NFL Preseason: Thursday, August 18th
The second week of the NFL Preseason kicks off on Thursday with six games.
During the second week of preseason teams usually play their starters for a quarter. That means we’ll be targeting a mixture of starters and backups. In general, I like to target starters or second-stringers at WR and TE while at QB and RB I care more about snaps. As a quick reminder, I can’t mention every single option, so if you like someone feel free to use them as long as you have verified that they are playing.
Eagles at Steelers
Eagles
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, Carson Wentz (O), McLeod Bethel-Thompson
Top Target: Last week, the Eagles starters played one offensive series. Thanks to a short field, that drive was three plays and ended with a touchdown. Out of 79 offensive snaps the bulk went to Chase Daniel (30) and Carson Wentz (39). Coach Pederson has already announced that his starters will play the first quarter and possibly one series in the second quarter. Sam Bradford is the top target here, but he’ll be playing behind an offensive line trying to remake itself after Lane Johnson was suspended and Dennis Kelly was traded. The offensive line issues plus the overall lack of talent at wide receiver gives me pause about using Bradford. You could also consider Chase Daniel, but he was only able to muster 7.3DK points on 30 snaps last week.
Running Back
Depth Chart: Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, Wendell Smallwood, Byron Marshall
Top Target: We can expect to see Sproles and Mathews to rotate playing with the starters. The main competition here is between Smallwood and Barner for the #3 RB job. Barner was given 36 snaps last week to earn the job and he turned that into 0.3 DK points. As I said last week, Barner is not a threat to catch passes out of the backfield, so he’s the guy I’m least interested in here. If Smallwood is a full go after returning from a quad injury, he will be my top target here. If not, I’ll probably look elsewhere.
Wide Receiver
Depth Chart: Josh Huff, Nelson Agholor, Rueben Randle, Dorial Green-Beckham, Chris Givens, TJ Graham, Paul Turner, Marcus Johnson, David Watford, Hunter Sharp (O), Cayleb Jones, Xavier Rush, Jordan Matthews (O)
Top Target: Last week the most productive WR for the Eagles was Paul Turner, who played 47 snaps and saw seven targets. He was able to haul in six catches for 34 yards. Shockingly, Randle and Agholor played 32 snaps, but only saw three and two targets respectively. The fact that the Eagles traded for Dorial Green-Beckham this week shows they are not happy with their WRs. Lucky for us, Green-Beckham has been ruled out, so the current group of receivers gets one last chance to prove their worth. I would stick to Nelson Agholor, Rueben Randle, and Josh Huff here. I think Sam Bradford will get them involved this week and I like them in that order.
Tight End
Depth Chart: Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, Trey Burton, Chris Pantale, M.J. McFarland
Top Target: How about that Trey Burton recommendation last week? Apparently, the “Best Player in Camp” was only needed for six snaps, while veteran Zach Ertz played 37 snaps. I’ve seen some expert try to read into this that Burton had nothing to prove. I’m not digging that deep. The fact that Ertz played 37 snaps in a game where other starters played three tells me everything I need to know. I’m using Ertz, have mild interest in Celek, and not even considering the rest.
Steelers
Quarterback
Depth Chart: Ben Roethlisberger (O), Bruce Gradkowski (O), Landry Jones, Dustin Vaughn
Top Target: Coach Tomlin has already ruled out Ben Roethlisberger and several other offensive stars for this week. The same was true last week, which left snaps split between Jones (23), Vaughan (22), and Gradkowski (11). During that game, Gradkowski suffered a hamstring tear, so we are down to just Jones and Vaughn. When Landry Jones played extensively last year in preseason he was effective. Even last week on 23 snaps Jones went 6/12 for 55 yards and a TD. He’s not the most talented option on the board, but he’s certainly one of the top options based strictly on volume.
Running Back
Depth Chart: Le’Veon Bell (O), Deangelo Williams (O), Fitzgerald Toussaint, Daryl Richardson, Brandon Brown-Dukes, Cameron Stingily, Christian Powell
Top Target: The Steelers are trying to decide who their third RB will be. Both Bell and Williams sat out last week and they will again this week. The two players who are in consideration are Daryl Richardson and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Last week, Richardson out-snapped Toussaint 24 to 17, but Tomlin has said neither is ahead in the competition. I expect each to play around 20 snaps this week with 5-7 carries. Both are fine options on this slate.
