- Chris Olave takes snaps out of the slot: The New Orleans Saints had their top three wide receivers for the first time, with Olave playing as the primary slot receiver.
- The first look at the Cleveland Browns‘ running back rotation: Dylan Sampson and Jerome Ford were both playing in a preseason game together for the first time, giving us a first glance at how they might rotate in the regular season.
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Jacory Croskey-Merritt rests for the Commanders: Washington rested more than one-third of its roster, including the en vogue seventh-round rookie.
The Commanders traded former starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers, opening the door for a new lead running back to take the reins on early downs. While it’s possible Austin Ekeler will take some of those snaps, he is also the Commanders’ early-down back and a kick returner. At his age, it makes sense for the team to limit his snaps and give the early downs to another player.
Throughout the preseason, those two players have been Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr., while Jeremy McNichols has primarily been the backup receiving back. In the first preseason game, Croskey-Merritt played in the first half and Rodriguez started to mix in during the second quarter. In the second game, Rodriguez received the start, with a more frequent rotation by drive.
The fact that Croskey-Merritt was among the key players who didn’t play in this game, while Rodriguez played, suggests Croskey-Merritt is at the top of the early-down depth chart.
Croskey-Merritt’s upside is limited since he’s in an offense that has a third-down back, a backup running back on early downs and a quarterback who is capable of running the ball. Typically, a player in that role doesn’t have a lot of fantasy upside, but the fact that he plays in an offense that should be among the highest scoring in the NFL gives him potential RB2 value. His consensus ADP is currently RB48, making him a big value, but we also expect his ADP to continue to rise by multiple rounds between now and the start of the season.
Jaylin Lane also receives the day off: Lane may have leapfrogged enough wide receivers on the depth chart to receive significant playing time in Week 1.
The Commanders’ top three wide receivers are expected to be Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown. The problem is that McLaurin is currently holding out and Brown has missed the past two months with an undisclosed injury. This opens the door for a backup wide receiver to see significant playing time.
Lane started the preseason far down the depth chart but was among the top three wide receivers during last week’s preseason game, with Samuel playing in the slot and Lane and Luke McCaffrey playing out wide. Lane joined only in three-receiver sets, suggesting — at the time — that McCaffrey was ahead of Lane. The fact that Lane didn’t play in this game and McCaffrey did indicates that Lane is now ahead.
McCaffrey spent most of the preseason playing as an outside receiver, despite playing primarily in the slot last season. K.J. Osborn has been the Commanders’ primary slot receiver with the second team in the preseason. However, in this game, it was McCaffrey playing in the slot with Osborn out wide. This suggests McCaffrey could be the top backup slot receiver after losing the primary backup outside job to Lane.
While Lane might not be high enough on the target priority list to be draftable in fantasy, he is worth keeping an eye on as a waiver-wire target at the next sign of positive news.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Commanders rested 33 players for this game, including quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, running backs Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Austin Ekeler, wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown and Jaylin Lane and tight ends Zach Ertz and John Bates.
- The Ravens didn’t play quarterback Lamar Jackson, running backs Derrick Henry and Justice Hill, fullback Patrick Ricard, wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and DeAndre Hopkins and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, as they’ve done all preseason.
- Fourth-string Tylan Wallace and tight end Charlie Kolar played in the first two preseason games in the first quarter, but they both also had the night off as key backups.
- Ravens third-string running back Keaton Mitchell missed his second straight preseason game with a hamstring injury, but the team is confident he will be ready for Week 1.
The first look at the Browns’ running back rotation: Jerome Ford made his preseason debut but didn’t start for Cleveland.
Quinshon Judkins is expected to be the lead running back for Cleveland at some point, but he has yet to sign his rookie contract or practice with the team. While Judkins is not facing criminal charges, the NFL could still discipline him. His contract is unlikely to be agreed upon until that is resolved. This leaves fourth-round rookie Dylan Sampson and Ford as the top two running backs on the depth chart.
Sampson got the start. He and Ford rotated every few plays, with both players taking five snaps on the first two drives. Both received a third-and-long snap, suggesting there is no current clear third-down back or early-down back between the two. Ford caught a pass to begin the third drive, with Pierre Strong Jr. taking over after that point. Both Sampson and Ford were done on offense by then.
It will be difficult for either one of these running backs to be in fantasy starting lineups with this 50-50 split, given the offense and offensive line. However, since they were used interchangeably, it’s possible that one player starts outplaying the other and gains more playing time. Given that the Browns have seen a lot of Ford in recent years, it’s more likely that Sampson, a rookie, takes time away from Ford than the other way around.
