• RB Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs: Steele has an outside chance at stealing the No. 2 running back role.
• WR Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: McMillan excelled in his preseason perimeter wide receiver role.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
While most established NFL starters have little to gain or lose through preseason play, players on the fantasy football margins can rise to must-draft status via revealing snap counts or standout performances with the starters.
The article below details three such players who have emerged through NFL preseason Week 3 play and should be targeted as high-upside, late-round fantasy football draft picks in both half-points-per-reception and PPR scoring formats.
RB Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs undrafted free agent rookie fullback-to-halfback convert Carson Steele appears to have made the final roster following his efficient NFL preseason campaign. Steele profiles as a late-round dart throw who should be stashed on benches early in the season to see how the depth chart shakes out. His 76.1 PFF overall grade in the preseason ranks seventh among 69 qualifying running backs.
The 6-foot-1, 228-pound Steele demonstrated surprising burst and change-of-direction abilities at UCLA’s pro day. His highlights include a 37.5-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot-8 broad jump, a 7.07-second three-cone drill, a 1.60-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash and 28 bench press repetitions.
Both his athleticism and tackle-breaking skills were on display throughout August. Steele tied for the fourth-most missed tackles forced (nine) while tying for just the 87th-highest rushing workload (11 rushing attempts). Among 108 NFL preseason running backs with at least 10 rushing attempts, Steele ranked third in yards per rushing attempt (7.9) and first in missed tackles forced per rushing attempt (0.82), yards after contact per rushing attempt (7.4) and first down-plus-touchdown conversion rate (54.5%). His 86.1 PFF rushing grade ranked third.
Steele netted negative yardage as a receiver (-3.0) yet caught both of his targets and forced two missed tackles in the process. He earned a 56.4 PFF receiving grade.
Kansas City’s running back depth chart is at least somewhat unsettled. Veteran running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the presumed primary backup but was sidelined by an illness in preseason Week 2, allowing Steele to take 11 first-team offense snaps, per PFF senior fantasy analyst Nathan Jahnke’s preseason Week 2 recap. Steele totaled 13 more first-team offense snaps the following week. Second-year running back Deneric Prince is also competing for opportunities. Edwards-Helaire earned a 53.7 PFF preseason overall grade, while Prince earned a 57.2 mark.
Steele makes for an intriguing late-round dart throw playing behind Jahnke’s seventh-ranked offensive line for fantasy football. He has an outside chance at earning the No. 2 running back spot early in the regular season.
WR Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Third-round rookie Jalen McMillan emerged as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver, excelling on the perimeter in his three preseason appearances. McMillan’s 82.5 PFF overall grade this preseason ranked eighth among 231 qualifying wide receivers.
As discussed on the PFF Fantasy Podcast’s “Sleeper Wide Receivers“ show, McMillan broke out as Washington’s star slot receiver in 2022. His access to NFL regular-season snaps was initially in jeopardy after he landed in Tampa Bay, with veteran wide receiver Chris Godwin reportedly returning to the slot this season after logging a 66.7% pre-snap alignment perimeter rate in 2023. McMillan rose to the preseason challenge by thriving in Godwin’s vacated role. McMillan logged 21 perimeter snaps and eight slot snaps this preseason and was never once relegated to playing special teams. Godwin earned an 80.7 PFF overall grade this preseason.
As detailed in Jahnke’s preseason Week 3 recap, McMillan’s competition for the No. 3 role, wide receiver Trey Palmer (undisclosed minor injury), was unable to play in the preseason finale. McMillan took seven first-team repetitions alongside Godwin in the game, securing a contested catch against double coverage for a 28-yard gain.
Jalen McMillan going up and coming down with it!
📱: Stream #MIAvsTB on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/OJWxWH5t6n
— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2024
Among 132 wide receivers this preseason with at least four targets earned when lined up on the perimeter, McMillan tied for eighth in target rate (44.4%) and ranked first in yards per route run (5.67). Though his slot usage was limited, he notably earned a respectable 28.6% target rate when lined up on the interior.
Among 131 wide receivers with at least six targets this preseason, McMillan’s 80.9 PFF receiving grade ranked 12th. He concluded the preseason with one contested catch, one missed tackle forced and two explosive pass plays. Palmer posted a 70.8 PFF receiving grade and earned two targets this preseason.
Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles withheld incumbent Week 1 starters in preseason Weeks 1 and 2 and used Week 3 to ease select players into action. Bowles utilized three-wide receiver sets (11 personnel) for all seven first-team snaps in the final week, which makes McMillan’s access to regular season two-wide receiver, two-tight end sets (12 personnel) somewhat unclear. Seven of his 22 preseason Weeks 1 and 2 snaps occurred in 12 personnel packages, however, which bodes positively for his access to the fantasy-friendly role.
McMillan has already emerged as Tampa Bay’s No. 3 wide receiver and should be regularly drafted as a late-round re-draft league target.
WR Jordan Whittington, Los Angeles Rams
Sixth-round rookie Jordan Whittington successfully transferred his college post-catch skill set to the NFL preseason. He was given the night off in Week 3, indicating Whittington has already secured a regular-season roster spot; head coach Sean McVay rests starters and potential contributors in the preseason once the player’s roster spot is decided. If Whittington plays well in Weeks 1-5, he could emerge from the Week 6 bye competing for the No. 3 wide receiver role. Whittington’s 78.5 PFF overall grade in the preseason ranked third among 69 wide receivers with at least 75 offensive snaps.
Whittington excelled as a post-catch dominator working in the short-to-intermediate parts of the field at Texas. Among 68 Power Five wide receivers with at least 125 targets from 2022 to 2023, Whittington tied for 59th in average depth of target (7.7), ranked 15th in yards after the catch per reception (6.5) and ranked seventh in missed tackles forced per reception (0.30).
This preseason, he tied for 16th in average target depth (7.5), ranked second in both yards after the catch per reception (4.8) and yards per route run (2.68) and ranked first in target rate (36.2%). His 77.8 PFF receiving grade placed third.
Late-July beat reports suggested McVay could utilize 12 personnel more often this season, but his preseason personnel deployments indicate otherwise. The offense totaled 175 11-personnel snaps, the second-most among NFL preseason offenses, and just 13 12-personnel snaps, the second fewest. Los Angeles’ offense will continue to feature three wide receivers at, or near, a league-high rate.
Whittington’s path to the No. 3 role is currently blocked by veteran wide receivers Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell. Robinson’s fantasy relevance is tethered to the full-time No. 3 wide receiver role, as detailed in the aforementioned PFF Fantasy Podcast’s Sleeper Wide Receivers show. Robinson’s late-season heroics elevated him to the gig formerly held by Atwell, though Robinson’s career 58.3 PFF receiving grade, coupled with his failure to eclipse 510 single-season receiving yards in eight NFL seasons, adequately reflects his replacement-level talent. Atwell’s career 69.1 PFF receiving grade bests Robinson’s, but his limited downfield skill set (24.5% deep-target rate) has already rendered him a situational receiving asset.
Whittington’s preseason emergence gives him a chance to carve out a role in Los Angeles’ three-wide receiver-based offense.
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