Wide Receiver
Depth Chart: Antonio Brown (O), Markus Wheaton, Sammie Coates, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Eli Rogers, Cobi Hamilton, Issac Blakeney, Demarcus Ayers, Levi Norwood, Marcus Tucker
Top Targets: The Steelers only attempted 26 passes last week, but it made their intentions look very obvious. There were only three WRs who saw more than two targets. They were, Hamilton, Coates, and Heyward-Bey. Of the three, Heyward-Bey had the highest score, but it was because his only catch went for a 29-yard touchdown. Sammie Coates is the top target here. He played 36 snaps and saw four targets and I would expect him to be heavily involved again this week.
Tight End
Depth Chart: Jesse James, Ladarius Green (PUP), David Johnson, Xavier Grimble, Michael Cooper, Paul Lang
Top Target: Ladarius Green is on the PUP list and will sit again this week. That should leave snap counts about the same as they were last week. Jesse James is the only playable option here. He had 28 snaps last week, but during those he was only targeted twice. He finished with one catch for four yards.
Bengals at Lions
Bengals
Quarterback
Depth Chart: Andy Dalton, AJ McCarron, Keith Wenning, Joe Licata
Top Target: With starters like Dalton playing more than a series this week, we can easily rule out Wenning and Licata. Some will make the case that you should still target the backup, but I think Wenning and Licata will cut into McCarron’s snaps enough that I would rather have Dalton for the entire first quarter. There are better options for your cash games, though.
Running Back
Depth Chart: Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead, Tra Carson, Bronson Hill
Top Target: Snap count wise, the Bengals used four RBs pretty evenly last week. The snaps went: Peerman (19), Carson (20), B. Hill (14), J. Hill (6). The Bengals still want to get a look at Peerman, Carson and Burkhead, so I expect a pretty even distribution again this week. If you want to target a starter-type player, I would look to Bernard over Jeremy Hill because of Bernard’s pass-catching ability. As far as the backups go, Peerman’s spot on the roster is pretty safe as he was a Pro Bowl special teamer last year. The guys behind him would have to show quite a bit to surpass him, but the snaps to do that aren’t likely to be available.
Wide Receiver
Depth Chart: AJ Green, Brandon LaFell (Q), Tyler Boyd, Brandon Tate, James Wright, Mario Alford, Jake Kumerow, Cody Core, Michael Bennett,
Alonzo Russell, Alex Erickson, Antwane Grant, Rashaun Simonise
Top Target: Brandon LaFell has a sprained finger ligament and is questionable for this week. The guy I’m really interested in here is AJ Green. Last week Green played eight snaps and was targeted four times. If Green gets to play a whole quarter, he’s easily the safest option on the Bengals, and maybe even on the slate. As far as the rest of this group I don’t feel like chasing points with Alex Erickson but I am interested in going back to the well with Tyler Boyd. He played 28 snaps (40%) and had five targets. The snaps might go down some this week but I think he’ll still see plenty of targets.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Tyler Eifert (PUP), Tyler Kroft (O), C.J. Uzomah, John Peters, Matt Lengel
Top Target: With Eifert and Kroft still injured we have pretty much the same situation as last week. Uzomah played 28 snaps, Lengel played 34, and Peters played 8. I was excited about Uzomah last week but with several established TEs playing a quarter or more this week I can’t get on board with Uzomah again.
Lions
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Matthew Stafford, Dan Orlovsky, Jake Rudock
Top Target: Last week the QB snaps went Orlovsky (35), Rudock (27), Stafford (14). With Stafford and the starters playing more this week we should see something like an even split between Stafford and Orlovsky and then Rudock trailing with somewhere around 15-20 snaps. In these situations, if it is close, I lean towards the starter playing behind the better offensive line and with better WRs. You can certainly use Orlovsky, but I would rather have Stafford as long as he gets the full first quarter.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Ameer Abdullah (O), Theo Riddick, Stevan Ridley, Mike Burton, Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington, George Winn
Top Target: Ameer Abdullah is still wearing a no-contact jersey in practice and isn’t going to play. Last week, the Lions used five RBs. The top scoring RB was Dwayne Washington but that was because he returned a kick for a touchdown. The guy you want here is either Theo Riddick playing with the starters (hoping for some check-downs) or Zach Zenner who should see a decent share of mop-up duty in the second half. On 32 snaps, Zenner had seven carries for 24 yards but also chipped in three catches for 32 yards.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Jones, TJ Jones, Jace Billingsley, Jeremy Kerley, Andre Roberts, Jay Lee, Alex Chisum, Quinshad Davis, Corey Fuller (PUP)
Top Target: I won’t cover the starters here because I think AJ Green makes more sense, but you can certainly play Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, and Marvin Jones if you want. The guy I’m most excited about though is Jace Billingsley. The undrafted rookie hauled in three of his four targets for 33 yards and a TD last week. Andre Roberts also looked great and so did Jeremy Kerley but all of their targets and snaps should come down this week. While we are here, Jay Lee didn’t play at all last week and likely won’t make the team. If he was on your list you can cross him off.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Matthew Mulligan (Q), Eric Ebron (O), Orson Charles, Brandon Pettigrew (PUP), Adam Fuehne, Andrew Quarless, Cole Wick
Top Target: With Mulligan, Ebron and Pettigrew hurt the Lions went out and signed Andrew Quarless on Monday. Cole Wick is listed last on the depth chart above but he’s expected to draw the start. He’s the guy I would use out of this group.
