• Tank Dell scores but doesn’t start: Dell wasn’t one of the two wide receivers in two-receiver sets, but he scored a 34-yard touchdown to remind everyone of his speed and talent.
• Pat Freiermuth also doesn’t start: Kyle Pitts didn’t always start in Arthur Smith’s offense last year in a heavy tight end rotation, and it appears the same will be true for Freiermuth this year.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers
First look at the Texans wide receiver rotation: Tank Dell was the third wide receiver on the depth chart, but he was the one to score a touchdown.
The Texans only ran six plays with the starters. Two of those plays were two-receiver sets that included Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs while Dell joined them for the other four plays in 11 personnel. This tells us that Dell is currently third on the depth chart, but it’s fair to assume that Dell could see some playing time in 12 personnel this season.
The presumed fourth wide receiver, Noah Brown, didn't play in this game, so we also don’t have a great sense of how much he or others could rotate in.
The biggest piece of information we gained is in the slot. Diggs was the slot receiver for three of the four plays out of 11 personnel, and Dell was the slot receiver for the others. All three wide receivers have more yards per route run lined up out wide compared to in the slot in recent seasons, so if anything, this was good news for Collins. None of the players should see a significant change in ADP in any direction after this game.
Concerning rotation of Steelers tight ends: Arthur Smith is the Steelers' new offensive coordinator, and he brought a rotation at tight end with him.
The Steelers' top three tight ends are Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and MyCole Pruitt. Pruitt has been part of Smith’s tight end rotation with both the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. While Freiermuth played the most snaps and ran the most routes with the starters, he was never on the field in two tight end sets. All three were on the field for three plays out of 13 personnel while Washington and Pruitt took three snaps out of 12 personnel. This left Freiermuth with all but two snaps from 11 or 21 personnel; Washington played in the other two.
The Steelers only used 12 personnel on 18% of the snaps in this game, but Smith’s Falcons used 12 personnel more than any team last year at 41.5%. Going back to his time with the Tennessee Titans, they’ve consistently been among the top-12 teams in 12 personnel usage. It is near-impossible for someone to be a consistent fantasy starter without being one of the two primary tight ends in 12 personnel.
Chances are Freiermuth would play some snaps in that group at some point, but this situation seems very similar to Jonnu Smith when he was with the Titans. He’s a promising enough tight end who won’t play enough snaps to get enough volume.
One piece to the Steelers wide receiver rotation seems set: Van Jefferson has clearly emerged as a starting wide receiver for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers ran three drives with the starters, and the only time Jefferson was off the field was two plays out of 13 personnel where George Pickens was the only wide receiver. When the Steelers switched to using backups, some first-teamers kept playing, including the wide receivers below Jefferson on the depth chart, but not Jefferson. It seems unlikely that Brandon Aiyuk will be traded to the Steelers, so Jefferson could start the entire season. He’s only worth a very late-round draft pick in deeper leagues, as any wide receiver who plays the vast majority of snaps is worth something.
How snaps are distributed in the slot is still up for grabs. Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson missed this game due to a left ankle sprain and is considered week to week. He was reportedly fighting for the slot spot. Calvin Austin III was listed ahead of him on the initial depth chart and played the slot snaps out of 11 personnel with the starters tonight.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Steelers projected third-string running back Cordarrelle Patterson was removed from the non-football injury list Friday but didn’t play in this game. That is a good sign he will be ready for the regular season.
- The rotation between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren was remarkably similar to last season.
- The Steelers rested a few key veterans, but they were mostly defensive players.
- The Texans that did not play due to injury included starting running back Joe Mixon, backup wide receiver Noah Brown, and backup tight ends Brevin Jordan and Teagan Quitoriano.
- Dameon Pierce played every snap with the starters, showing he is still the clear backup running back. Pierce continued playing after other starters left the game.
- Dare Ogunbowale remains third on the depth chart. The Texans listed Jawhar Jordan fourth, Cam Akers fifth and J.J. Taylor sixth, but for the second straight preseason game, Taylor was the first of the three to play a snap.
- Dalton Schultz played every snap with the starters and continued playing with the backups, which shouldn’t be alarming because the Texans had very few healthy tight ends.
- Steelers backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was the team’s primary kick returner for this game.
Atlanta Falcons @ Miami Dolphins
Don’t panic about Jaylen Wright: Wright is currently fifth on the Dolphins depth chart, the same spot De’Von Achane was one year ago.
Three of the four running backs ahead of him didn’t play Friday night while Jeff Wilson Jr. played every snap on the Dolphins' first four drives. Wright came in on the fifth drive. It’s not uncommon for a mid-round rookie running back to be low on the depth chart in their first preseason game before working their way up from there. Achane was the prime example of this last season.
