Preseason Week 3 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens

• The Buccaneers have a heated battle for WR3: Four players remain in contention for taking Russell Gage’s vacated spot.

• Justice Hill is locked in as a top-three Ravens running back: Hill only played on the first drive, which further locks him into a roster spot.

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PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2023. You can find more information on why it’s essential to pay attention to the preseason here.

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The Buccaneers’ quest for their third wide receiver continues: It’s still not fully clear who will be the team’s third receiver after Russell Gage landed on injured reserve.

• Tampa Bay has four wide receivers in contention. Veteran David Moore, 2022 undrafted free agents Kaylon Geiger and Deven Thompkins and sixth-round rookie Trey Palmer.
• Tampa Bay rested both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin last week.
• Geiger and Moore started last week’s game and played into the third quarter, while Thompkins and Palmer also saw playing time in the first quarter and were done by halftime.
• Godwin played for two drives and started with Moore and Thompkins. Geiger and Palmer began mixing in on the second drive.
• Moore and Palmer have played primarily on the outside, while Geiger and Thompkins have played primarily in the slot this preseason.
• Considering Godwin is the starting slot receiver most of the time, it’s likely that Moore and Palmer might be best suited to take the third receiver spot.
• It wouldn’t be surprising if Moore, who is the most senior of the group, receives the most playing time of the four in Week 1 but Palmer slowly takes over.
• This also might not be a black-and-white situation. All four wide receivers could see a little bit of playing time.
• None of the four have stood out from the rest in terms of statistics or PFF grade.

Justice Hill remains a top-three running back: Hill played only on the first drive.

• All four plays on his drive were passes to wide receivers or tight ends, so Hill didn’t show up on the stat line.
• He played ahead of Gus Edwards in the first preseason game, but Edwards had the second game off while Hill played.
• It might not matter who the primary backup is, as Edwards will probably be the backup in running situations and Hill in receiving situations.
• Melvin Gordon III is unlikely to make the roster unless the Ravens keep four running backs. Gordon is 30 years old, and there is at least a chance this was the last game of his NFL career.
• Undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell has received plenty of praise but seems destined for the practice squad.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The Ravens rested quarterback Lamar Jackson, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay, and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
• Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans didn’t play at all this preseason after seeing at least a few snaps in every other preseason.
• Buccaneers running back Rachaad White continued playing into the third drive, dominating snaps. He played 17 in the first quarter to four by Ke’Shawn Vaughn.

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.