Falcons at Browns
Falcons
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub, Sean Renfree, Matt Simms
Top Target: The starting Atlanta offense did not look sharp last week against Washington. Matt Ryan and company netted four yards on two drives.
They should get a longer look this week. As far as snap counts, Ryan saw 6, Schaub 31, Simms 15 and Renfree 14. This is another situation where Ryan/Schaub is close enough that you could pick either. I lean towards Ryan because he’ll be playing with more talent but Schaub certainly got the job done last week playing with backups.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Terron Ward (O), Gus Johnson, Brandon Wilds, Cyrus Gray
Top Target: Terron Ward is out again this week so we should just see the Falcons use four RBs like they did last week. Freeman and Coleman played with the starters and then Wilds and Johnson ran with the backups. Wilds out-snapped Johnson 28-20 but this is still an open competition. The carries between the two were more even at 9 and 10. Wilds scored a TD and saw three targets in the passing game. Based on the eye test, I like Wilds over Johnson. You can also play Freeman if you would like. His line would have been much better last week had he not dropped an easy
TD catch.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Justin Hardy, Aldrick Robinson, Eric Weems, Nick Williams, Devin Fuller, JD McKissic, Jordan Leslie, David Glidden, Corey Washington
Top Target: Similar to AJ Green above, Julio Jones is a guy you can play because you know he’ll get his targets. Jones played just three snaps last week but was targeted on two of them. The other players I have interest in here are Aldrick Robinson and Mohamed Sanu. If you played last week, I don’t need to explain Robinson to you. He’s always a beast in preseason and he should be in the mix during the regular season too. My interest in Sanu is based on his four targets in just 20 snaps.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Jacob Tamme, Austin Hooper, Levine Toilolo, DJ Tialavea, Joshua Perkins
Top Target: The Falcons mainly just used two TEs last week in Hooper and Perkins. Each only saw one target in 21 and 26 snaps respectively. With Tamme back in the mix this week, I don’t have any interest here.
Browns
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Robert Griffin, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Austin Davis (O)
Top Target: I like to highlight a few good plays on each team, but I’m advising caution with Cleveland. I wanted to skip this section altogether as this Cleveland offense put up just 172 total yards last week against Green Bay. They’ll face an Atlanta defense that is not a top unit by any means but did hold the Redskins to 234 yards last week. The Browns offense was so bad last week that they ran only 50 offensive plays while other teams ran 75. Robert Griffin will start and should be followed by the other three but I see no reason why you would go here.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, Raheem Mostert, Terrell Watson, Glenn Winston
Top Target: The Browns had four RBs play between 5 and 22 snaps. Only two backs saw more than one carry though. Those were Mostert and Watson who would be the targets if I were looking here. I just can’t trust this offense to move the ball which limits any possible RB carries.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Corey Coleman (Q), Terrelle Pryor, Andrew Hawkins, Marlon Moore, Taylor Gabriel, Ricardo Louis, Rashard Higgins, Jordan Payton, Darius Jennings, Josh Gordon, Dennis Parks, Ed Eagan
Top Target: I really wish Josh Gordon was ready to go so I could have someone to write about here. Corey Coleman would interest me except he’s coming off a hamstring injury and we don’t even know for sure if he is playing. I guess that makes Terrelle Pryor my top option by default. He played 40% of the snaps last week and hauled in two of his three targets for 57 yards.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Gary Barnidge, Randall Telfer, EJ Bibbs, Connor Hamlett, JP Holtz, Seth DeValve, David Reeves
Top Target: Sticking with my theme at TEs I would look to Gary Barnidge here. Even though he’s a starter—which should limit him to the first quarter. He’s much safer than chasing snaps with the like of Bibbs and Telfer.
