Off rip, I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in any NFL Week 1 preseason game in my lifetime. Maybe in any preseason game ever. But that won’t stop me from overanalyzing the early fantasy football returns from Thursday’s games.
Jeremiyah Love handled 14 touches in his debut, De’Zhaun Stribling caught seven passes against starters, and Arizona lost a rookie guard to a knee injury
Six games kicked off the preseason on Thursday, and most teams sat their starters. Here are Thursday’s preseason takeaways that matter to fantasy football managers.
MoreNFL preseason Week 1 betting guides: Friday games | Saturday games
Jeremiyah Love takes the Cardinals backfield in preseason debut
Love started ahead of Tyler Allgeier. That alone was news, because Allgeier had been listed first and had taken most of the early first-team work in camp. Love then carried 11 times for 58 yards and added three catches.
The snap count told the rest. Love played 24 offensive snaps to Allgeier’s six before his night ended. Head coach Mike LaFleur has talked all summer about keeping his backs fresh. He did not do that here.
Love also flashed. He spun out of contact on a third-and-1 run. He hurdled a defender on another. Draft him as a weekly starter.
The ankle he tweaked is minor. LaFleur said Love could have returned if the game had mattered.
Chase Bisontis’ knee injury hurts the Cardinals offensive line
Second-round guard Chase Bisontis went down in the third quarter after a Raiders defender rolled into his left knee. He was helped off, then carted to the locker room. LaFleur called the injury “not good.”
Isaiah Adams was already ahead of Bisontis in that right guard competition. So the starting lineup may not change much. But Arizona has now lost an offensive line draft pick to a preseason injury in four straight years. Depth up front is thin, and Love needs blocking.
Kirk Cousins keeps the Raiders job over Fernando Mendoza
Cousins played one drive. He went 5-of-6 for 50 yards and capped a 10-play march with a 13-yard touchdown to tight end Michael Mayer. Nothing was forced.
Mendoza followed and finished 10-of-16 for 97 yards. He threw a 6-yard touchdown to Jack Bech on third down. He also struggled under pressure, going 2-of-6 with 11 yards when the pocket broke down.
Head coach Klint Kubiak said afterward that the starting spot is Cousins’ “job to lose.” Take him at his word. Mendoza is a stash and nothing more in redraft for now.
The Raiders’ receiver order seems clear. Jalen Nailor opened at X, Tre Tucker played Z, and Bech moved inside to the slot. Brock Bowers took one snap and left. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. ripped off a 53-yard run, which locks him in as the No. 2 back behind Ashton Jeanty.
Germie Bernard pushes for the Steelers’ third receiver job
Bernard caught four passes for 51 yards on five targets. Roman Wilson caught one for seven. Bernard also took more than twice as many slot snaps as Wilson, which matters because D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. both play outside.
Slow down before you call it settled. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent training camp praising how far Wilson has come, while noting Bernard still has playbook work to do. Neither receiver played with Rodgers on Thursday. Both caught passes from Mason Rudolph against backups.
Whoever wins is the third option behind two established starters. That is a bench player in most leagues.
Rookie Kaden Wetjen turned a Drew Allar throw into a 74-yard touchdown. Kaleb Johnson did not take an offensive snap until the third quarter, behind Travis Homer and Lew Nichols. He looks like a cut candidate.
MarShawn Lloyd starts for the Packers with Josh Jacobs out
Lloyd took every snap on the first drive with the starters. He then played every snap on the second drive with the backups. Chris Brooks sat out with a hamstring issue.
Jacobs has not practiced since Aug. 6 because of a groin injury. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Jacobs would miss at least a week. There is a second layer here. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the league is still weighing discipline for Jacobs stemming from a May arrest. So Lloyd could open the season as the lead back.
The catch is Lloyd’s health record. He has appeared in one regular-season game across two years. Draft him late and hope.
Matthew Golden played both 12-personnel snaps with the starters while Jayden Reed came off the field. That caps Reed’s snap ceiling a bit and helps Golden. Rookie kicker Trey Smack made field goals of 37, 58 and 38 yards.
Colbie Young and the Bengals’ third receiver competition
Young caught two passes for 28 yards, mostly with Joe Flacco. He also got a snap with the first-team offense.
Do not overreact to that snap. Head coach Zac Taylor said afterward that the snap came partly to give Tee Higgins a breather, and that the play did not go the way Cincinnati wanted. Taylor did add that Young is “proving to be dependable.”
