Preseason Week 3 Recap: Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Friday's games

• Evan Engram scores twice: The Jacksonville Jaguars‘ lead tight end scored twice but might not be on the field as much this year.

• Jalen McMillan shines with the starters: The rookie wide receiver played every snap on the first drive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ starters and brought in a 28-yard reception.

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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.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Atlanta Falcons

Evan Engram’s interesting utilization: The Jaguars tight end scored twice against the Falcons backups but also exited the field a little more than usual.

In the Jaguars’ first preseason game, Engram played in six of a possible nine snaps with the starters. His median snap share last season was 79%, playing at least 70% in 15-of-17 games. It was a small sample size so just one more snap would have made his usage that week perfectly normal. Engram and the rest of the Jaguars starters rested last week.

In this game, he played 15 of a possible 23 snaps (65%). He mostly leaves the field in run situations, but if this usage keeps up throughout the regular season, it will force him to run fewer routes each week, leading to fewer opportunities to accumulate receiving stats. Engram turns 30 years old before the season and just spent a second-round pick on a tight end last season in Brenton Strange, so it’s understandable why they might restrict his playing time a little more this season.

He shined, but the offense didn’t have Christian Kirk. It’s worth noting Engram’s fantasy value exploded last season without Kirk in the lineup. It’s also worth noting he lined up in the backfield on four plays, which wasn’t usual for him last season. The Jaguars may be trying new ways to get him involved.

While this is all a slight negative toward Engram, if he can remain the clear red zone target for Jacksonville despite Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr.’s track record of scoring touchdowns, then this won’t matter and Engram fantasy managers will be just fine.

Chris Blair fights for a roster spot: Blair caught two passes for 18 yards in the first half with the Falcons offense.

Over the last two games, the Falcons have rested all of the players who are assured a roster spot. This has left Casey Washington, Blair and Dylan Drummond as the primary wide receivers in the first half. Washington is likely to make the roster given what the Falcons invested in him, which means Blair is only going to make the roster if they keep six receivers.

He made the Falcons’ most recent 53-man roster projection on their own website, noting his previous preseason performances. He’s been the Falcons’ highest-graded wide receiver over the first two games with a 74.9 grade, catching six passes for 136 yards and 3.40 yards per route run. The Falcons spent most of the first half facing the Jaguars' starting defense, leading to the entire offense struggling, but he was the most impactful skill player outside of Washington.

There is a change the Falcons only keep five wide receivers, or they might end up bringing in someone from a different team, but right now, Blair seems to have a roster spot. If one of the outside wide receivers suffers an injury, Blair could start having a role in the offense.

Miscellaneous Notes

• It was reported before the game that backup running back Keilan Robinson and slot wide receiver Christian Kirk wouldn’t be playing due to injury.
• Brian Thomas Jr. took a few snaps off with the starters in this game, which also happened last week when Thomas was playing with the backups. This means Christian Kirk should at least play some snaps in 12 personnel over Thomas, and Parker Washington should play even when everyone is healthy.
• When the Jaguars took the starters off the field, Thomas was also taken out, which is a generally good sign for him.
• Travis Etienne Jr. played 74% of Jacksonville's offensive snaps with the starters, which is notably less than the first half of the season when he averaged 20.5 fantasy points per game, but notably more than the second half of the season when he averaged 13.2 fantasy points per game.
• The Falcons rested quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr., running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, wide receivers Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud III, KhaDarel Hodge, and tight ends Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley. These are the same starters and top backups who sat last week.

Miami Dolphins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jalen McMillan makes a big play: McMillian played all seven snaps with the starters, but it’s too early for McMillian fantasy managers to celebrate.

McMillan and Trey Palmer have been competing for the Buccaneers' third wide receiver spot. The Buccaneers rested their starters in the first two preseason games while McMillan and Palmer started both games as outside receivers. This did not indicate who would be the starter.

The Buccaneers played their starters in this game, except Mike Evans sat out. Trey Palmer also didn’t play, presumably due to a minor unreported injury. McMillan and Ryan Miller were the top outside wide receivers, so this also didn’t give any indication of how snaps would be distributed between McMillan and Palmer.