Bears at Patriots
Bears
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, David Fales, Connor Shaw
Top Target: As hard as I was on the Browns above, the Bears had an equally bad game last week. The Bears faced a much tougher opponent in Denver though. Still, the Bears only getting 53 offensive snaps makes things tough to evaluate. Cutler should start and play the entire first quarter. That should be enough to top anything Brian Hoyer can do even if Hoyer gets a few additional snaps. Neither Hoyer or Cutler will make any of my cash teams and probably not GPP either.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Jeremy Langford, Ka’Deem Carey, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jordan Howard, Senorise Perry
Top Target: As I mentioned in the QB section, the Bears only ran 53 offensive snaps. That left the top four RBs here group at 10-13 snaps followed by Perry at 7. This situation isn’t 100% settled so we could be looking at about the same distribution again. The good news is that Carey and Rodgers were able to hit value because of their pass-catching ability. Both had two catches for 22 yards. That’s where I would go if selecting a Bears RB.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Marc Mariani, Eddie Royal (O), Deonte Thompson, Josh Bellamy, Cameron Meredith, Kieran Duncan, Daniel Braverman, Derek Keaton, Marquess Wilson (PUP), BJ Daniels, Darrin Peterson
Top Target: The Broncos stout pass defense really hurt any value that Kevin White and Alshon Jeffery had last week. The big takeaway here is that both Jeffery and White played 11 snaps with the starters. If you are looking at Kevin White tonight you need to project his snaps the same as the other starters. The two guys I have interest in based on volume are Daniel Braverman and Joshua Bellamy. Both played over 60% of the offensive snaps last week. That number will obviously come down but they should still be looking at 20-25 snaps and maybe 3-4 targets.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Zach Miller (O), Khari Lee, Tony Moeaki, Greg Scruggs, Gannon Sinclair, Rob Housler, Ben Braunecker
Top Target: Zach Miller is still out with a concussion and none of Lee, Sinclair, Housler, or Moeaki has stepped up. If you could have played all four of them last week in one spot, you would have finished with 53 snaps, one target and a big fat zero.
Update: Zach Miller might play tonight. This doesn’t change anything though. I wouldn’t use Miller and I still wouldn’t use any of the others.
Patriots
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett
Top Target: After laboring through the Bears and Browns section it feels good to get to the “chalk” offense on this slate. Tom Brady could possibly make his preseason debut but don’t expect him to play extensively. Any work Brady gets right now is a moot point as he is suspended the first four games of the season. The Patriots focus will be on getting Jimmy Garoppolo ready. Garoppolo played 58% of the offensive snaps last week and a similar number this week would not surprise me. He’s the cash-game option again this week.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis (PUP), Brandon Bolden (O), James White, Donald Brown (O), James Develin, DJ Foster (O), Tyler Gaffney, Joey Iosefa
Top Target: The Patriots are in a similar position at RB again this week. They are down three players to injury and they pretty much know what they have in Blount and White. The guy who seems to be in for a heavy workload again is Tyler Gaffney. He easily saw the most snaps at 26 and was involved in both the passing and rushing game.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Danny Amendola (O), Julian Edelman, Nate Washington, Keshawn Martin (O), Chris Hogan, Aaron Dobson, DeAndre Carter, Chris Harper, Devin Lucien, Malcolm Mitchell (O)
Top Target: It sounds like we could see Julian Edelman for the first time this preseason but I don’t expect enough of a workload for him to be playable. The Patriots also lost Malcolm Mitchell who saw five first half targets last week. That should open up the door for even more work for Aaron Dobson, DeAndre Carter and Chris Harper. Those are the three I would target if looking for someone to stack with Garoppolo.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Rob Gronkowski (O), Martellus Bennett, Clay Harbor, AJ Derby, Bear Pascoe, Steven Scheu, Bryce Williams (O)
Top Target: Do you have enough Patriots in your lineup yet? Do you have room for two more? Gronkowski has not played a preseason game since 2012 and Bryce Williams is out. The Patriots are down to basically three tight ends in Bennett, Derby, and Harbor. My favorite target is Bennett who hauled in three of four targets for 33 yards. You could “Enter the Derby” though and go with AJ Derby —who outscored Bennett last week on the same number of targets. He had 3/47/0 on four targets.
