• Zamir White rotates in and out: The Las Vegas Raiders lead running back played in eight drives, splitting time with Alexander Mattison and Dylan Laube.
• Tank Dell didn’t play in 12 personnel: Dell can still be a fantasy starter this season, but there could be some games where the Houston Texans might not need him to make many catches.
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Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
Nathan Jahnke’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024. Here, we touch on only relevant players in fantasy football leagues.
These are my 10 biggest reactions to the games from the NFL preseason Week 2 slate. To get a more in-depth breakdown, check out my full recap.
Concern around Zamir White
For the second straight game, White played deeper into the preseason than most would expect.
In the first preseason game, White started and took all of the early-down work on the first drive. Alexander Mattison took the second drive, and White oddly played two snaps on the third drive. It was in the red zone, so it seemed plausible the goal was for him to play some snaps near the goal line. When he came back in the game, Aidan O’Connell, Jakobi Meyers, Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and three offensive linemen had played their last snap.
The Raiders did a similar rotation in this game. White took the first two drives with Mattison as the passing-down back. Mattison played nine snaps on the third drive with Ameer Abdullah taking the other, making it seem like White’s game was over. Then, White came back for the fourth drive, again at a time when Mattison, Meyers and Mayer and three-fifths of the line were done playing.
Throughout the second quarter, White shared time while Dylan Laube played a few snaps, typically in passing situations. Laube also took the two-minute drill snaps. Laube only played in the second half a week ago, so this was a big step up for him. White remained in the game when the second half started, as did most of the players who ended the second half.
It is pretty unheard of for a starting running back to be playing in the second half of any preseason game, outside of rookies working their way up the depth chart. In the previous three seasons, the only running back to play in the second half of the second preseason game and finish as a top-50 fantasy running back was Devonta Freeman in 2021, and that was a preseason game with the New Orleans Saints before the Baltimore Ravens later signed him after all of their running backs were injured.
Considering how much White has played with backups, how much Mattison has played with starters, and Laube working his way up the depth chart, we might be in store for White being in more of a rotation than ideal. This could push him from a borderline fantasy starter to a backup in most fantasy leagues.
Devin Singletary dominates offensive snaps
Singletary played in all but four snaps in the first half.
The New York Giants played their starters for the entire first half, giving us a great view of how players might rotate this season. Singletary was the Giants' clear feature running back. There was no clear pattern when they were taking him off the field, so he was the clear primary back in every situation except when they wanted to give him a break.
Singletary has reached those heights a few times throughout his career. He reached over 80% of his team's offensive snaps four times with the Houston Texans last year but never quite as high of a rate as this game. With Houston, he often wasn’t playing on third downs as much.
It’s worth noting Tyrone Tracy Jr. missed this game after a scare in practice a few weeks ago that initially looked season-ending now leaves him out three-to-six weeks. Singletary may play less once Tracy is back to 100%. Until then, Singletary is a likely low-end fantasy starter due to his volume that can be drafted as RB34.
Denver Broncos shake up their running back rotation
Denver put its running backs in different situations this week, which suggests that the backfield still isn’t settled.
Last week, the Broncos used their running backs in situations familiar to each player. Javonte Williams started and played most of the snaps on the first two drives. Samaje Perine took third downs. Perine continued to take third downs when the backups came in and then played in the two-minute drill. Perine never got a chance to play in normal early-down situations. Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime rotated as backups. McLaughlin played one snap on a third-and-11.
Williams started again this week while McLaughlin rotated in after a few plays. The two continued their rotation on the first two drives. McLaughlin played on third-and-9 and at the goal line. McLaughlin ended up playing more snaps, which meant Williams left the game first.
Perine started on a normal first-and-10 on the third drive while Estime rotated in on the drive. Perine continued to play into the third quarter. Many have speculated that Perine could be released from the team. After the first game, it seemed unlikely given Perine was taking all the usual passing-down work. Now that the Broncos seem more willing to give McLaughlin opportunities in those situations, it’s more likely Perine won’t make the team.
If this backfield is just a two-man rotation between Williams and McLaughlin, then both are a value at their ADP. There is still a chance Estime will mix in, but he hasn’t earned those opportunities to this point.
