• • Nick Chubb leads the Houston Texans backfield: With Joe Mixon missing the last few weeks, Chubb has led the Houston backfield and could play significant snaps throughout the regular season.
• • Antonio Gibson starts for the New England Patriots: While there has been significant hype for TreVeyon Henderson, Gibson started while Henderson rotated in.
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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2025.

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Antonio Gibson starts for the Patriots: Gibson only played with the backups in the first preseason game but started over TreVeyon Henderson for this game.

In the first preseason game, Rhamondre Stevenson started, while Henderson mixed in significantly with the starters, including taking both of the third downs. Gibson didn’t play until the backups entered the game, suggesting he was a clear third on the depth chart.

This week, the Patriots didn’t have Stevenson, so it was Gibson who started. Henderson’s usage was very similar to last week, initially entering the game on the fourth play, starting the second drive and taking all of the third down snaps. The second drive was a little longer than the first, leading to Henderson playing more snaps than Gibson. Henderson ran the ball more often this week, leading to a touchdown.

It is common for running backs or tight ends to have an every-down role in the preseason before playing a rotational role in the regular season, but it is exceptionally rare for a player to be in a rotation and play in specific situations in the preseason before taking an every-down role early in the regular season. Most believe Henderson’s talent is so undeniable that he will earn the every-down role eventually, but the Patriots seem content on using him as part of a rotation, even if Stevenson were to miss regular-season games. Had the Patriots simply wanted to limit Henderson’s playing time in this game, they could have played him for the first seven to nine plays and then rotated him out, like most teams typically do in the preseason, including the Vikings in this game.

This will make Henderson a frustrating player in redraft leagues, as he will have some games with huge plays leading to significant fantasy value, while others will be games where he doesn’t make the big play, so he won’t have a safe floor due to his low volume.

Patriots wide receiver battle continues: Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins were the primary receivers for the Patriots this week.

On the first drive, Boutte was the X receiver, Hollins was the Z, and DeMario Douglas played in the slot in three-receiver sets. The first note is that Douglas only played in 11 personnel sets in this game, which is disappointing after playing some snaps in two-receiver sets last week. While it’s at least possible the Patriots simply wanted to give other wide receivers more looks, this suggests Douglas might not play more snaps this year.

Third-round rookie Kyle Williams started to mix in on the second drive, taking some snaps from both Boutte and Hollins, while Douglas continued to play in the slot. Boutte and Hollins were done for the day after the second drive, suggesting their roster spots are safe. At least one of them will likely be a starter to begin the season. Williams continued playing with Javon Baker on the outside, while undrafted rookie Efton Chism III played in the slot. Chism caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Considering Chism is the only other player outside of Douglas playing in the slot, this also suggests his playing time is secure. This likely means Baker and Ja’Lynn Polk won’t make the roster this season.

This is setting up to be a big situation to avoid for fantasy football purposes this year, outside of Stefon Diggs and potentially Douglas. We could see several wide receivers playing around 50% of New England’s offensive snaps with a few hundred yards on the season each, but it will be completely unpredictable which wide receiver might have a big week that week.

Ty Chandler remains the Vikings’ third running back: He played in seven of the first eight plays and exited the game before the rest of the Vikings players.

Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason are locked into the top two running back spots on the depth chart. Chandler has been on the team since 2022, but some have suggested his roster spot could be in jeopardy. Zavier Scott had a strong performance last week, so some are suggesting Chandler could get traded.

While there is a chance Chandler won’t make the roster, everything from the first two preseason games suggests Chandler is clearly ahead. Last week, Chandler entered the game late in the first quarter, and his day was done at halftime. Scott entered the game in the middle of the second quarter and was still playing into the fourth quarter. Similarly, this week, Chandler played on the first two drives and then exited the game after multiple consecutive plays. Scott entered the game for one play and was the Vikings’ primary running back for the rest of the time with the starters as well as with the backups. Generally, if a running back leaves the game before other starters, their job on the team is safe.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson missed some practice this week for an undisclosed injury, but it’s not expected to be serious.
• While wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been practicing, the Patriots held him out of the first two preseason games, likely out of caution.
• Kendrick Bourne hasn’t been practicing the last few weeks for the Patriots. While Bourne remains a starter on the unofficial depth chart, the depth chart also has Ja’Lynn Polk on the second string, Mack Hollins on the third and Efton Chism III on the fourth, despite preseason usage evidence to the contrary.
• Patriots lead tight end Hunter Henry missed some time at practice. He has already returned, but the Patriots likely kept him out as a precaution.
• The Vikings only rested Aaron Jones Sr. and Justin Jefferson in the first preseason game. They greatly expanded the list of players not playing this week to include quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Jordan Mason, wide receiver Jordan Addison and tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver.
• Jalen Nailor is dealing with a hand injury that kept him out of this game.
• Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending injury on his first play with the Vikings last week, after missing all of last season.
• Vikings sixth-round rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew remains on the physically unable to perform list.

