Preseason production is kind of like the points from Whose Line Is It Anyway – they don't matter, at least not in the grand scheme of scoring fantasy points and winning meaningful football games.

That said, it's certainly preferable for players to, you know, perform good vs. bad with their opportunities. Solid performances should lead to opportunities to advance up the depth chart and ultimately earn meaningful game action come September and beyond.

This brings us to today's goal: Which players really showed out during the preseason and accordingly might have earned the opportunity to handle some fantasy-relevant touches sooner rather than later?

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Texans RB Cam Akers looked pretty, pretty, pretty good out there

  • Production: 24-112-0 rushing – 8-61-1 receiving
  • Highlights

Yes, Akers' preseason usage suggests he's behind Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce on the depth chart. Pass-down specialist Dare Ogunbowale also probably has a better chance of securing weekly regular-season snaps. There isn't an overly realistic path to standalone fantasy value at the moment here.

Also yes, the former Rams veteran looked good this preseason despite coming off his second Achilles tear. Maybe all the former second-round pick needed was to tear his other Achilles to restore balance and get #good at football again? People are wondering, anyway, give Akers credit for spinning his way to a team-high 4.7 yards per carry and 3.1 yards after contact – not too shabby of a performance when Dame Pierce only managed *checks notes* nine yards on eight carries.

The Texans gave Mixon a three-year, $27 million contract extension for a reason: The ex-Bengal is cemented as the team's featured back and boasts some serious upside ahead of 2024. Still, Pierce's brutally inefficient 2023 campaign (NFL-low 2.9 yards per carry) already led to him losing the starting job to Devin Singletary last year; it wouldn't be the most shocking development if Akers' preseason performance leads to a legit opportunity to seize the backup job inside of a Texans offense fully expected to rank among the league's high-scoring units.

49ers RB Jordan Mason is THE handcuff to own in San Francisco

  • Production: 14-76-2 rushing – 1-7-0 receiving
  • Highlights

Fun fact: Only De'Von Achane (7.9) has averaged more yards per carry than Mason (5.6) over the last two seasons (minimum 75 carries). 

Arbitrary cutoff aside, the former undrafted free agent has largely made the most out of his opportunities ever since entering the league in 2022, leading to head coach Kyle Shanahan noting the following about his team's backfield depth behind Christian McCaffrey:

“I’d say, nothing against Elijah [Mitchell] — there’s been no fall-off in Elijah at all — but JP runs at a very high level… He did a hell of a job for us last year and we’ll see how camp plays out.”

Standing 5'11" and weighing 223 pounds, Mason has the sort of size required to handle a large workload – and his offseason workouts reflect his desire to develop a true three-down skill set. 

It was already looking possible that Mason would seize the No. 2 RB job BEFORE Elijah Mitchell was placed on season-ending IR – now it's a certainty. Suddenly we're looking at a top-150 pick and premiere handcuff alongside guys like Tyler Allgeier, Bucky Irving, and Ty Chandler as the second banana inside one of the game's most consistently fantasy-friendly rushing attacks.

Chiefs RB Carson Steele … DOG

  • Production: 11-87-2 rushing – 2-(-)3-0 receiving
  • Highlights

Starting Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco missed two games last season … and Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon combined to rack up a whopping 57.8 PPR points. That's life for RBs inside this ever-lethal Patrick Mahomes-led attack; this offense ranked seventh in expected backfield PPR points per game last year despite a relatively down year in the overall scoring department (15th).

Enter Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie who was perceived as a potential fullback despite racking up over 3,780 total yards in three collegiate seasons at Ball State and UCLA. It's hardly guaranteed that Steele solidified himself as the team's No. 2 RB, but he certainly looked the part during preseason action. I mean, look at these numbers!

Steele among 108 RBs with 10-plus preseason rush attempts

  • Yards per carry: 7.9 (3rd)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 7.4 (1st)
  • Missed tackles forced per carry: 0.82 (1st)
  • Explosive run rate: 27.2% (1st)
  • PFF rush grade: 86.1 (3rd)

Now, it's not a given that Steele is ready to take CEH's incumbent No. 2 job; the recent addition of ex-Bengals/Broncos RB Samaje Perine also doesn't help matters. Still, beating out guys like Deneric Prince and Louis Rees-Zammit for a roster spot is certainly a good start. Either way: Bravo to the artist known as "Cream Hunt" for one helluva preseason, and don't be surprised if more meh performances by CEH eventually leads to another demotion on the depth chart.

Could Malik Washington be the WR3 in Miami?

  • Production: 3-16-0 receiving – 2-61-0 rushing – 27.8 yards per kickoff return – 8.4 yards per punt return
  • Highlights

I wrote several player profiles on some of the NFL Draft's top-ranked WRs this past April, yet couldn't help but be impressed by Virginia WR Malik Washington, who repeatedly popped up at the top of advanced receiving leaderboards:

Washington among 149 Power-5 WRs with 50-plus targets in 2023:

  • PFF receiving grade: 92.4 (No. 2)
  • Yards per route run: 3.15 (tied for No. 8)
  • Targets per route run: 31.4% (No. 3)
  • Missed tackles forced on reception: 35 (No. 1)

While Washington's receiving contributions were minimal this preseason, he was electric on a pair of reverses and also flashed plenty of tackle-breaking ability as both a punt and kick returner. The sixth-round pick obviously isn't going to take any snaps away from Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle anytime soon, but the No. 3 WR job remains a bit of a mystery with perceived front-runners Odell Beckham Jr. starting the season on the PUP list and River Cracraft (upper body) on IR.

The most likely scenario is that Washington mostly just works as a gadget/returner in year one, but don't be surprised if head coach Mike McDaniel continues to find ways to get him the football should the rookie (continue) to largely make the most out of his opportunities.

Let's give Patriots QB Drake Maye the starting job and see what happens

  • Production: 21 for 34, 192 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT – 7-32-1 rushing
  • Highlights

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Maye has flashed some serious high-end upside during his short time under center. After all, the man achieved PFF's single-highest PFF passing grade (91.6) among 89 Power-5 QBs with 300-plus dropbacks during his three seasons at North Carolina, regularly making some truly magnificent throws along the way that drew warranted comparisons to Justin Herbert.

However, the Patriots had been fairly steadfast throughout the offseason that Jacoby Brissett was their starter … until recently! Get a load of these two quotes from head coach Jerod Mayo separated by a mere 12 hours:

  • Sunday evening (8/25): "100% (Drake Maye) is our second-best quarterback on our roster right now."
  • Monday morning (8/26): “It's a true competition, and I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby.”

Obviously, the Patriots don't offer the world's best offensive environment; they ranked 27th last season in my "Supporting Cast Rating" metric. PFF's 28th-ranked offensive line entering 2024 isn't likely to make life easy for either QB, which is problematic considering Maye's performance under pressure was one of the primary red flags in his pre-draft prospect profile.

And yet, the best QBs tend to elevate everyone around them, and it's tough to ignore the high-end flashes the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 3 overall pick has already managed to put on tape. Don't be surprised if the leash on Brissett is short even if he manages to win the starting job – it seems more likely than not that Maye will be under center sooner rather than later considering the history of top-10 QBs and the reality that the Patriots open the first month and a half of the season with the Bengals, Seahawks, Jets, 49ers, Dolphins and Texans.