Fantasy
8/19/24
3 min read
Fantasy Football 2024: Preseason Week 2 Takeaways
There is no more sifting through training camp reports and taking passes at reading tealeaves — the heart of the NFL preseason is here.
By Week 2, fantasy managers can receive extended looks at (most) teams' starting offensive units; we don't see much from the starters in Week 1. This slate of games allows managers to gather more conclusive information about what to expect relative to specific roles, potential playing time, and more.
Granted, it's best not to get too carried away with any findings, but early action gives us the first tangible evidence to identify fantasy relevance.
Let's explore some of the significant takeaways from Week 2 of preseason NFL action:
Preseason Week 2 Fantasy Football Takeaways
Bears RB Khalil Herbert seizing early-down opportunity
An important note to pass along up top: neither RB D'Andre Swift nor Roschon Johnson was active for the Chicago Bears home contest vs. the Cincinnati Bengals — any observation from Saturday's contest can be taken with a slight grain of salt.
Still, the incumbent, Khalil Herbert, played most early-down snaps for the Bears' offense and played with the starters well into the first half. Herbert notably played the same role in Week 1 vs. the Bills in a brief one-drive A-squad showing en route to vastly out-snapping Swift.
It's reasonable to expect that Swift will be an impact player for the Bears after signing a three-year, $24 million contract in free agency. However, there's still some value to sap from a potential tandem here.
According to 4 for 4's multi-site average draft position (ADP), which aggregates fantasy draft data from major platforms like CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo, Herbert is being taken as the RB54 as a 15th-round selection.
This sizable disparity between himself and teammate Swift, valued at RB23 in the fifth round, will be worth remembering for those participating in deeper league formats.
Should this speculated responsibility come to fruition for Herbert in the regular season, he could offer some sneaky flex-level value.
The Rome Odunze-Caleb Williams Duo Is Strong
Bears rookie wideout Rome Odunze played a healthy amount on Saturday, including some snaps in two wide receiver sets over Keenan Allen.
In addition to touching the ball on a sweet reverse play that went for a nice gain, he and fellow first-year starter QB Caleb Williams flashed their rapport by connecting on a beautiful 45-yard catch down the sideline in the second quarter.
Williams, who completed 6-of-13 passes for 57 yards, scrambled for a seven-yard rushing score in the second quarter shortly after that delightful pass to Odunze and looked as elusive in the pocket as ever. The Bears offense will need to show more consistency before we get too excited about their prospects, but both rookies warrant fantasy consideration.
Odunze, currently being selected as the WR42 in the eighth round of drafts, could be an excellent value pick in all formats. Williams isn't a bad lottery ticket for 1-QB formats sitting at QB15 in ADP, either.
Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy shine in Chiefs' Offense
Unfortunately, we didn't see any Detroit Lions starters on offense against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. The defending Super Bowl champs only boasted their starters for a pair of drives to open the game, but if you watched, you undoubtedly saw plenty of WR Rashee Rice.
The second-year wideout hauled a gaudy five targets for four catches and 35 receiving yards across the two possessions.
Though a potential suspension stemming from an offseason aggravated assault charge may eventually come for Rice, he'll undoubtedly be an integral part of the Chiefs' offense again this season.
Remember, he occupied a 17.8 percent target share as a rookie in 2023. That kind of usage from the current ADP WR34 in drafts is an absolute misprice, even with the slight risk of missing games.
Fantasy managers must give Rice a look on draft day at such a substantial value.
However, the success of the familiar face shouldn't distract from the efforts of rookie Xavier Worthy. The former Texas speedster occupied a nearly 100 percent snap participation with the first-team offense on Saturday and even bled into time with backup QB Carson Wentz.
It was with Wentz under center that Worthy connected for a 22-yard scoring bomb:
It's worth mentioning that the Chiefs are without Hollywood Brown due to a clavicle injury, but Worthy's ability to secure six targets and an end zone catch across three drives should pique the interest of prospective fantasy managers.
Why? The rookie is valued as a mid-eighth-round pick with a WR40 ADP price tag, just two spots behind his aforementioned injured teammate.
