🥡 Preseason Week 1 Takeaways

Overreactions and Plenty of RB Movement

Author

Jen of Deep Dive Fantasy
August 15, 2023

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We finally got our first taste of real NFL action for the 2023 season as the first week of the preseason kicked off last week. Here are five fantasy-relevant takeaways from the first set of games.

We may like, even ❤️ drafting Jordan Love as a QB2: It was just two series for the Packers QB but Love was pretty encouraging in that small sample size. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, connecting with five different pass-catchers, and was 4-for-5 for 28 yards on play-action. Love’s ADP is currently QB26 in the 11th round in early Yahoo drafts.

That much-needed step forward for Kenny Pickett 👀 promising: It was just one series for the first-team offense but Pickett looked poised and composed as he went through his progressions, going 6-for-7 for 70 yards and a touchdown. Diontae Johnson caught an 11-yard pass to convert 3rd-and-10 while George Pickens hauled in a 33-yard score on 3rd-and-8. Keep firing up those Steelers at their depressed ADPs.

Viking Ty Chandler wants that RB2 gig 🏈: After failing to stand out in camp, the sophomore took advantage of an extended look on Thursday night as he rushed for 41 yards on 11 carries with an additional 29 yards on four catches in the first half.

✌🏼Deuce (Vaughn) can get loose: The sixth-round pick for Dallas, Deuce Vaughn, looked great in his NFL debut. Knocked for his height (5-foot-5), he ended the game with 50 yards on eight carries with three receptions for six yards. Vaughn's efforts likely pushed him closer to a backup role behind Tony Pollard this season and he’s basically free on all sites.

It looks like D.J. Moore is stoked to be in Chicago 🐻: On a quick screen from Justin Fields, Moore sped past multiple Titan defenders for 62 yards to the house. It was a pleasure to see for both real and fake football purposes after the Bears sat dead last in yards after the catch in 2022. Moore’s ADP has been slightly depressed at WR20 but that will likely correct after his Chicago debut.

It’s been tough to get too excited about Derek Carr in New Orleans but maybe this photo of his jacked arms plus his solid performance of 70 yards and a touchdown on six passes on Sunday will move the needle. Carr is currently slightly undervalued as QB25 in early Yahoo leagues.

  • Zach Ertz is back in the mix after rehabbing from a torn ACL and MCL he suffered during Week 10 of last season. The 32-year-old joins an offense that has the potential to be pretty awful, as they are currently projected to lose every single contest this season. He could be the safety valve for QB Colt McCoy/Clayton Tune if one starts the season, however, and is currently being drafted as the TE25 in Yahoo leagues.

  • While the Jonathan Taylor saga is not over yet, it is good news to see that the RB is back with the team. Taylor’s ADP has fallen 4.3 spots to the end of the second round over the last two weeks while he’s been sidelined and openly unhappy.

  • RB Ezekiel Elliott is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $6M. The former Cowboy is presumed to take on a Damien Harris-type role in New England, a role that saw Harris collect about 9-10 carries a game last season in 11 games.

  • Monday was a busy day in free-agent RB land as Dalvin Cook is also expected to sign a one-year deal with the New York Jets. With Breece Hall still recovering from a knee injury he sustained last season, we can assume that Cook will lead the New York backfield until Hall is back to form, and then we could see a split situation.

  • QB Teddy Bridgewater signed a one-year deal with the Lions with $2.55M guaranteed back on August 10th. He joked with the media that he would be wearing an illegal number since all the QB numbers (1-19) were either taken or retired. He was actually serious since he was listed as No. 50 on the team’s official website and wore it during practice. He’ll have to sport a proper QB number come real NFL action but will either have to pry No. 5 - his lifelong number- from RB David Montgomery, or someone with a QB number will have to be cut.

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