This was an opportunity for him to pull ahead with a nice 28-yard catch. He should be the favorite to start, but it won’t be surprising if Palmer mixes in at times.

Jaylen Wright remains fourth on the depth chart: Wright didn’t play his first offensive snaps until the second quarter.

Wright started the season fifth on the depth chart behind Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Salvon Ahmed. Ahmed was released four days ago, which moved Wright up to fourth.

The Dolphins rested Mostert and Achane in this game while Wilson played the entire first quarter. This is a good sign that Wilson will make the roster in addition to the Dolphins keeping at least four running backs. This also makes it unlikely Wright gets too involved in the offense early in the season. That’s good news for both Mostert and Achane's fantasy managers.

It’s worth noting that Achane was in this exact position a year ago in a crowded Dolphins’ backfield. It took a few injuries for him to start playing. While Wright might not be very involved in September, he could be very involved by December.

Miscellaneous Notes

• There were reports this offseason that Chris Godwin would return to the slot after playing mostly out wide last season. In his first preseason action, those reports were true. He played in the slot for six-of-seven snaps.
• Rachaad White played all seven snaps with the starters and was immediately followed by Bucky Irving, who played the next few drives. This didn’t give much of an indication of how playing time might be split between the two. White remains at the top of the depth chart.
• The Dolphins rested quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and tight ends Jonnu Smith, Durham Smythe and Julian Hill.
• Dolphins wide receiver Erik Ezukanma was spotted with a boot on his foot during warmups. Odell Beckham Jr. also remains out due to injury on the physically unable to perform list. River Cracraft was also out due to injury.

San Francisco 49ers @ Las Vegas Raiders

Jordan Mason shines for the 49ers: Mason ran eight times for 42 yards and a touchdown while dominating first-team snaps for San Francisco.

The 49ers didn’t have Christian McCaffrey or Elijah Mitchell in this game, but Mason showed he is clearly ahead of rookie Isaac Guerendo on the depth chart. Mason played 20-of-23 snaps with the starters, only taking a three-play stretch off on a long drive. Guerendo at least made his mark with the biggest kick return of the preseason, gaining 93 yards. He isn’t listed on the depth chart as a kick returner, but after this week, he might have the job.

There has been speculation that Mason will be the 49ers' primary backup this season. Ideally, Mitchell was healthy and also would have played, which would have enabled us to confirm this, but Mason remains a solid handcuff option. It was similarly difficult to come to any conclusions around the 49ers' wide receiver and tight end depth chart with so many players not playing.

Dylan Laube starts for the Raiders: He was the Raiders' primary offensive weapon early on, but he also lost a fumble.

The Raiders rested all skill players guaranteed to make the roster, but Laube had to play. On one hand, it would have been nice for Laube to get grouped with the other players, but on the other, it’s understandable to give a sixth-round rookie running back more playing time in the preseason.

He worked his way up the depth chart last week with some second-quarter playing time, rotating with Zamir White, but a lot of his work last week was specifically in passing situations. In this game, he was an every-down back.

Laube touched the ball on four-of-seven plays on the first two drives but didn’t have a lot of success against a mix of 49ers starters and backups. He lost a fumble, which wasn’t great, but he also exited the game after those two drives, which is a relatively positive sign. This game shouldn’t change anyone’s opinion on the rookie running back.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The 49ers rested running back Christian McCaffrey along with a few top defenders.
• Halfback Elijah Mitchell, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall didn’t play, presumably due to injury. Mitchell had recently returned to practice. Logan Thomas also didn’t play after recently re-signing with the team.
• Jauan Jennings was among the players noted before the game, but he didn’t play.
• Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is continuing his hold-in with the team, although he did travel to this game.
• The Raiders rested quarterbacks Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell, running backs Zamir White, Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah, wide receivers Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and D.J. Turner, and tight ends Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Harrison Bryant.
• Most notable was Turner, who was the favorite for the fourth receiving spot after starting last week, but this adds more evidence that he is fourth on the depth chart.

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.