The NFL preseason rolls into Week 2. Unlike in Week 1, all 32 teams will be in action. The action comes to a close with a single game on Sunday featuring the Panthers and the Colts at 1 p.m. ET.
There are some key differences between the preseason and the regular season from a DFS perspective. For starters, the rosters are substantially larger. Each team has 90 players on their roster at the moment, but that number will be trimmed to 53 during the regular season. Most teams use the preseason to try and evaluate their entire roster, so expect nearly every player to see the field.
Volume is everything in the preseason. If the starters are only going to play one or two drives before ceding to the backups, the backups will inherently carry more fantasy value. Talent is simply not that important. Maybe the starters can score a touchdown in their limited playing time, but chasing volume is going to be a more sustainable strategy in the long term.
Luckily, FantasyLabs now has preseason projections in our NFL Models to help you build your lineups, and Chris Raybon put together an awesome guide for crushing preseason DFS.
Let’s dive into Sunday’s slate.
Panthers
The Panthers should provide some nice value at quarterback on Sunday. They have just three quarterbacks on the roster, and Sam Darnold is not expected to play. That leaves P.J. Walker and Will Grier to handle snaps, and they are expected to split the workload pretty evenly.
Both players have some appeal on this slate. Walker was one of the biggest stars in the XFL. He racked up 1,338 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns in just five games, and he also added 99 yards and one touchdown on the ground. He’s not an elite athlete at the quarterback position — he ran a 4.74 40-yard dash at his pro day — but he can still provide some value with his legs.
Grier was the Panthers’ third-round pick in 2019, and while he’s struggled in his only taste of regular-season playing time, you can see why he was a day-two pick. PlayerProfiler puts him in the 78th percentile for College QBR, 90th percentile for college yards per attempt, and 67th percentile for SPARQ-x score. That’s a nice combination of production and athleticism. He’ll see most of his snaps against backup defenders, but he’ll also benefit from playing with backup receivers.
Ultimately, I’d give Walker the edge, but both players are viable targets.
The Panthers’ running back situation is also promising. Christian McCaffrey is not expected to play, while Rodney Smith and Reggie Bonnafon both did not practice on Friday. That means the team could be without three of their top-four RBs.
Chuba Hubbard was the Panthers’ fourth-round pick in 2021, and he was a solid producer at Oklahoma State. He posted a 32.6% Dominator Rating, meaning he accounted for 32.6% of his team’s total yards and touchdowns. That puts him in the 75th percentile at the running back position. I would expect him to get a solid amount of playing time in the first half.
After Hubbard departs, Spencer Brown is someone who could take over at the position. He’s an undrafted rookie free agent, and those types of players tend to dominate the preseason at running back. Nothing really stands out about Brown from an athleticism standpoint, but he should get volume.
Wide receiver is the Panthers’ deepest position. Neither of D.J. Moore or Robby Anderson is expected to play, while David Moore and Keith Kirkwood have dealt with injuries during camp. Even if they don’t suit up, that still leaves the Panthers with eight players at the position.
Terrace Marshall Jr. has reportedly shined during the offseason, and he’s the leading candidate to replace Curtis Samuel in the slot this season. He was a second-round pick out of LSU, and he accounted for 39% of their receiving yards and 38% of their receiving TDs last season. I’m not sure how much he’ll play, but he’s an excellent prospect.
After Marshall, Shi Smith is the only other rookie in the Panthers’ receiving corps. He doesn’t profile nearly as well as Marshall long-term, but that could actually be a point in his favor during the preseason.
Omar Bayless, Brandon Zylstra, Ishmael Hyman, C.J. Saunders, and Micah Simon are the other receivers worth considering.
Tight end is an easy breakdown for the Panthers: don’t play any of them. No position provides fewer fantasy points on average than tight end during Week 1 of the preseason, so it doesn’t make sense to roster any of them.
However, the Panthers D/ST and kicker Joey Slye are both extremely viable. Defenses average more fantasy points than any other position during the first preseason contest, while kickers aren’t far behind. Teams like the Panthers that have just one kicker on the roster are particularly appealing.
Colts
The Colts are expected to play three quarterbacks in this game, which makes them the less appealing team to target at the position. Jacob Eason will start and is expected to play roughly 1.5 quarters, and I would expect Sam Ehlinger to play about the same. Both players are competing for the backup quarterback job, so it makes sense to get a good look at both. Brett Hundley will likely finish the game in mop-up duty.
I’d rather target the Colts’ running backs in this contest. They have a veteran-laden position group at the top with Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, Marlon Mack, and Jordan Wilkins. Taylor is a candidate for a monster season, and the other three players have been with the Colts for at least the past three seasons. They shouldn’t need much playing time in the first preseason contest.
Benny LeMay, Darius Anderson, and Deon Jackson round out the position, and they could combine for a decent workload vs. the Panthers. LeMay and Jackson are both new to the team, and Jackson is the player who intrigues me most. He grades out as an excellent athlete, clocking a 4.42 40-yard dash at his pro day, and he ranks in the 90th percentile for Speed Score. He’s the only true rookie at the position for the Colts, which is another mark in his favor.
The Colts haven’t given much of an indication on how much their starting receivers will play in this contest. I wouldn’t expect much from T.Y. Hilton, but Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell could conceivably see a few drives.
Mike Strachan is the guy who stands out to me. The seventh-round rookie has reportedly been one of the stars of training camp, and he’s a monster at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. At that size, his 4.54 40-yard dash is actually quite respectable, and he posted a massive 54.7% Dominator Rating at the College of Charleston. I am very intrigued by his profile.
The Colts’ TE situation is the same as the Panthers: Don’t play them. They just don’t offer much in terms of upside, especially since they have six tight ends on the active roster.
The Colts also have two kickers on their roster in Rodrigo Blankenship and Eddy Pineiro. That obviously makes them less appealing than Slye is for the Panthers.
I would also give the Panthers D/ST a slight edge over the Colts D/ST. Walker has proven that he can put points on the scoreboard, while the Colts’ quarterbacks are unproven. That said, the Colts’ defense is certainly viable, and playing both units together will likely be the default strategy for most people.
Photo Credit: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Pictured: P.J. Walker
