Thursday Night marked a noteworthy night on the calendar for NFL fans across the globe—the first NFL preseason game. It was the first chance to throw in some DFS lineups, the first chance to lose money on the Jets (-1.5) when a missed pass interference call could have saved you (I’m still bitter), and for our purposes, the first chance to see some of these rookies in action. Every preseason we are so excited about anything new that it is easy to overreact. I can still remember last year with everyone concerned over Josh Jacobs playing so many snaps in the Hall of Fame game. Don’t worry about it though, because we here at DFF are here to help you sort out what is an overreaction and what is the actual takeaway.
Jerome Ford
(inactive)
Overreaction: Jerome Ford will play the Kareem Hunt role this season
The Browns made an effort to give the first and second units the night off since the Browns have one extra preseason game than the rest of the league. They have Jerome Ford locked into Kareem Hunt’s role from past seasons. He will hover around back-end RB2 and high-end RB3 production and instantly becomes an RB1 if anything happens to Nick Chubb. He is easily worth multiple 2nds now and maybe even a late 1st.
Actual Takeaway:
This does likely mean that Jerome Ford is the backup and will get some carries but Ford cannot do all the things Hunt could. Jerome Ford has some inefficiencies in pass catching and pass blocking that will prevent him from getting a ton of passing-down work and could limit his viability when Nick Chubb is healthy. He does seem like a prime handcuff candidate though. If you can still get him at a handcuff price then do it but if he is being treated as a playable piece when Chubb is healthy then you will be disappointed.
Israel Abanikanda
16 Snaps
9-27-1 Rushing
1/1-5-0 Receiving
Overreaction:
This dude is everything we thought he was on tape, the Jets are going to use him as the change of pace guy to follow up Breece Hall. If Breece goes down or is unable to start the season then Abanikanda will be the guy. He should be moving up in ADP immediately. Did you see him get the corner on that touchdown run? The burst he showed at the college level is here and present in the NFL game.
Actual Takeaway:
Abanikanda did look good on that touchdown run and certainly showed some stuff we wanted to see. However, both Michael Carter and Zonovan “Bam” Knight were both given the night off and have both had success in regular season NFL games. Abanikanda even playing in this game was to serve one of two purposes, evaluation or extra practice reps. While I do not believe that he is in danger of being passed on the depth chart by Travis Dye or Damarea Crockett; there is a real cost to rostering a fourth RB. I believe the Jets will want to keep him but I would not be surprised if on most Sundays you have either him, Carter, or Knight inactive to free up a spot on gameday.
Zach Wilson
11 Snaps
3/5-65-0 Passing
Overreaction:
Aaron Rodgers has saved Zach Wilson by being a fantastic mentor. He has learned how to be a professional and that explains this solid outing by Wilson. We can expect him to be a starter somewhere else soon or to take over when Rodgers is done and all is good. Didn’t you see that rainbow he hit Malik Taylor with? What a cannon from this kid! Even his constant following of Rodgers shows a maturity that we haven’t seen from him in the past.
Actual Takeaway:
Last preseason for Zach Wilson was tough with the knee injury suffered that cost him the start of the season but in 2021 as a rookie, Zach Wilson tore it up in the preseason. The hype was very real around him as the number 2 overall pick in the draft that year. We have also always known that Wilson has a hand cannon for an arm, look up his pro-day footage if you want to see more. I have more Zach Wilson shares than I want to admit but this is not something that moves the needle for me. You have the most vanilla defenses in the preseason. Anyone that has played significant regular-season snaps should look like this in the preseason.
Cedric Tillman
36 Snaps
2/3-35-0 Receiving
Overreaction:
The rookie has some juice. He could be in line for work during his rookie season. Most of his snaps were done with Kellen Mond and he was still able to get on the stat sheet. Once he gets with Deshaun Watson and Joshua Dobbs, you will see.
Actual Takeaway:
I don’t believe anyone is doing Cedric Tillman victory laps yet but he was a guy we were all going to be looking at during this game before it even started. The 3rd round pedigree is tricky because it is still day two but not quite the same hit rate as the 2nd rounders that go ahead of them. He will have to beat out Donavan Peoples-Jones for a spot on the outside because of his profile so it is certainly possible but I am not sure I would expect it in year one.
Demetric Felton
35 Snaps (excluding Special Teams)
7-46-1 Rushing
2/3-9-0 Receiving
Overreaction:
The late breakout is here. Despite having only 13 carries in his previous 5 combined preseason games, he got a bunch of work at RB in this game. In past preseasons Felton has been mostly running with the wide receivers and special teams units. With Kareem Hunt out of the picture, the pass-catching running back role is open for the taking.
Actual Takeaway:
This was the single most shocking thing from the Hall of Fame game for me. I had fully believed that he was an RB in name only. He showed that could be in for some work as a 3rd down back. There are some obstacles though that temper my enthusiasm. First off, John Kelly Jr. also seems to be competing for the same role and did more in the passing game than Felton. Secondly, Jerome Ford is going to be involved in the offense so it would strictly be passing down work and minimal opportunities to spell Nick Chubb. I do think we could see him getting some regular-season snaps but not enough to bring him into fantasy relevance without an injury.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
35 Snaps
8/11-82-1 Passing
6-36-0 Rushing
Overreaction:
We have found the next Tom Brady/Dak Prescott/Kirk Cousins/Brock Purdy to fall in the draft and become a superstar NFL quarterback. He was simply electric, out there making plays with his legs and his arm. He even threw a block on a touchdown run. He led a big comeback in the fourth and looks the part.
Actual Takeaway:
That was fun to watch, but it is preseason. Not just saying that it is meaningless but the defenses are not calling for spies on him or running any blitzes. Preseason football is a great environment for a mobile quarterback to make some exciting and big plays but it doesn’t always translate. He looked good and Kellen Mond didn’t inspire much confidence so I think he has the inside track to make the team but I still don’t see him overtaking Joshua Dobbs in the backup role.
We will be getting a lot more on all these players and more each week during the preseason. An important skill of a good Dynasty manager is knowing what matters and what doesn’t from all of this. Combine what you see in these preseason games with what you are hearing from camp. If you need help in that department, Chris Museezer has you covered with his Training Camp Buzz series found here: Training Camp Buzz 1.0
Thanks so much for reading. If you want to discuss more, reach out to me on Twitter @DougHarrelson. Thanks also for your membership to DFF! For those signed up for an annual membership, you can always reach the rest of the DFF team and me on our Discord server! Exclusively for annual memberships only. Sign up today!