Raiders at Packers
Raiders
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Derek Carr, Matt McGloin, Connor Cook
Top Target: Matt McGloin made the most of his opportunity last week. He played 42% of the offensive snaps and finished with 9.64DK points. This week he’ll lose some snaps to Derek Carr who should play most of the first quarter. This one is a close for me. I like that Derek Carr will play alongside the Oakland starters but he’ll have to do it against the Green Bay starters. Ultimately, Carr’s talent slightly outweighs any additional volume that McGloin will get. Carr is not at the top of my list of QBs on this slate though.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Latavius Murray, Taiwan Jones, DeAndre Washington, Jalen Richard (Q), George Atkinson
Top Target: Latavius Murray should eat into the opportunity that Washington and Atkinson get but as long as Jalen Richard sits again there should still be plenty. Atkinson finished with five carries for 97 yards and two TDs. That’s a bit fluky though and I would still prefer DeAndre Washington who had eight carries for 43 yards and also contributed one catch for 32 yards.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Seth Roberts, Andre Holmes, KJ Brent, Johnny Holton, Joe Hansley, Jaydon Mickens, Nathan Palmer, Marvin Hall, Maxwell McCaffrey
Top Target: The fact that the Raiders have eleven WRs on the roster makes this a difficult situation to target. The top four here are set and the remaining seven are battling for what might be two spots. The battle seems to be between Johnny Holton and Jaydon Mickens. Each flashed glimpses of quality play throughout training camp. I don’t think I’ll be looking at either here. If I’m taking an Oakland WR I’ll just grab Cooper or
Crabtree and hope they are targeted early and often.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Lee Smith, Clive Walford, Mychal Rivera, Gabe Holmes (O), Ryan O’Malley, Colton Underwood, Jake McGee
Top Target: After Gabe Holmes injured his ankle last week the Raiders went out and signed Jake McGee. Clive Walford had the most interesting fantasy game last week with 8.9 DK points but that’s because his only catch was a TD. Ryan O’Malley played the most snaps at 46% but saw just one target. I would look elsewhere for your TE this week.
Packers
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Aaron Rodgers, Brett Hundley, Joe Callahan, Marquise Williams
Top Target: Aaron Rodgers is going to sit out again this week but this isn’t as easy as it was last week. Brett Hundley should be back this week which will eat into Callahan and Williams snaps. If you are considering the Packers skill position players this is a good thing. Before Hundley was hurt he was expected to play extensively in the Hall of Fame game. The Packers want to give Hundley extensive playing time to evaluate his own play but also to evaluate their WR play. In my mind, Hundley is one of the top three or four options based on volume.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Eddie Lacy, James Starks, John Crockett, Brandon Burks, Brandon Ross
Top Target: The Packers have been very careful with their veterans after Jordy Nelson was injured last season in a meaningless game. The fact that Arron Rodgers and several veterans are sitting tells us a lot about their plans for veterans Lacy and Starks. We should see a heavy dose of Crockett, Burks, and Ross again this week. Last week they played 25, 30, and 17 snaps respectively. Crockett is my favorite of the three again though I’m not ignoring the fact that Burks out-carried him 9-6.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Jordy Nelson (PUP), Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis (O), Ty Montgomery, Ed Williams, Trevor Davis, Jamel Johnson, Geronimo Allison, Herb Waters, Harvey Binford
Top Target: With Aaron Rodgers and other veterans sitting we can assume McCarthy will play this game the same as last week. Jeff Janis is out 4-6 weeks and Jordy Nelson just came off the PUP. He won’t play either. Ty Montgomery also came off the PUP last week and he should be used sparingly. That should lead to a heavy dose of Jared Abbrederis, Trevor Davis and Geronimo Allison. All three are players I would throw into a lineup but not build around for cash games.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Richard Rodgers, Jared Cook, Justin Perillo, Kennard Backman, Henry Mitchell, Casey Pierce
Top Target: Justin Perillo was excellent last week with 10.2 DK points on seven targets and 28 snaps. He’s in play but we have to remember that Jared Cook will probably play more than the 16 snaps he played last week. That said, Perillo did his work with Williams and Callahan last week and they’ll both eventually play once Hundley is done. He’s not my top option at TE but he’s someone to consider.
