🚨 Should You Panic On These 3 Players?

There’s nothing better than Deuce Vaughn highlights...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Fantasy Life’s Summer Collection:

• 3 players with red flags
• OverReaction Monday: Top plays from Preseason Week 1
• Sleeper RBs to target
• Lessons from Preseason Week 1: Late-round QBs impress
• It's 8/14. Take it away, Peter Overzet...

Week 1 of the preseason is in the books, and there’s lots to digest.

Down below, Matt LaMarca spotlights multiple players to get excited about based on their performances over the weekend.

But before we get to the hype, let’s assess three players whose fantasy stock looks shaky after their first preseason game and whether we should panic or not…

🤔 Travis Etienne (ADP: 41)

Etienne has been one of the trickier evals for 2023 fantasy drafts.

On the one hand, Etienne has an explosive RB profile on an ascending offense.

On the other hand, the team bizarrely didn’t use him in the passing game last year and then added Tank Bigsby in the NFL draft.

The good news for Etienne is that he played 10 of the 13 snaps with the starters in their first preseason game against the Cowboys.

Here’s the bad news:

😰 Should you panic?

While not a "quintessential” Dead Zone back because of his explosive profile (this isn’t Mike Davis), Etienne faces the high-value touch concerns outlined by Dwain above.

His price in the mid-fourth round of best ball drafts remains fair because of his raw talent and potential for big plays, but this is a reminder that we need to be realistic with expectations and extra cautious in managed leagues.

🤔 Quentin Johnston (ADP: 79.1)

Johnston dropped two passes in the Chargers game vs. the Rams, and reporters have noted that it’s been an issue for him during training camp:

Here’s what Daniel Popper said about the performance:

Johnston, overall, had an up-and-down game. On top of the drop on the deep ball, Johnston also dropped a comeback route on third down on the first drive of the game. His hands are going to be a work in progress. That playmaking is obviously there, though.

On his touchdown catch, Johnston ran a stellar route out of the slot, breaking the ankles of Rams cornerback Richard LeCounte III with a shifty release.

Daniel Popper, The Athletic

😰 Should you panic?

Drops have to be one of the least “sticky” things we should be concerned about when it comes to projecting fantasy production.

Remember when one of the best WRs in football had a big “drop issue” during his first offseason in the league?? There’s no reason to panic here. Johnston is a big, athletic WR tethered to one of the best offenses and QBs in the league.

He remains a priority target in all draft formats.

🤔 Greg Dulcich (ADP: 129.2)

A few things we knew about Dulcich before this weekend:

• He was a very good prospect
• He was a Nathaniel Hackett “guy”
• Sean Payton said his early evaluation of Dulcich was “hard”

And here’s what we know after the Broncos’ first preseason game vs. the Cardinals:

• He played 10 snaps with the starters while Adam Trautman played 15
• All of his usage was on third downs and in 2-TE sets:

😰 Should you panic?

I’m normally anti-panic, but this is concerning.

Sean Payton loves Trautman and brought him over from New Orleans. It could also get even worse once Chris Manhertz is in the mix.

Similar to the questions about Etienne, I’m less worried about Dulcich in best ball leagues where you don’t have to guess when he pops off for big games (which he’s still primed to do). That said, he could be a tricky start in managed leagues if his usage is getting jerked around.

We're humans who play fantasy football, which means we are prone to overreact. Today, Kendall overreacts to the preseason...

We finally got a taste of NFL action with the first week of preseason games in the books. There were highs and lows, but let’s be honest…there's nothing better than having football back.

While we love to overreact (obviously), just remember WE UNDERSTAND THIS WAS JUST PRESEASON.

We really shouldn’t be putting too much stock into what we see just yet – but you can still get some meaningful pieces of information if you look closely enough.

😱 Tyjae Spears

Everyone knows who the true running back king is for the Tennessee Titans (All rise for Derrick Henry), BUT there is also importance to knowing those handcuffs that could help push your fantasy team to the next level.

That brings us to rookie Tyjae Spears, who found himself in Tier 4 of the running back Fantasy Life Rookie Super Model.

Dwain McFarland noted that though Spears's 1.91 career ATYTA and 2.41 best-season ATYTA numbers were slightly above average, he showed promise in the passing game. And we saw a good debut from him on Saturday night with the Titans.

Spears out-snapped Hassan Haskins on the first two drives and ran six times for 32 yards. We also got this NICE stiff arm from the rookie.

Coming back down to earth a bit, we know that rookie running backs start pretty far down the depth charts and work their way up, but could Spears be the lightning to Henry’s thunder?

