• Adonai Mitchell has promising playing time: Mitchell played ahead of Alec Pierce on three-of-four snaps in 12 personnel for the Indianapolis Colts and scored the game’s first touchdown.
• Charlie Jones returns for the Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals returner made a highlight on the first play of the game and complicates the Bengals backup receiver battle.
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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.
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals
Promising Adonai Mitchell usage: Mitchell played multiple snaps in 12 personnel, suggesting he could be a full-time starter sooner rather than later.
Mitchell started training camp in a competition with Alec Pierce for the outside wide receiver spot opposite Michael Pittman Jr.. Josh Downs went down in training camp before the preseason game, which has moved Mitchell to the slot. This means we haven’t gotten a great indication of how snaps between Mitchell and Pierce might be distributed because, for the most part, they’ve both played at the same time.
In the first week of the preseason, the Colts played their starters for two drives, but they were in 11 personnel the entire time. Mitchell and Pierce played one more drive and shared both 12 personnel snaps, which suggests the Colts were willing to use Mitchell in that personnel grouping. The Colts rested their starters in the second game, which included Mitchell. That was another promising sign.
In Thursday night's game, the Colts used 12 personnel on four plays. Mitchell took three of them and Pierce took one. The one caveat is Pierce took the first one. This is a pretty small sample size and the fact that Pierce got the first shot needs to be factored in. It’s another promising sign that Mitchell can continue to play significant snaps even when Downs returns. He’s a rookie worth a late-round draft pick in deeper leagues. If he ends up as just an average rookie, he won’t be worth starting, but any rookie wide receiver has a chance to break out, and he will see the snaps to have an opportunity to break out.
Charlie Jones returns to the Bengals: The Bengals backup receiver and returner missed the last two games due to a knee injury.
Jones was a Bengals fourth-round pick a year ago and is expected to be the team’s primary punt returner at least. He was the Bengals' first punt returner for this game. He also made the case to be in on kick returns after taking the initial kickoff 48 yards. Trayveon Williams has also played on kick returns, and Chase Brown is expected to be the other player. Jones is listed fourth on the depth chart but will move up to third once the Bengals remove Chris Evans, who suffered a season-ending injury.
Jones also complicates Jermaine Burton’s path to playing time this season. The Bengals rested their top four wide receivers including Trenton Irwin and Andrei Iosivas. This means anyone who played in this game is fifth on the depth chart at best to start the season.
Burton has largely played in just 11 personnel in the preseason but not in 12 personnel, despite not playing in the slot. Jones was the primary slot receiver to start this game and should be the backup slot receiver in the regular season. Even 2023 undrafted receiver Shedrick Jackson has played more snaps than Burton in the first few drives each of the last two weeks. Burton remains seventh on the depth chart and will move to sixth if the Bengals keep six wide receivers and cut Jackson, but it doesn’t seem like Burton will see play much early in the season, and he could be in danger of being one of the Bengals' inactive players early in the season. He is not someone I would target in the vast majority of redraft leagues.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Colts backup running back Trey Sermon and tight end Jelani Woods did not play in this game due to injury.
- Colts starting slot receiver Josh Downs is no longer scooter-bound, which is at least a step in the right direction.
- Colts starting running back Jonathan Taylor played every snap on the first drive and then his day was done. There was nothing concerning about his usage.
- Backup wide receiver Ashton Dulin returned from injury and took one snap on the first drive. He was the only backup wide receiver to play a snap with the starters, and he was on the field once the backups entered the game. He is likely fifth on the depth chart, and fourth for as long as Downs is out.
- The Bengals rested quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Jake Browning, running backs Zack Moss and Chase Brown, wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trenton Irwin and Andrei Iosivas, and tight ends Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample.
Chicago Bears @ Kansas City Chiefs
Deneric Prince seems likely to make the roster: The former undrafted running back should make the 53-man roster despite losing a yard over his three carries.
The Chiefs opted not to re-sign Jerick McKinnon, opening up a spot on the roster for a younger running back. Kansas City didn’t add anyone new in the draft, allowing for a wide-open competition. Prince took the third, fourth, and part of the fifth drive in the Chiefs' first preseason game, appearing as the clear favorite to be the third back.
In the second game, Edwards-Helaire sat, and fullback Carson Steele played all of the snaps on the Chiefs' second and third drives. Prince did not come in until the fourth drive and played until the end of the third quarter.
Thursday night, Prince started over Steele, took all of the snaps on the first drive, and then didn’t return to the game. Steele took over after the first drive. Steele put up much better numbers, including a 31-yard run and scoring a one-yard touchdown.
Prince might end up as the fourth option of the four running backs, but if his roster spot was in danger, he probably wouldn’t have started. He also would have gotten more opportunities later in the game. The Chiefs used to consistently keep four running backs on the roster when they had Anthony Sherman, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if that happens again.
Nsimba Webster makes a case to be the WR4: Webster caught three passes for 68 yards as a starter in the game Thursday night.
The Bears top three wide receiver spots are locked in, but everything after that is up for debate. In the Hall of Fame game, Tyler Scott, Collin Johnson and DeAndre Carter were the wide receivers on the first drive. In the following game, Dante Pettis was in Johnson's place, but Webster didn’t play in either of those games.
Last week, Webster was one of the first wide receivers to play instead of Carter, who wasn’t playing, and Webster ended up with the most snaps. In this game, Scott and Webster started and played significantly more in the first half than Johnson or Carter, while Pettis didn’t play. While Scott was the favorite to be the fourth wide receiver, both Pettis and Webster have put up better numbers on fewer routes.
It’s also entirely possible the Bears don’t have a clear fourth wide receiver, but just backups for each of the starters. Pettis could be the backup slot, Webster the backup X receiver for D.J. Moore, and Scott the backup Z receiver for Rome Odunze. So far in the preseason, the Bears have had pretty strong tendencies for using their wide receivers in this manner. Therefore, if a Bears wide receiver were to get hurt this season, it might depend on which receiver gets hurt that will determine which backup plays more snaps.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Bears rested quarterback Caleb Williams, running backs D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert, wide receivers D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, and tight ends Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis.
- Velus Jones Jr. is very unlikely to make the roster. He changed from wide receiver to running back in this training camp. The Bears started their fourth running back Travis Homer, who took the first two drives. Undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler took the third drive before Jones took the fourth. This puts him sixth on the depth chart. Wide receiver DeAndre Carter was the primary returner Thursday night, so they don’t need him in the return game. Jones will be a candidate for the practice squad.
- The Chiefs rested quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz, running backs Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, wide receivers Rashee Rice, Justin Watson and Xavier Worthy, and tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray.
- Wide receiver Hollywood Brown remains out due to injury, and his status for Week 1 remains in question.
- Skyy Moore was dealing with an injury earlier in the week, which explains his low snap count, although it’s a little surprising he played at all. Moore is expected to make the roster. Likely, one or two of the Chiefs wide receivers who started Thursday will be released. Kadarius Toney is the favorite.
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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