Vikings at Seahawks
Vikings
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Teddy Bridgewater, Shaun Hill, Joel Stave, Taylor Heinicke (O)
Top Target: Even though the Chiefs just ran over the Seahawks defense last week I think they are still a good group. Teddy Bridgewater should play the first quarter followed by Shaun Hill and Joel Stave. I don’t have enough faith in any of these three to highlight them as a good play. That’s doesn’t mean I’m down on the Vikings offense, it just means that there are better QBs on this slate.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Adrian Peterson, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Jhurell Pressley, CJ Ham, Kevin Monangai
Top Targets: Last week Jhurell Pressley was scratched at the last minute which opened the door for CJ Ham to play 31 snaps. He’s the only Viking RB that really produced. The snap counts for the others were McKinnon (13), Asiata (8), Monangai (3). If Pressley is out again this week I don’t mind Ham. If Pressley plays that just makes Ham an ok play with McKinnon and Asiata swallowing up more carries.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Laquon Treadwell, Adam Thielen, Isaac Fruechte, Jarius Wright, Terrell Sinkfield, Moritz Boehringer, Troy Stoudermire, Marken Michel
Top Target: Last week the Vikings used eight WRs who all played between 9 and 29 snaps. With this being a tough matchup against Seattle I’ll have very little exposure here. The one guy I am interested in is Laquon Treadwell. He played 44% of offensive snaps and lead all WRs with 5 targets. Treadwell isn’t likely to play with the starters but there has been talk about involving him in the red zone if the situation arises.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Kyle Rudolph, MyCole Pruitt, David Morgan, Brian Leonhardt, Kyle Carter, Rhett Ellison (PUP)
Top Target: Last week the Vikings divided snaps between Morgan (22), Leonhardt (21), Pruitt (19), and Rudolph (14). I would expect Rudolph’s numbers to come up some and the rest to go down. There are several established TEs this week looking at 20 or more snaps so I think we can easily avoid the Vikings TEs.
Seahawks
Quarterback:
Depth Chart: Russell Wilson, Trevone Boykin, Jake Heaps
Top Target: As much fun as Trevone Boykin playing 50/73 snaps was, that won’t happen again this week. The Seahawks already know Heaps is just a camp arm and they got a good look at Boykin. We should still see a mixture of the three QBs this week but Wilson will take away enough that we don’t need to consider Boykin.
Running Back:
Depth Chart: Thomas Rawls (O), Christine Michael, Alex Collins, Troymaine Pope, Zac Brooks, CJ Prosise (O), George Farmer
Top Target: With Rawls and Prosise out, this should be a decent situation to target again this week. Coach Carroll said that Michael should earn the start but I’m expecting a quick hook again. We also have to factor in Zac Brooks returning but I don’t expect him to play significantly. The player that will see more work than his 14 snaps last week is Alex Collins. Carroll said the reason for the low snap count on Collins was an ankle injury during practice the week before. Even though he finished with 1.4 DK points last week, Alex Collins is the guy I like here. If you are wondering about Troymaine Pope he is actually a defensive back that just converted to RB last week.
Wide Receiver:
Depth Chart: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett, Paul Richardson, Kasen Williams, Kevin Smith, Deshon Foxx, Douglas McNeil, Antwan Goodley, Kenny Lawler, Montario Hunter, Tanner McEvoy, Uzoma Nwachukwu
Top Target: It’s hard to read much into the Seahawks WR production last week since Trevone Boykin played 50/73 snaps. I would expect Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett to see more snaps and targets again this week. As far as the backups go, Nwachukwu, Richardson, and McEvoy played extensively but Kasen Williams should play this week and their snap counts will give way to the starters anyways. There isn’t a really solid target here but any of the above names could be targeted in GPP.
Tight End:
Depth Chart: Jimmy Graham (O), Luke Wilson, Brandon Williams, Nick Vannett, Clayton Echard, Joe Sommers
Top Target: Not a lot has changed here since last week. Jimmy Graham is still out. The only major change will be Luke Wilson playing more than the eight snaps he did last week. Those snaps will come at the expense of Vannett who played 45 and Williams who played 27. I’m looking elsewhere though as the three of Wilson, Vannett, and Williams were targeted just five times as a group.
That should do it for Thursday’s six-game slate. If you have any questions, come join me in the NFL Preseason: Week 2 forum thread.