A better look at the Houston Texans‘ wide receiver rotation
Houston only played its starters six snaps a week ago, so this game gave us a better indication of the wide receiver rotation.
In last week’s preseason game, the Texans played four snaps in 11 personnel with Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, while Collins and Diggs played two snaps in two-receiver sets. This told us Dell is third but didn’t give any clear indication of how much he might rotate in during two-receiver sets.
The Texans played their starters for the entire first half in this game. They played nine snaps in 11 personnel. On the last play of the quarter, Robert Woods, John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson all played while Woods took a snap from Diggs earlier in the quarter. Dell and Collins played four snaps each from the slot while Diggs played one.
In 12 personnel, Collins and Diggs played four-of-five snaps. Woods and Metchie II played the other two. In 21 personnel, Collins played all three snaps while Dell played two and Diggs played one. It’s worth noting the Texans' potential top backup, Noah Brown, wasn’t playing in this game.
Collins playing 15-of-17 snaps with the starters is excellent news for his fantasy value. That was 88% of Houston's offensive snaps, where he was typically closer to 75% last season with only one game at 88% or more. If the Diggs addition has no impact on his snap rate, that’s great for him.
Dell is the concern here, as he only ran a route on eight of 13 pass plays when including plays taken back by penalty. Not playing a single snap in 12 personnel while both Woods and Metchie II did isn’t ideal, although it’s still a relatively small sample at this point. It’s pretty rare for a wide receiver running a route on 60-65% of pass plays to be a fantasy starter. Dell could be the exception to that rule, but the Texans will need to run a lot of pass plays to make that happen. He should still be drafted as a fantasy starting wide receiver because his best games should still be excellent, but there will likely also be weeks where he barely scores any fantasy points.
Concerns for the top New England Patriots wide receivers
Both DeMario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk had concerning usage in this game.
The Patriots started the game with K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton on the outside and DeMario Douglas in the slot. Douglas played in 10 of the Patriots’ first 15 snaps after missing last week’s game due to injury, but he only played in three-receiver sets. Considering four different wide receivers played in 12 personnel on those first three drives, that’s a good indication they don’t plan on playing Douglas much in 12 personnel this season.
In the eight games where Douglas played in at least 50% of his team's offensive snaps last season, Douglas played 98% of 11 personnel snaps and 63% of 12 personnel snaps. Typically, 5-foot-8 wide receivers don’t play much in 12 personnel, so we can expect a noteworthy reduction in Douglas' snaps this season.
For the second straight game, first-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk was K.J. Osborn's backup at Z receiver. There was speculation Osborn would be the X receiver, but that appears to be Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, or potentially even Kendrick Bourne. Polk only played two snaps with the starters on the Patriots' third drive before staying in with the backups on the fourth drive.
It is also interesting that in 11 personnel with the backups, he continues to play in the slot. Ideally, he would play almost exclusively at the Z receiver spot to give him the best chance to take Osborn’s job. The best-case scenario for fantasy managers is Polk starting at Z receiver while Douglas plays all of the snaps in 11 personnel, but we might also have a worst-case scenario where Polk doesn’t start and is taking away snaps from both Osborn and Douglas for part of the season.
Brenden Rice starts for the Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers had all of their top wide receivers available for this game, and Rice started.
On the Chargers' first drive, Joshua Palmer and Rice played on the outside with Ladd McConkey in the slot. Derius Davis oddly started the game in place of Palmer, with D.J. Chark Jr. also playing one snap from Palmer in 12 personnel.
On the second drive, Palmer stopped playing, making it clear he’s the top wide receiver on the depth chart. McConkey continued playing on the second drive. He played 100% of the Chargers' snaps in 11 personnel on those two drives, with no snaps in 12 personnel. He’s still someone to consider for fantasy purposes, but the fact that he didn’t play in any of the seven 12-personnel snaps is concerning. He will likely need those snaps to make him a fantasy starter this season.
Quentin Johnston, Chark and Rice began a rotation on the outside, a rotation that carried on into the third quarter. In the first half, Rice played 20 snaps, Chark 18 and Johnston 13 out of a possible 34 snaps. This should be some kind of three-man rotation to start the season, preventing any of them from being fantasy-relevant this season. It is impressive that Rice, a seventh-round rookie, appears to be potentially beating a former first-round pick and a veteran receiver this early into the preseason while so many third and fourth-round wide receivers are buried on their depth charts.