Any risk associated with eventually ceding playing time to Brown is already baked into Worthy's draft cost, though his ADP will undoubtedly rise after this performance.
Whatever pre-existing plans were in place to funnel him the ball certainly paid off. Let's see if Worthy can flash again this Thursday against the Bears in preseason Week 3.
Pittsburgh Steelers offense is still sluggish
Fantasy managers got to take their first look at the Pittsburgh Steelers offense with QB Russell Wilson under center on Saturday, and it was… not great.
All credit to the veteran for completing 8-of-10 passes for 47 yards across five drives, but the offensive line allowed three sacks, and the team only managed to achieve two first downs through about a quarter and a half.
Second-year OT Broderick Jones proved to be a significant liability, and neither the passing game nor the running game, as RB Najee Harris recorded four carries for just 17 yards, was effective. His teammate Jaylen Warren also tallied three touches but left the game due to a hamstring injury.
Warren is expected to miss multiple weeks with his Week 1 status uncertain.
The second-team offense didn't look much better with QB Justin Fields either, though he did help lead the team's longest drive of the first half and record a 20-yard scramble. It's possible a quarterback competition could still be brewing.
But for fantasy purposes, most Steelers players are priced in ADP commensurate with the risk of this offense playing poorly; no quarterback, running back, or wide receiver on the team is being drafted within the top 24 of their position.
However, one player who played nearly all first-team snaps for the black and gold and is still virtually free in drafts is WR Van Jefferson.
It remains to be seen what kind of impact rookie Roman Wilson will have on the offense once he returns from an ankle injury, but Jefferson is being drafted at ADP WR103 as of this writing, which means he's essentially an undrafted player most of the time.
Finishing the game with three catches on four targets for 19 yards, Jefferson might be a name to keep an eye out for if you're participating in redraft or best ball leagues with very deep rosters this season.
Additional thoughts from The Week 2 Slate
- The New York Giants' offense struggled against the Houston Texans, with QB Daniel Jones throwing a pair of interceptions in his first appearance since tearing his ACL in Week 9 of last season. Despite these woes, rookie WR Malik Nabers hauled in four of six targets for 54 receiving yards.
- Should the Giants look this shaky on a regular basis, Nabers' ADP WR24 price tag might be a touch risky, but he demonstrated his high upside. The question is, how often can he overcome the quarterback difficulties?
- The Bears' tight ends seem poised to cannibalize each other for snaps. Veteran Gerald Everett out-snapped new teammate Cole Kmet by a slight margin and notably appeared on all red zone snaps with the Bears' starting offense in their lone march downfield within scoring distance.
- Want to know something even more frustrating? Hat tip to Andrew Cooper of Fantasy Alarm: new Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has never used a single tight end on greater than 75 percent of offensive snaps in a season going back to his tenure with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.
- Neither Kmet nor Everett should be considered viable fantasy options in lineup-setting formats; we're talking about the best ball only for the duo.
- Anecdotally speaking, the Cincinnati Bengals made a concerted effort to target running backs in the passing game on Saturday. Nothing conclusive, but the offseason departure of long-tenured offensive coordinator Brian Callahan could call for slight tendency adjustments. It's worth monitoring moving forward.
- Undrafted free agent FB Carson Steele ran about half of the time as a complement to teammate RB Isiah Pacheco in the Chiefs' first-team offense. The UCLA product also returned kicks, but his regular appearance with Mahomes and company was a surprise — a name for deep roster dynasty managers.
- The Washington Commanders demonstrated an apparent cycle of back-and-forth between RBs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler vs. the Miami Dolphins. However, Robinson Jr. was the only one to record a touch as a runner (three carries for 22 yards), and Ekeler contributed more to passing downs. This is about as expected and should continue to be a committee.
- Buffalo Bills RB James Cook saw nearly all backfield work with first-team offense across four drives. It wasn't until midway through the second quarter that rookie Ray Davis made regular appearances on the field. If Cook continues to hold off competitors for touches, his ADP RB13 price tag is still warranted.
