Fantasy Football: 3 players who emerged in preseason Week 1

• WR Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals: Iosivas currently profiles as Cincinnati’s starting slot receiver in Week 1.

• RB Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers: Mason projects as San Francisco’s primary backup running back.

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Estimated Reading Time: 10 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 1 play and must now be targeted as high-upside, late-round fantasy football draft picks in both half-points-per-reception (half-PPR) and PPR scoring formats. 

WR Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals starting slot receiver role is up for grabs with stalwart slot receiver Tyler Boyd now a Tennessee Titan. Second-year wide receiver Andrei Iosivas’ positive drumbeat continued over the weekend, as he played well ahead of the talented but volatile third-round rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Iosivas is soundly emerging as the favorite to round out Cincinnati’s three-wide receiver sets–and potentially take over as the team’s No. 2 by season’s end. Boyd’s 61.6 PFF slot-receiving grade ranks 22nd among 32 NFL slot receivers with at least 205 slot-receiving snaps in 2023. Iosivas’ 63.3 PFF slot-receiving grade ranks 12th among 28 NFL rookie wide receivers with at least 25 slot-receiving snaps in 2023. Burton’s 68.5 PFF slot-receiving grade ties for 84th among 187 Power Five wide receivers with at least 55 slot-receiving snaps in 2023.

Iosivas received starter treatment, playing just one drive alongside No. 2 wide receiver Tee Higgins and backup Trenton Irwin. Iosiavas lined up in the slot for six-of-12 snaps and was the only Cincinnati starting wide receiver to take more than two snaps lined up on the inside. He caught one-of-one targets for 23 yards on the drive.

Burton was just the seventh Cincinnati wide receiver to enter the game, taking the field late in the second quarter per Nathan Jahnke. Both Higgins and Irwin logged nine perimeter wide receiver snaps on the first drive and combined for just three slot snaps between them. Higgins’ 70.9 PFF receiving grade ranks second among five Cincinnati wide receivers to log at least 100 receiving snaps in 2023 and Irwin’s 60.8 PFF receiving grade ranks fifth. 

The starting slot role is Iosivas’s to lose. 

Iosivas was identified last summer as a high-quality prospect who could quickly carve out a role in Cincinnati’s wide receiver corps. The call appears to have been made a year early. Boyd’s departure, coupled with Higgins’ likely post-2024 departure and recurring hamstring injuries, create a clear runway to fantasy relevance for Iosivas in 2024. Higgins has suffered five recorded hamstring strains since 2018, an injury which carries a positional 34.0% season-to-season recurrence rate per Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Edwin Porras’ “Injury prone draft guide and season long playbook.” DPT Porras places Higgins in his lowest yellow-player tier, which denotes players he hesitates to draft due to injury-related concerns.

Higgins has missed three or more games in two of the last three seasons, most recently missing five while functioning as an ineffectual decoy on more than one occasion. Though Higgins enters just his fifth NFL season in 2024, both his per-route target and yardage (YPRR) rates have steadily declined since 2021. Among 71 NFL wide receivers with at least 390 receiving snaps, his 18.7% target rate ranks 42nd and his 1.66 YPRR ties for 32nd.

Iosivas spent the offseason working with renowned personal wide receiver coach Drew Lieberman alongside Cincinnati running back Chase Brown. Lieberman heaped praise on the two pass catchers, saying “I would say Andrei and Chase made the fastest improvement of any players I’ve ever had in the program of 15 years doing this.” Brown’s 81.1 PFF receiving grade ranks fourth among 68 NFL running backs with at least 15 targets.

Iosivas is the best bet to start in the slot for Cincinnati in Week 1 and has a chance to overtake Higgins by the season’s end. Iosivas profiles as a matchup-based flex option early in the year.

RB Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason has been stuck in the No. 3 running back role since earning a roster spot as a 2022 undrafted free agent. Soft tissue injuries suffered by San Francisco’s Nos. 1, 2 and 4 running backs, coupled with improved play on Mason’s part, now have Mason projected for the primary backup role. Mason’s 93.0 PFF offense grade from 2022-to-2023 ranks No. 1 overall among 102 NFL running backs with at least 180 offensive snaps during that span. 

Incumbent No. 2 running back Elijah Mitchell has been plagued by injuries over the last three seasons. He is currently rehabilitating his second recorded hamstring strain and has five total knee injuries on his record as well. Per DPT Porras’ “Injury prone draft guide and season long playbook,” running backs with hamstring strains experience 24.0% weekly recurrence rates while knee injuries carry 21.0% season-to-season recurrence rates at the position. Mitchell’s 86.0 PFF offense grade over the last two seasons ranks 27th among qualifying running backs. 

Mason has reportedly seized the moment in training camp, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, having noticeably improved his three-down talents. 

Mason dominated first-team preseason opportunities as the healthy and available lead back, averaging 5.7 yards per rushing attempt and forcing one missed tackle while picking up two first downs and a short-yardage touchdown on six rushing attempts. Among 77 NFL preseason running backs with at least five rushing attempts, Mason’s 85.2 PFF preseason-rushing grade ranks second.

Mason has played at an elite level via limited regular- and post-season opportunities.

Mason’s 2022-to-2023 rushing data among 77 NFL running backs with at least 85 rushing attempts:

He is an excellent rusher in scoring position, converting 44.4% of his nine red zone rushing attempts for first downs and/or touchdowns and 50.0% of his four green zone rushing attempts in his time with San Francisco. Both rates rank No. 1 among San Francisco running backs over the last two seasons.

Mason is one of the NFL’s highest-valued backup running backs with bell-cow potential in 2024. 

RB Braelon Allen, New York Jets

New York Jets beat reporters have projected fourth-round rookie running back Braelon Allen as the backfield’s clear-cut No. 2 player for weeks. Jets coaches confirmed the assumption on Saturday when Allen received three-down-starter treatment with No. 1 running back Breece Hall safely resting on the sidelines. Allen’s 85.9 PFF offense grade from 2021-to-2023 ranks 18th among 30 Power Five running backs with at least 1,000 offensive snaps during that span. Hall’s  82.5 PFF offense grade in 2023 ranks sixth among 33 NFL running backs with at least 475 offensive snaps last year.

Allen was identified early in the prospect evaluation process as one of the best rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft. As a 17-year-old freshman in 2021, Allen rushed 185 times for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns. Though Allen’s 2023 final, junior season was negatively impacted by an October high-ankle sprain, he posted a career-high 0.27 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt rate while developing satisfactory pass-catching talents, catching 28-of-30 targets while averaging 7.3-plus yards after the catch per reception for the second consecution season. 

He demonstrated similar productivity on Saturday, averaging 3.5 yards after contact per rushing attempt and 9.0 yards per rushing attempt. The two marks respectively tie for ninth and rank second among 77 NFL preseason running backs with at least five rushing attempts. Though his 12-yard reception was ultimately struck from the record, he earned an 80.2 PFF receiving grade for his efforts. He logged 10 total snaps; six rushing, two receiving and two in pass protection.

Allen measured 6-foot-1, 235 pounds at the NFL combine this year, accurately reflecting his punishing college rushing profile. 

Allen’s 2021-to-2023 rushing data among 38 Power Five running backs with at least 350 rushing attempts during that span:

Allen also benefits from New York’s revamped offensive line. The unit ranks eighth overall and sixth in run-blocking in Nathan Jahnke’s offensive line rankings.

Allen is now a valuable primary backup running back entering Year 1.