Jahan Dotson remains the Washington Commanders‘ slot receiver
Dotson was primarily an outside wide receiver his first two seasons in the NFL.
Dotson played both outside in two-receiver sets and in the slot with the Commanders in the first preseason game. He also played longer than most other starters. This was mostly optimistic news for Dotson because Kliff Kingsbury’s offenses have thrown significantly to the slot in the past, and players who play outside in two-receiver sets and inside in three-receiver sets generally score more fantasy points than those who stay outside.
Remarks by Dan Quinn said the Commanders were in the middle of the search for WR2, leaving some doubt as to where Dotson sits on the team. In this preseason game, we saw more of the same as the first game. The starting wide receivers, including Terry McLaurin, played one more drive than Jayden Daniels. On the first three drives, Dotson played all 17 snaps in 11 personnel, with Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus playing seven snaps each. If either receiver was close to surpassing Dotson, one would have likely taken some of those snaps. Kazmeir Allen was the only other player to play more than one snap in the slot on those first three drives. His spot in the slot seems relatively secure.
The question becomes how much does he play in two-receiver sets. In the first week, he played four of five snaps. In this game, it was three-of-five. It’s worth noting Dyami Brown only played on the first drive, and when he was in, he played the two snaps over Dotson this week. It seems like there could be a rotation here, but as long as Dotson plays at least half of the 12 personnel snaps and all of the 11 personnel snaps, he still has a chance to break out. Now is a time to buy Dotson while others are concerned about the coach's comments.
Khalil Shakir only played in the Buffalo Bills‘ three-receiver sets
Mack Hollins replaced Shakir in two-receiver sets with the starters.
In the first preseason game, Shakir played in seven of the first 11 snaps, including five-of-six in 11 personnel and two-of-five in 12 personnel. There was only one play where he and Curtis Samuel were on the field at the same time, so it seemed like the two were fighting for the same snaps.
Samuel didn’t play in this game, so Shakir should have played more. Mack Hollins didn’t play in the first game but did play tonight. Hollins took over for Marquez Valdes-Scantling in three-receiver sets but also prevented others from playing in 12 personnel, as it was consistently Hollins and Coleman.
Many consider Shakir a sleeper, but it will be hard for him to be a fantasy starter if he’s very rarely, if ever, playing in two-receiver sets. This will become more problematic if the Bills run a lot of two-tight-end sets.
This game was also good news for Coleman, who continues to play every snap even with Hollins is back. It’s looking more like Coleman could be the most reliable wide receiver in the offense.
Taysom Hill shines with the New Orleans Saints offense
Hill played 14 of a possible 22 snaps, lining up all over the field.
Hill played six snaps at tight end, four at halfback, four at fullback and one at slot receiver. Last week, he didn’t play at all at halfback but did play as an outside wide receiver. While the Saints are down some of their top skill players, it appears clear that Hill will be a major part of their offense.
Hill finished last season as the overall TE12. The year before, he finished as the TE9. There initially seemed to be some risk because of the new offensive coordinator, but if anything, it appears the new staff is even more willing to use Hill in the offense. He is one of the best options you can draft if you’re looking for a backup fantasy tight end or have waited too long to draft one, assuming he has tight end eligibility on the site you’re drafting.
Jonnu Smith is part of a rotation
Smith has experience in all personnel groupings throughout his career, but the Miami Dolphins might not be using him in an every-down role.
The Dolphins used three tight ends throughout the first half — Smith, Durham Smythe and Julian Hill. Smith was consistently playing in 11 personnel, but it was typically Smythe and Hill in 12 personnel and Hill in 21 personnel. This left Smith playing just over 50% of Miami's offensive snaps in the first half.
Smith played some snaps in 12 personnel, but it wasn’t the typical role. This was reminiscent of his time with the Tennessee Titans. While Smith is the Dolphins' clear top receiving tight end, it is very rare for someone to be a consistent fantasy starter without playing in the majority of 12 personnel snaps. There are better options if you’re looking for a deep sleeper at the position.
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