• Tony Pollard leads the Tennessee Titans running backs: Pollard played the entire first drive but Tyjae Spears received plenty of snaps with the starters.
• Juwan Johnson returns to action: The New Orleans Saints tight end recently returned to practice and played a few snaps despite the rest of their starters sitting.
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Estimated reading time: 10 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.
Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints
Tony Pollard starts for the Titans: Pollard played every snap on the Titans' first drive.
Tyjae Spears entered the game for the second drive. Pollard returned for a fourth-and-1 passing play out of an unbalanced formation. Spears also played the first three plays with the backups before exiting the game.
All this means is Pollard is the starter, but this could remain a 50/50 split, or something close to that. In the first preseason game, Pollard played eight snaps with the starters to Spears' six. In that game, the two rotated more often. It’s possible the Titans just wanted to give them a chance to play a longer stretch in this game. Most teams play one running back for one drive and then put in another running back for another drive, regardless of what the rotation will be like in the season.
Pollard should be ranked ahead of Spears in most fantasy rankings, but this game shouldn’t move either player up or down.
Juwan Johnson starts for the Saints: Johnson returned from injury and showed he’s ready to play in Week 1.
Johnson had foot surgery in June, which put his ability to play at the start of the season in doubt, but he recently returned to practice. The Saints generally rested their starters for this game, but Johnson was likely an exception to give him some playing time before the regular season began. This probably doesn’t mean Johnson is now a backup to Foster Moreau, but weirder things have happened.
Johnson played nine-of-11 snaps on the first two drives and then left before the rest of the offensive players in the game. It’s unclear how the new coaching staff will distribute snaps between him and Moreau, but in two of the last three seasons, Kubiak’s offense has featured a top-six fantasy tight end in fantasy points per game. If you’re looking for a backup fantasy tight end, Johnson is someone worth considering.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins remains out with injury, but he is aiming to return for Week 1.
- Backup wide receiver Colton Dowell remains on the physically unable to perform list.
- Chigoziem Okonkwo played significantly with the starters, but Josh Whyle didn’t play in this game after suffering a concussion a week ago. Nick Vannett caught two passes with the starters, so this game wasn’t great news for Okonkwo.
- The Saints rested quarterback Derek Carr, running backs Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller, wide receivers Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Cedrick Wilson Jr., and tight ends Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau.
- A.T. Perry ended last season as a starter but has consistently been sixth on the depth chart throughout the preseason. He didn’t start Sunday but joined on three-receiver sets, further showing his spot on the depth chart.
Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos
Audric Estime plays except for third downs: Estime led the Broncos down the field for a touchdown on the first drive but was taken off the field on third and fourth down.
The Broncos rested their starters and most of their top backups, but Estime played. He only played for one drive, running five times for 17 yards and a touchdown while catching a 14-yard pass. The fact that he left the game before some other players is generally a good thing.
The concern is that the fifth and sixth plays of the drive were only third and fourth downs during his time, and Estime was taken off the field for Tyler Badie. The Broncos reportedly see Estime as a three-down back and say his improvements need to be in pass protection and as a receiver. He only played in three of a possible 20 snaps on third-and-medium or long in the first two preseason games. Samaje Perine and Badie played most of those snaps. It would have been nice to see Estime play a three-down role in this game rather than an early-down role.
This likely means that if Perine is released, Jaleel McLaughlin will be the third-down back more often than not.
Cardinals competition for the backup receiver spots: The top backup job will be particularly important early in the season with Zay Jones’ suspension.
Jones was recently suspended for the first five games of the season. He was expected to be the top backup, even though he hasn’t played in the preseason yet. Veterans Zach Pascal and Chris Moore will both make the roster, but it’s unclear who will be higher on the depth chart. Both have started each preseason game, but neither has produced much — both averaged a catch per game over the preseason.
Despite the lack of production, no one below them has done enough to surpass them, and the only young investment the Cardinals have made is in sixth-round rookie Tejhaun Palmer. The Cardinals rested both Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch all preseason, so both players will play a lot early in the season. Both starters can be considered sleepers heading into fantasy drafts.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Cardinals rested quarterback Kyler Murray, running backs James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado, Michael Carter and DeeJay Dallas, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch and Zay Jones, and tight ends Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins and Tip Reiman.
- The Broncos rested quarterback Bo Nix, running backs Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Samaje Perine, wide receivers Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Josh Reynolds, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Marvin Mims Jr., and tight ends Adam Trautman and Greg Dulcich.
- Mims' playing time wasn't ideal in the first two preseason games, but the fact that he rested this game while David Sills played is generally a good sign he’s at least top-five on the receiver depth chart.
New England Patriots @ Washington Commanders
Patriots are unsettled at wide receiver: The Patriots sat some starters while others only played one drive. The wide receivers kept rotating throughout the first three drives.
The Patriots started Tyquan Thornton and K.J. Osborn as they’ve done in the first two preseason games. In the first two games, there was a clear switch between when the starting wide receivers were playing and when they switched to backups. That didn’t happen in this game.
Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk started rotating in for Osborn on the second drive, but later, Osborn returned to the game. The two continued to rotate through three drives. Polk kept the Z-receiver spot after that. Thornton kept playing in the second drive, but rookie Javon Baker played four snaps in his place and also started the two-minute drill. By the middle of the second quarter, Jalen Reagor started playing. DeMario Douglas was the slot receiver throughout the first three drives while Osborn played in the slot in the fourth and fifth and Polk took the slot to start the two-minute drill, with Osborn returning out wide.
We can be confident that Douglas won’t see much, or any, playing time in two-receiver sets. He’s constantly only played in 11 personnel throughout the preseason. That puts a ceiling on his fantasy upside.
Sunday night is also bad news for Reagor, as he was rotating with Thornton in the first two games, and now he’s fallen on the depth chart. Reagor has been the primary returner in the preseason, but Marcus Jones is listed as the starter on the depth chart. Jones was one of the best kick and punt returners in 2022, but he only played in this game and didn’t return kicks. Reagor’s chances of making the roster depend on when Kendrick Bourne is back and healthy.
Commanders slot receiver remains a mystery: The Commanders rested all three receivers who were most likely to take over in the slot.
In the first two preseason games, Jahan Dotson was their slot receiver. This past week, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Commanders had three in-house options to take over in the slot. Jamison Crowder has made a career out of playing in the slot while third-round rookie Luke McCaffrey has also been a slot receiver.
McCaffrey only played in the second half of the first preseason game, and he only played with backups in the second game. That made it a little surprising that he was among the players not playing in this game, and it was a generally positive sign for him.
Free agent addition Olamide Zaccheaus had been a primary slot receiver the last few seasons but has been playing outside for Washington this preseason. He wasn’t announced as one of the several players not playing, but he did not play an offensive snap. It would have been interesting to see if he was part of the competition.
2023 undrafted player Mitchell Tinsley consistently played in the slot, but he is unlikely to make the roster despite making multiple catches in this game. We might not know who the starting slot receiver is until the Commanders first play out of 11 personnel.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Commanders rested quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Sam Hartman, running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Dyami Brown, Jamison Crowder, Olamide Zaccheaus and Luke McCaffrey, and tight ends Zach Ertz, John Bates and Ben Sinnott.
- The Patriots didn’t play tight ends Hunter Henry or Mitchell Wilcox due to injury. Henry has been dealing with a leg injury but is expected to be ready for the regular season.
- Rhamondre Stevenson and Austin Hooper didn’t play and are presumably both OK.
- Antonio Gibson played the first five plays in his revenge game and then his day was done.
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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