For the 2nd straight preseason game, both Broncos QBs appeared to play well. Teddy Bridgewater got the start Saturday against the Seahawks. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 105 yards and 1 TD, highlighted by a 35-yard completion to Jerry Jeudy on a 4th-and-5. Bridgewater also piloted another TD drive. Drew Lock then came on to go 9-of-14 for 80 yards on 3 drives that produced field goals. According to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic, HC Vic Fangio said earlier in the week that he was "pretty damn close" to deciding who will start at QB. We'll see whether we get that announcement this week. For now, it looks too close to call for fantasy-drafting purposes.
Jets RB Michael Carter played 0 snaps with QB Zach Wilson and the 1st-team offense in Saturday's preseason game vs. the Packers. RB Tevin Coleman got the start and played 10 of 19 snaps with Wilson. RB Ty Johnson played the other 9. We'll see if Carter gets any run with the starters in the final exhibition. But as of now, he's not looking like a guy we'll be able to use in fantasy lineups to start the season.
Bills RB Devin Singletary played all 10 snaps on the team’s 1st possession of Saturday's preseason game vs. the Bears. He ended up out-snapping RB Zack Moss 21 to 12 with what amounted to the 1st-team offense. Singletary took 2 carries for 21 yards, highlighted by this impressive TD. Moss finished with 4 carries for 21 yards. It’s possible that Buffalo wanted to limit Moss’ snaps after he missed a few days with a hamstring injury in mid-August. But it’s also possible that Singletary opens the season as the lead back. We've adjusted our projections for the Bills backfield.
Bears HC Matt Nagy reiterated after Saturday's preseason game against the Bills that QB Andy Dalton is his Week 1 starter. Dalton played the entire 1st half of that game vs. Buffalo, finishing 11 of 17 for 146 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. But most of his damage came on a 73-yard score to WR Rodney Adams that was actually a tad underthrown. Outside of that, Dalton totaled just 73 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt. QB Justin Fields played the 2nd half, completing 9 of 19 passes for 80 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs. He made numerous plays with his legs, finishing with 46 yards on 4 carries. It’s clear to us who Chicago’s best option is at QB -- and we still expect to see Fields under center early this season.
Washington’s RB usage was similar in Week 2 of the preseason to what we saw in the opener. RB Antonio Gibson played 13 of 23 snaps (57%) with the 1st-team offense. But he was pulled for RB J.D. McKissic in obvious passing situations. Per NBC Sports’ John Daigle, Gibson has played just 1 of 9 3rd downs through 2 preseason games; McKissic has played 7. Gibson has racked up 5 targets on 24 preseason snaps, so Washington is clearly scheming him the ball in the passing game. But he’ll need to take over that 3rd-down role in order to hit his ceiling this season.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that he has "no doubt" he'll be 100% for Week 1. Pelissero adds that Prescott has had no setbacks in his rehab and could have played vs. Houston on Saturday night if it was a regular-season game. Dallas reportedly plans to ramp up Prescott's reps in practice this coming week and have him be a full-go during the week leading up to the Thursday night opener vs. the Bucs
The Athletic's Jeff Howe believes it'd be a "stunner" if Patriots QB Cam Newton isn't under center for the start of the season. After a choppy start to training camp, Newton reportedly had a strong week in joint practices with the Eagles. Then he completed 8 of 9 passes for 103 yards and a score in 3 possessions vs. Philadelphia in Thursday night's preseason game. Rookie QB Mac Jones has also looked good this preseason -- and we still expect him to hit the field at some point this year. But look for Newton to be the Week 1 starter.
Larry Holder of The Athletic says of the Saints QB battle that Jameis "Winston holds the edge in the race, in my eyes." Holder adds, "But this remains a competition to watch." We're certainly not treating the competition as decided, especially ahead of Winston's 1st preseason start. (Hill started the opener.) But keep this in mind in case you happen to be choosing between Saints QBs late in a best-ball draft this weekend. We'll see how both fare Monday night against the Jaguars.
According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, "It seems like Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd are set as the third and fourth receivers for the offense." Goodwin has generated some camp highlights with his downfield speed, and the (inevitable?) switch to Justin Fields at QB could unlock that area of strength for both players. Neither WR is likely to make a big fantasy impact this season, but they're names worth keeping in mind as end-of-draft best-ball options.