Browns’ receiver room remains unsettled: Five different wide receivers competed for playing time in the regular season.
Jerry Jeudy is Cleveland’s top wide receiver. He played the first three snaps in this game, and then his day was done. Cedric Tillman missed this week due to a thumb injury, but his preseason usage in Week 2 suggests he is safe as the second wide receiver. Beyond that, it appears to be a wide-open competition.
Jamari Thrash seemed to be the favorite to win the Browns’ slot receiver role. In the first two preseason games, he played 32 snaps in the slot, compared to 10 out wide. He was consistently on the field in three-receiver sets. However, in this game, he was in a rotation with newly signed Isaiah Bond. One of the two was almost always on the field with the starters, but never at the same time. They were no longer consistently lining up in the slot, with nearly every receiver seeing a few snaps there. Thrash also continued to play with the backups. This suggests Thrash’s spot as the third wide receiver isn’t safe.
Diontae Johnson has also seen significant playing time with starters in the preseason, but he was in a rotation with undrafted rookie Gage Larvadain. While Johnson led the rotation, the fact that he was rotating and kept playing with the backups isn’t a good sign. Once Jeudy left the game, Kaden Davis took Jeudy’s spot and was the only receiver consistently on the field with the starters.
It’s also worth noting that DeAndre Carter and David Bell have missed the entire preseason. When either one is healthy, they could also enter the conversation.
If anything, this is good news for Harold Fannin Jr., who was the second tight end in this game after David Njoku. The Browns frequently used 12 personnel, and they seem to trust Fannin more than any of their wide receivers outside of Jeudy and Tillman. While it’s rare to see two tight ends have fantasy value on the same team, Fannin should score more points than most teams’ second tight ends.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Browns slowly took starters out of the game on offense, which included removing tight end David Njoku three plays before Joe Flacco. He played 12 of the first 14 plays.
- The Rams rested running back Kyren Williams, wide receivers Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Tutu Atwell and tight ends Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson, as they’ve done throughout the preseason.
- Rams running back Blake Corum played in the first two preseason games but sat this week, suggesting he is still the second running back on the depth chart, ahead of Jarquez Hunter.
- Similarly, wide receivers Xavier Smith and seventh-round rookie Konata Mumpfield didn’t play, suggesting they are safely locked into the fifth and sixth roster spots.
- Terrance Ferguson sat out the first two preseason games with a groin injury. The fact that two tight ends didn’t play and Ferguson did would usually suggest Ferguson is third on the depth chart, but it’s also fair that the Rams wanted to give their rookie some experience before his first regular-season game. Regardless, the fact that Parkinson sat throughout the preseason indicates we could see all three tight ends play significantly this season.
The Bengals’ backup receiver group appears to be taking shape: Charlie Jones and Mitchell Tinsley were both held out, an indication that their roster spots are likely secure.
Last season, the Bengals’ top backup wideouts were third-round rookie Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin. Irwin signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the offseason, opening the door for others to step up.
Charlie Jones, a 2023 fourth-round pick, saw limited action as a rookie due to a lingering groin injury that sidelined him for half the season and affected him in the second half. This preseason, he was the first backup receiver on the field in the opener and played only in the first half last week, both signs that his roster spot is secure. Though he played primarily in the slot last year, he’s lined up more frequently out wide this preseason.
Mitchell Tinsley, an undrafted rookie in 2023, spent his first two seasons on the Washington Commanders’ practice squad. He appeared in two games last year, but he played less than 10 snaps. Last week, he caught five passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns — all within a 20-second span — effectively locking in his roster spot. He’s shown versatility, playing both outside and in the slot.
That pushes Jermaine Burton to sixth on the depth chart at best. While he could still see occasional snaps, including some downfield targets, he’s unlikely to carry meaningful fantasy value this season.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Colts rested quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson Sr., running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Ashton Dulin, and tight ends Tyler Warren and Mo Alie-Cox.
- While quarterback Riley Leonard played throughout the first half, running back D.J. Giddens, wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and tight end Drew Oglree all stopped playing at the end of the first quarter. Their spots on the depth chart are secure.
- The Bengals rested quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Jake Browning, running backs Chase Brown, Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks, wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas, Charlie Jones and Mitchell Tinsley, and tight ends Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki, Noah Fant and Tanner Hudson.
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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.