Andrei Iosivas caught both of his targets for 20 yards. He has played roughly 75% of snaps in each of the last two seasons. One rookie snap does not undo that. Young is a dynasty stash, not a WR3 in redraft yet.
The backfield looked the same as last year. Chase Brown handled early downs and Samaje Perine worked third downs.
Isaac TeSlaa struggles again for the Lions
TeSlaa caught nothing on three targets across 11 routes. His first target went through his hands, hit his facemask and bounced up for a Jordan Battle interception. He later let a fourth-down throw from Luke Altmyer go through his hands as well.
The usage was worse than the drops. Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Greg Dortch both finished after the first quarter. TeSlaa kept playing into the second quarter with backups. Head coach Dan Campbell defended him afterward and pointed to the pressure second-year players put on themselves.
TeSlaa was a popular late-round pick this summer. Move on to a different dart throw.
Anthony Richardson answers in the Colts quarterback competition
Richardson completed 78.5% of his passes, his best mark in any pro game. He averaged 8.8 yards per attempt and ran in a short touchdown. He played 27 snaps, his most since Week 16 of the 2024 season.
This was not a depth chart move. Head coach Shane Steichen set the plan days earlier. Richardson would start and play the whole first half, then Riley Leonard would take the second half. Next week against Atlanta they flip. Leonard went 10-of-21 for 89 yards with an interception, so Richardson won the first round.
Daniel Jones will not play in the preseason as he finishes his Achilles rehab. Tight end Will Mallory led Indianapolis with six catches for 80 yards.
DeMario Douglas is set as the Patriots’ slot receiver
Douglas rested while Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams all played. That is the clearest possible signal about the depth chart. Douglas has the slot, and Boutte remains a trade candidate.
Williams caught the only Patriots touchdown of the night from Tommy DeVito. He has speed and has been learning several spots, so he is worth tracking in deep leagues.
Kicker Andy Borregales went 2-of-5, missing from 56, 55 and 49 yards. The last one would have won the game. Head coach Mike Vrabel was blunt about it: “We’re expected to make them.“
New England put running back Terrell Jennings on injured reserve before kickoff. Seventh-rounder Jam Miller then started and ran 14 times for 55 yards, so he leads the RB3 race now.
Chargers, Texans backfield and receiver notes
Keaton Mitchell rested while Kimani Vidal played every snap on the first two drives. That order is what fantasy managers wanted to see. Mitchell is the clear backup to Omarion Hampton in Mike McDaniel’s offense, and that role has produced fantasy starters before.
Tight end Oronde Gadsden II played on each of the first three Chargers drives, including run situations. David Njoku and Charlie Kolar both sat. Gadsden getting blocking reps is his only path to more snaps, because Los Angeles looks headed toward a three-man rotation.
Houston rested Jayden Higgins while Xavier Hutchinson played. Higgins has the Z job. Tank Dell has returned to team drills but was not ready to play, so the ceiling question stays open.
Rookie receiver Brenen Thompson caught two passes for 30 yards for the Chargers and worked the X spot with the second unit.
Cam Ward struggles in the Titans preseason opener
Ward went 5-of-12 for 57 yards with a 56.6 rating over three series. He faced San Francisco backups. Tennessee drove 95 yards on the opening possession, but the ground game did most of that work. The next two drives produced 15 total yards.
Head coach Robert Saleh said Ward’s mechanics looked sped up compared to camp. That is a fixable problem. Still, this was a poor start for a passing game with a new coordinator in Brian Daboll.
Rookie Carnell Tate finished with no catches on three targets. His alignment was the real news. Calvin Ridley lined up at X and Tate played Z, which is the spot Malik Nabers held in Daboll’s New York offense. That helps Tate long-term.
Tony Pollard played six preseason snaps on the first drive and scored. Tyjae Spears played five, then took all five snaps on the second drive and broke a 25-yard run. They split the third drive evenly. There was no early-down or third-down split. Spears is going far too late in drafts.
De’Zhaun Stribling is the biggest riser from Thursday
Stribling caught seven passes for 63 yards on eight targets. He did it in three series against Tennessee starters, including a 32-yard back-shoulder grab over cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. Three of his catches came on third down.
He lined up in the slot more than outside. That points to Demarcus Robinson and Christian Kirk as the players he passes to first. Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr. hold the outside spots.
San Francisco shut him down after the third drive, which says plenty about how the staff views him. He was the No. 33 pick and drew criticism at the time. He has answered so far.
Third-string quarterback Kurtis Rourke went 12-of-14 for 104 yards before leaving with a rib injury.
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