Chris Burke of The Athletic believes that Lions MLB Alex Anzalone "almost certainly" will be wearing the green-dot helmet and calling defensive plays come the regular season. "Anzalone could be out there for close to 100 percent of the snaps (health willing)," Burke adds. Anzalone has history with HC Dan Campbell and DC Aaron Glenn from their shared time in New Orleans. Injuries limited Anzalone's playing time there. The 2 (of 4) seasons in which he played all 16 games found Anzalone staying on the field for just 47.2% and 50.2% of snaps. It sounds like he's headed for a lot more with these Lions, which makes Anzalone an intriguing pick at the end of IDP fantasy football drafts.
Bengals rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase endured a rough outing Friday night in the team’s 2nd preseason contest. The 1st-round pick dropped all 3 of his targets vs. Washington. Drops weren’t a problem for Chase in college. Pro Football Focus charted him with just 5 among 118 targets in 2019, his final campaign at LSU. And we’re not generally too concerned with a WR’s drops in the NFL. But Chase’s lackluster performance stands as another signal we should be cautious about trusting the rookie for big fantasy football production right away. We’ll see whether the latest display knocks his ADP down, though.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire's sprain is on the inside of his ankle, according to The Kansas City's Star's Sam McDowell. With the disclaimer that we're not doctors, that sounds similar to the injury that's plagued Saints WR Michael Thomas. “They got to check it (today), do what they do there,” HC Andy Reid said. “It’s tender now. It doesn’t look like a high-ankle sprain. That’s always a good thing. They’ll double-check it." We'll update CEH's status as soon as we know more.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman finished with a 4-39-1 line in Friday night's preseason game vs. the Cardinals. But 2 of those catches and the TD came from QB Chad Henne. Hardman caught just 2 of 6 targets from QB Patrick Mahomes. Hardman played 29 of 32 snaps (91%) with Mahomes -- but note that Tyreek Hill was out. We know the Chiefs view Hardman as a Hill handcuff. But it remains unclear just how much playing time he’ll get alongside Hill. Hardman played only in 3-WR sets in the 1st preseason game.
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill was held out of Friday night's preseason game after his hamstring "tightened up" in warmups, HC Andy Reid said. This doesn't sound serious -- but hamstrings are notoriously tricky. We'll keep a close eye on this 1st-round fantasy pick.
Chiefs RB Darrel Williams is in concussion protocol, HC Andy Reid said after Friday night's preseason game. We're still 3 weeks away from the start of the season, so Williams should get cleared in time for the opener. We'll monitor his progress.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered a “slight” ankle sprain in Week 2 of the preseason, per HC Andy Reid. Edwards-Helaire will undergo further examination today (Saturday). We’re about 3 weeks away from the opener, so there’s time for the 2nd-year back to avoid missing games if the injury is indeed minor. We’ll keep you posted.
Niners WR Deebo Samuel left Friday's practice early and is getting an MRI. "He had a tight glute today, so he pulled himself out of practice," HC Kyle Shanahan said afterward, per 49erswebzone.com. We'll see whether there's anything to worry about here.
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy expects QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) to ramp up in practice next week. "He’ll definitely be involved in some form of practice more than this week," McCarthy said. "But to stand here and tell you he'd be full go and take all the reps, I’m not there yet.” We'll continue to keep a close eye on Prescott, with the season opener now 3 weeks away. All indications are that Dak will be good to go for Week 1.
Patriots WR N'Keal Harry is considered "week to week" with the shoulder injury suffered in Thursday night's preseason game, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Tests on the shoulder showed "no structural damage to his shoulder and he simply will need rest," per Schefter. Harry remains off the redraft radar.
Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers has been on the field for 93% of Cam Newton's snaps through 2 games (27 of 29). His 67 receiving yards rank 2nd on the team in preseason, trailing only reserve WR candidate Kristian Wilkerson (who has just 8 more yards on 5 more receptions). Meyers' top highlight has been a 28-yard catch-and-run TD against the Eagles in Week 2. Nelson Agholor sat out the preseason opener but returned for Thursday night's game. He played just 1 fewer snap than Meyers (15-14) but drew nary a target compared with 3 for Meyers. The 2nd-year wideout looks like a high-upside late-round pick for your fantasy football draft.
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