The Browns’ wide receiver room remains unsettled: There might not be a clear-cut WR2 for the Browns this season.

The Browns’ top four wide receivers are Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash and Diontae Johnson, in some order. Tillman was the Browns’ X receiver last season, and Jeudy was the Z. Thrash is listed on the depth chart as a starting receiver and has consistently played in the slot in three-receiver sets while the Browns’ starters are playing in the preseason, suggesting he will have that role in the regular season. This made it seem like the starting depth chart was relatively settled. Johnson is the top backup. Johnson was primarily playing at the Z-receiver spot in the first preseason game, although he was at his best with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their X receiver.

Jeudy sat out this preseason game as he did the first week, but Tillman played, unlike last week. In this game, Johnson was consistently the X receiver when he was on the field, while Tillman was playing the Z-receiver spot. If Tillman was locked into the X-receiver spot as he played last season, we would have expected him to play the X-receiver spot Saturday instead of Johnson. It’s also worth noting that Tillman only played on the first two drives and then was taken out of the game, while Johnson kept playing on the third drive. This still suggests Tillman is ahead on the depth chart.

This suggests Johnson will be the fourth wide receiver, but we could see a lot of rotation among the wide receivers with various combinations. Tillman at X, Jeudy at Z and Thrash in the slot could be the most common one, but Johnson could take either Tillman or Jeudy’s place on any given play, or Johnson could move Tillman to Z on some plays when Jeudy is off the field. Jeudy is also capable of playing in the slot, so there could be plays where Thrash is off the field in three-receiver sets.

Tillman has been a late-round dart throw in fantasy drafts because he was playing 90-95% of Cleveland’s offensive snaps as a starter when healthy last season, but that playing time should dip with Thrash taking the slot role, and Johnson heavily mixing in with the starters.

Will Shipley remains ahead of A.J. Dillon: For the second-straight week, Shipley’s preseason usage was more promising than Dillon’s.

During the first week of the preseason, Shipley played in the first quarter and the first play of the second quarter, while Dillon took the rest of the second quarter. This week, Shipley had the day off while Dillon played on the first drive. The Eagles only had one six-play drive over the first 20 minutes of the game, so it’s unclear how much more Dillon would have played had the Eagles’ offense been on the field more in the first quarter. The Eagles coaching staff has traditionally rotated running backs by drive rather than situation during the preseason. It’s possible that a Saquon Barkley injury would lead to Dillon playing on early downs while Shipley plays on passing downs, as that is each player’s strength. However, this is promising that Shipley could have a larger role in the case of a Barkley injury.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The Browns rested quarterback Joe Flacco, running backs Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. Sampson and Fannin both played significantly in their previous preseason game, while the other four have sat out both games. This is a promising sign that the mid-round rookies will have significant roles in the season.
• Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett continues to miss time due to a hamstring injury. Dillon Gabriel recently returned from injury, while Shedeur Sanders, who played most of the first preseason game, is missing due to an oblique strain.
• Browns running back Quinshon Judkins was not charged in a domestic violence case, but the NFL is still reviewing his case. He is still not under contract and hasn’t been practicing with the team.
• Wide receiver DeAndre Carter and tight end Blake Whiteheart missed last week due to undisclosed reasons. Carter remained out for this game, while Whiteheart was the primary tight end for this game.
• Wide receiver David Bell remains on the non-football injury list.
• The Eagles didn’t play quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert in either week of the preseason. Philadelphia added quarterback Tanner McKee, running back Will Shipley, wide receiver Jahan Dotson and tight end Grant Calcaterra to the list of players not playing after all four played last week.
• Terrace Marshall missed the first preseason game due to a knee injury but has practiced most of the week. While he didn’t start, he played on the first drive along with Johnny Wilson, Ainias Smith and undrafted rookie Darius Cooper. If the Eagles keep seven wide receivers on the roster, they would all make the team. For those in deep dynasty leagues, Cooper could be a name to watch, given his playing time in the first quarter last week and the start this week.

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Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.