this year: https://t.co/PuNyumPHLb pic.twitter.com/pNnSfoViEo
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) August 18, 2024
Burks could draw the start in DeAndre Hopkins’ place if he misses Week 1, but it sounds like the team views him as Hopkins’ backup when everyone is healthy.
Washington Commanders
Jahan Dotson in the slot
A former first-round pick, Jahan Dotson has been a flop through two seasons. He ranks 38th out of 42 receivers in yards per route run (min. 1,000 routes) over the past two seasons. Dotson has seen an uptick in slot snaps through two exhibition games, running 66 percent of his routes from the slot so far. While that seems like a great way to unlock the young wideout, it hasn’t worked in either preseason game and Dan Quinn doesn’t seem sold on him as the team’s second receiver. Dotson is averaging .57 yards per route run in the preseason and Quinn said they are “in the middle of” searching for their WR2.