At least one of Wilson and Salvon Ahmed won’t make the roster this year, and there is plenty of time for Wright to surpass both players on the depth chart.
A new look to the Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons rested everyone relevant to fantasy football, but we still caught a glimpse of what the Falcons offense will look like.
The Falcons ran 24 plays with Michael Penix Jr. on the field over the course of five drives, and they lined up in 11 personnel for 23 of the 24 plays. Last season, they ran, at most, 12 plays out of 11 personnel on the first five drives of games and an average of 4.5. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson came from the Los Angeles Rams, who used 11 personnel on 94.7% of their offensive snaps last season, and Friday night was a 95.6% rate. The Falcons used it the least last season at a 17.1% rate.
This means Ray-Ray McCloud III will play at least 80% of Atlanta's offensive snaps most weeks. It also means the running backs will see a lot less eight-man boxes, and it should mean Kyle Pitts will be on the field a lot more. The Falcons would supposed to transition to a somewhat similar offense to the Rams, but it’s a little surprising the personnel usage was this on the nose.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Falcons rested their starters on offense, including quarterback Kirk Cousins, running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, wide receivers Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud III, and tight ends Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner.
- This makes it pretty clear McCloud III is expected to be the third wide receiver in three-receiver sets this season while Woerner is the favorite for the second tight end spot behind Pitts.
- Carlos Washington Jr. started the game at running back but rotated some with Jase McClellan. That’s a good sign McClellan could take over the job eventually.
- The Dolphins rested quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, running backs Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane and Salvon Ahmed, wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios, Erik Ezukanma and Anthony Schwartz, and tight ends Jonnu Smith, Durham Smythe and Julian Hill.
- Ahmed, Waddle, Berrios, Ezukanma and Schwartz were not at joint practice two days ago, presumably due to injury.
- Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. remains on the physically unable to perform list.
- Sixth-round rookie wide receiver Malik Washington was the Dolphins' primary kick returner.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Baltimore Ravens
Kenneth Gainwell is currently ahead of Will Shipley: Gainwell is penciled in the second spot, but his job could still be in danger.
Gainwell played all of his snaps before Shipley played his first snap. The Eagles have recently used this kind of rotation in the preseason, giving no indication of how running backs could be rotated situationally. Shipley's first positive note is he’s already third on the depth chart rather than further down. Running backs who were drafted earlier than Shipley won’t be as high this season.
It’s also somewhat surprising that Gainwell played at all. Gainwell only played eight offensive snaps in the preseason last year, all from their second preseason game. Plenty of teams who rest their starters rest both of their top players. Gainwell was taken out well before any of the other offensive players who played for the Eagles Friday night. The Eagles also had plenty of other backups who could have used the playing time. This makes it seem like his job as the second running back might not be safe.
Devontez Walker buried down the depth chart: Walker didn’t play his first offensive snap until late in the second quarter.
The Ravens rested their three starting wide receivers, but Walker wasn’t among the three who started in this game. It’s common enough for a highly drafted rookie to be fifth or sixth on the depth chart, but Walker is, at best, seventh.
The Ravens were also missing Deonte Harty, who could also presumably be ahead of Walker. Even Qadir Ismail, an undrafted rookie who is learning both wide receiver and tight end, played some snaps in the slot before Walker’s first offensive snap.
Walker played his first snap at 5:34 in the second quarter. Undrafted rookie Dayton Wade played his first offensive snap at the same time. Isaiah Washington and Sean Ryan joined on the following play, representing the bottom players on the depth chart. There is plenty of time for Walker to work his way up the depth chart, but it’s a far climb for him to find fantasy-relevant playing time.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Eagles rested quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Parris Campbell, and tight end Dallas Goedert.
- Eagles fifth-round wide receiver Ainias Smith was the team's second punt returner but returned the first two punts for only 10 yards. He also didn’t play his first offensive snap until the second half, placing him ninth on the depth chart behind sixth-round rookie Johnny Wilson, who started Friday night.
- Grant Calcaterra appears to be Goedert's handcuff based on his 11 personnel usage Friday night, but C.J. Uzomah or Albert Okwuegbunam may earn more playing time this season due to their run blocking.
- The Ravens rested quarterback Lamar Jackson, running backs Derrick Henry and Justice Hill, wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor, and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
- Running back Keaton Mitchell remains on the physically unable to perform list and is expected to miss at least the start of the season.
- Wide receiver Deonte Harty also missed this game due to injury. He’s expected to be the Ravens' primary returner.
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.
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