We are on to Week 2 of the NFL preseason. Remember, there are only three weeks in the preseason this year, so this is the second-to-last tune-up before the start of the regular season.
There’s a two-game slate on Friday featuring the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals vs. the Washington Football Team.
It will be interesting to see how most teams choose to approach their game this week. The second-to-last preseason game used to be the “dress rehearsal” for the starters, meaning they would play upwards of three quarters. However, with one fewer preseason game to evaluate the players at the bottom of the roster, it remains to be seen if that’s still the case.
Let’s dive into Friday’s slate to try and identify some DFS value.
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Quarterback
This is one of the weaker quarterback slates so far this preseason. Each of these teams has at least three quarterbacks, so there may not be a single player who sees a full half of football.
One interesting dynamic on this slate is that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that his starters would play the entire first half. If that’s true, the Chiefs’ starting offense should easily provide the most fantasy value on this slate.
However, it’s a bit tough to trust Reid’s proclamation. He told reporters that the first-team offense would play the entire first quarter in their first preseason game, only to lift Patrick Mahomes after four snaps.
Still, even if Reid is exaggerating his starters’ playing time, it seems like we should get at least one full quarter from Mahomes and Co. vs. the Cardinals. I will gladly take one quarter with the upside for a full half with Mahomes over a guaranteed half for a backup quarterback.
Other Options
The Bengals are the only team that may utilize just two quarterbacks on Friday. Joe Burrow has already been ruled out, while Eric Dungey has not practiced of late. If Dungey doesn’t suit up, it will leave just Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur at the position.
Shurmur had the significant edge in snaps last week, but Allen could play more in the second preseason game. I would give him the slight edge.
Kyler Murray is expected to get some limited run this week after sitting out the first preseason game, but Chris Streveler is the Cardinals’ QB to target. He has elite athleticism for the QB position — he ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at the 2018 combine — and he racked up 10 rushing attempts in the first preseason game.
Washington played Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, and Steven Montez in Week 1, and I would expect all three to get in the game again on Friday.
Montez led the group in snaps last week, but Fitzpatrick and Heinicke could see more playing time as we get closer to the regular season. There isn’t a ton of value here.
Running Back
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said his starters could play “up to a quarter” on Friday but no more than that. That would leave plenty of playing time for the Bengals’ reserve running backs against the Washington Football Team.
Trayveon Williams has already been ruled out, while Pooka Williams Jr. didn’t play in their first preseason game. That leaves Chris Evans and Jacques Patrick as the guys most likely to carry the workload.
Evans is the back I’m most interested in. He was a sixth-round draft pickout of Michigan in 2021, and he has excellent athleticism. He ranks in the 94th percentile for Burst Score and 92nd percentile for Agility Score, per PlayerProfiler, and his SPARQ-x Score is also in the 85th percentile.
Patrick was significantly more productive on the ground than Evans in their first preseason game — he averaged 4.7 yards per carry, Evans averaged 2.1 — but Evans more than made up for it with four catches and a rushing touchdown.
Other Options
The Chiefs have only four RBs on their roster currently, headlined by Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He should see the majority of the running back snaps while the Chiefs’ starters are on the field, while Jerick McKinnon and Darwin Thompson will play with the backups.
No one on the team had more than four carries in their first preseason game, so this isn’t a particularly appealing situation to target.
Chase Edmonds played 11 snaps in the Cardinals’ first preseason game, and James Conner could be back in the lineup after being activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. That said, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for either player to see much playing time after Murray departs.
That leaves Eno Benjamin and Jonathan Ward as their likely leading rushers. Benjamin has drawn solid reviews out of Cardinals camp, and he racked up 50 rushing yards with a touchdown on five carries last week.
The Football Team has five running backs on their roster, but the player at the bottom of the depth chart is most interesting on Friday. Jaret Patterson led the position in snaps, carries, and targets last week, and the undrafted rookie should be busy again against the Bengals.
Wide Receiver
The receiver breakdown is very similar to the QB breakdown. If you believe the Chiefs’ starters are going to play close to a full half, then their starters become very appealing options.
Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, and Demarcus Robinson all played 10 snaps or fewer in the first preseason game, but they should be out there as long as Mahomes is on Friday.
That makes stacking Mahomes with one (or more) of his pass-catchers a viable strategy.
The Cardinals are not expected to have DeAndre Hopkins on Friday, and A.J. Green could also be out of the lineup. He didn’t play in the first preseason game, while Christian Kirk saw just seven snaps. It’s possible that both guys see a bit of playing time with Murray on Friday, but their involvement should be minimal.
Rondale Moore is an interesting option. If you’re not aware, fantasy football Twitter absolutely loves this guy, and he does have a unique skill set. He played almost exclusively in the slot in Week 1 and finished with three catches for 23 yards and two carries for 16 yards on just 23 snaps. He’s definitely worth some consideration, but expect his ownership to be massive.
If you want to go deeper down the Cardinals’ depth chart, KeeSean Johnson and Andre Baccellia are the guys to consider. Johnson led the receivers with a whopping 53 snaps in their first preseason game, while Baccellia led the team with five targets.
The Bengals’ starting receivers are expected to see a bit more playing time this week but not enough to make them viable options.
The rest of the receiving corps split the workload pretty even last week, with Mike Thomas, Auden Tate, Stanley Morgan, Trenton Irwin, and Scotty Washington each playing between 20 and 30 snaps. Irwin led the team in both targets and receiving yards.
Washington is arguably the least appealing team at receiver. It has 10 players who could see snaps at the position on Friday, and none of their receivers finished with more than two catches in Week 1.
The running backs were far more involved in the passing game — Patterson, Jonathan Williams, and Lamar Miller combined for 11 catches — so none of their receivers really stand out.
If you do want to target a Washington receiver, Dyami Brown is probably your best bet. His four targets were tied for the most on the team last week, and he also racked up 25 snaps. He was a third-round pick in the 2021 Draft who averaged 20.1 yards per reception in college, so he has some big-play ability.
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Tight End
As usual, tight end is the weakest position on this slate. Travis Kelce will likely be the most popular option, and he makes a ton of sense. He burnt people last week with a one-catch, four-yard performance, but he only played six snaps. If the Chiefs’ starters play more on Friday, he has the highest ceiling at the position.
If you want to go in a different direction with the Chiefs, Noah Gray could be worth some consideration. The fifth-round rookie out of Duke has spent a lot of time with the starters during the offseason, and he played significantly more than Kelce last week. He didn’t record a catch, but he did see two targets.
Other Options
Washington is the other team I’m considering at tight end. Logan Thomas should be limited to a quarter or so, while Sammis Reyes will not suit up. That leaves them much thinner at the position than the other teams on Friday’s slate.
John Bates is the tight end to target. He was a fourth-round pick in 2021, and while there’s not much to get excited about with him athletically, he should see plenty of snaps. He also had a 19-yard reception in his first preseason game.
Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
Pictured: Patrick Mahomes.