Ian Hartitz believes Spears belongs in Tier 3 of his running back handcuff tiers – noting that his size will really hinder any ability to handle a true every-down role if we lost Henry to injury.

I’ll continue to draft Spears, but limit my expectations.

😱 A plethora of highlights

It’s hard to narrow down just one thing to overreact to after the first week of preseason games, so why not just give you lots of options? Here are some of the top plays from the weekend that you can reminisce on when you’re drafting.

📺 The Dallas Cowboys parted ways with running back Ezekiel Elliott, and the fantasy football community rolled out the red carpet for Tony Pollard because of his insane league-winning upside, but who could step up behind him? Deuce Vaughn had a good day.

📺 Maybe one of the bigger training camp darlings this season, we can see why the spotlight has been on Justyn Ross ever since Kadarius Toney’s latest injury. We have an idea of what the wide receiver depth will look like in Kansas City, but maybe a late-round dart isn’t a bad idea?

📺 And, of course, this one is just selfish because of how many shares I have of Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, but come on. You can’t tell me you’re not ready to watch more Quentin Johnston highlights in September?!

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📺️ The preseason highlight of the year. One of the greatest plays in NFL history?!

👀 The Chiefs WR you should be paying attention to. Good preseason debut.

✍️ An important note about the Eagles’ backfield. There’s a reason for the usage.

🐎 A Super Bowl longshot after winning only five games in 2022? Let’s ride.

💤 Put this RB on our SUPER deep sleeper list. Wow.

🐬 If this is a preview of what’s to come, he’s a must-draft RB. Love this usage.

🥵 You okay, Brian Dabboll? How about some sunscreen next time.

📈 Juicy nugget about the Steelers backfield. One buy and one sell at current cost.

🧹 Scott Hanson drafts a wild fantasy team. Brings new meaning to the “witching hour.”

Week 1 of the preseason is officially in the books, and we finally have some real on-field information to sink our teeth into. Take it away, LaMarca…

A handful of starters suited up this weekend, with some seeing nearly a full quarter. It’s still not the regular season, but it’s a nice second course after the Hall of Fame Game appetizer.

Let’s dive into some of the most noteworthy takeaways from preseason Week 1.

🚀 Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell Impress

It seems like there are a bunch of teams who are handing the reigns of their franchise to young quarterbacks this season. There were three rookies drafted in the first round – Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, and Anthony Richardson – but there are a number of other young players who will be taking over as starting quarterbacks.

That includes a pair of second-year players in Pickett and Howell. It’s not surprising that both of their teams wanted to see them at the start of the preseason, and both quarterbacks passed with flying colors.

Pickett did see a handful of starts for the Steelers last season, but he’s now the uncontested QB1. He only played one drive in the Steelers’ first preseason contest, but it could not have gone much better.

He completed six of seven passes for 70 yards and led the team to a score on his only drive and delivered a beautiful slant to George Pickens for a score, with Pickens displaying some impressive after-the-catch ability.

As far as targets go, three of Pickett’s attempts went to Diontae Johnson, and he caught all three balls for 32 yards. It was only one drive, but it was a very promising outing for all of the Steelers’ fantasy prospects.

Howell wasn’t quite as impressive as Pickett, but he led the Commanders to a touchdown on the second of his two drives. He completed nine of his 12 passes for 77 yards, including a score to Jahan Dotson.

He ultimately spread the ball around, with Antonio Gibson and Cole Turner both seeing three targets. Dotson and Curtis Samuel saw two apiece, while Terry McLaurin had one.

Pickett and Howell still aren’t really on the radar as startable quarterbacks in 1-QB leagues, but they at least provided some optimism about their pass-catchers in fantasy drafts.

🤞 Tank Dell Has A Chance in Houston

Dell was the Texans’ third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he entered one of the weaker wide receiver rooms in the league.

The team brought in Robert Woods to complement Nico Collins and John Metchie, but the top spot in the pecking order is still wide open. Woods is clearly on the decline, while Collins and Metchie have yet to accomplish much at the NFL level.

Dell has garnered some serious buzz during training camp, with the coaching staff raving about his route running ability:

Dell did nothing to quell the buzz in his first preseason conference.

He saw time with Stroud and backup Davis Mills, and he was productive with both. He garnered a whopping eight targets, which he converted into five catches, 65 yards, and a score. Only one of those targets came from Stroud, but he threw just five passes.

Add it all up, and Dell is making a case to be the Texans’ top receiver during the regular season.

How much value that role will provide remains to be seen, but Dell is going outside the top 200 picks in Underdog drafts. His ADP is closer to 300 in other formats, and while he’ll likely see a bump following a strong debut, he could provide value in fantasy leagues.

Read on for more Week 1 preseason lessons

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