Preseason Week 1 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons

• De’Von Achane is fifth on the depth chart: He didn’t play until the second quarter and wasn’t particularly effective, but there is plenty of time for him to move up the depth chart.

• Robbie Chosen surprisingly didn’t play: He appeared on the third team on the Miami Dolphins‘ official depth chart and wasn’t announced among the several players not playing, but he was on the sideline in shorts.

• The Falcons rested everyone: Not only did the Falcons rest their starters, but several key backups, as well.

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De’Von Achane has work to do: Achane currently sits at fifth on the Dolphins’ running back depth chart.

Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. were both given the night off with the rest of the starters.
Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed were the only running backs to play for Miami in the first quarter.
The Dolphins started transitioning to more backups throughout the second quarter, particularly on the offensive line. This was when Achane started mixing in.
Gaskin put up a great performance, recording seven carries for 57 yards.
Achane continued playing into the third quarter but gained only 25 yards over his first 10 carries.
On the bright side, Achane did make a few nice catches. But he caught only one pass in the first three quarters.
Plenty of rookie running backs were far down the depth chart in the first week of the preseason last year, including Tyler Allgeier with the Atlanta Falcons and Rachaad White with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both worked their way up the depth chart quickly.
It’s far too early to give up on Achane for 2023, but this game hurt him more than it helped.

The Atlanta Falcons rested almost everyone: Atlanta didn’t use its top two quarterbacks, top three running backs, top three wide receivers and top two tight ends.

Interestingly, KhaDarel Hodge didn’t play. He was the Falcons’ fourth wide receiver last season.
Olamide Zaccheaus, Damiere Byrd and Bryan Edwards were all among the Falcons’ top five wide receivers last season and are no longer on the roster.
This implies Hodge is third on the depth chart, behind Drake London and free agent addition Mack Hollins.
It was also noteworthy that Parker Hesse played significantly in the first half after leading the Atlanta tight end room in offensive snaps last season with 619.
This means he is third on the depth chart, behind Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith.
His playing time could have just been due to a lack of healthy tight ends. The Falcons have six on the roster, and MyCole Pruitt was just added two weeks ago.

Miscellaneous Notes

The Dolphins announced ahead of the game that Tua Tagovailoa, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Alec Ingold, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Durham Smythe were among the starters not playing.
Wide receiver Braylon Sanders suffered a minor knee injury earlier in the week, so he was also among the 31 Dolphins ruled out before the game.
Dolphins free agent addition Robbie Chosen wasn’t among the players listed as not playing but was on the sideline in shorts. It’s unclear why he didn’t play, but based on training camp reports and the unofficial depth chart, it doesn’t seem like Chosen is an established starter

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.