Fantasy Football Takeaways from Preseason Week 2

We’ve reached the halfway point of the preseason, and with the regular season just over two weeks away, it can’t get here quick enough. 

Most of the big news coming out of the latest games has been negative, specifically when it comes to injuries to Green Bay's Jordy Nelson and Washington's Robert Griffin III.

Not everything was a negative, though, as the Eagles came out of the weekend looking strong, and the Cardinals may have found something from David Johnson.

Let’s take a look at how the fantasy world was affected by our second full week of preseason action.

Jordy Nelson's Injury Is a Massive Blow to the Packers and Fantasy Teams

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Just days after the Panthers lost Kelvin Benjamin for the season following a torn ACL, the Packers may have suffered the same fate. Ian Rapoport from NFL Network reported that the non-contact injury Jordy Nelson suffered in Sunday's game against the Steelers is also a torn ACL.

Coming into the game, I had Nelson ranked as my No. 5 wide receiver and one of the my nine WR1s for fantasy. 

If confirmed, this would obviously be a huge blow for the Packers, although it doesn't change a lot as it pertains to their top fantasy options. Aaron Rodgers remains my second quarterback off the board behind Andrew Luck. Randall Cobb was already in my WR1 tier, so his position is just solidified as a top-eight WR. Eddie Lacy was my top-ranked RB, and if there’s a need to lean on him a bit more, it just cements his case for the high ranking.

The biggest boost goes to Davante Adams. Adams barely cracked my top 60 WRs for fantasy and had an ADP around 134, but that won’t stay that way. He’ll move into a WR2 tier with players like Jarvis Landry, Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Maclin and could go as high as the fourth round.

Expect the Packers to stick with three-wide sets as their base offense. The question now is: Who moves into that group to join Cobb and Adams?

The top option looks like Jeff Janis, a second-year receiver with similar size to Nelson at 6’3’’ and 219 pounds. He was active for just three games last season and had only two receptions—although he wasn’t really needed for much more, so the inactivity isn’t a big deal.

According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Janis has struggled in training camp, with QB/WR coach Alex Van Pelt specifying an issue with Janis’ consistency.

Rookie Ty Montgomery could also be a candidate to see an increased role, although he doesn’t have the same size as Janis at 6’0’’ and 219 pounds. Considering Janis’ struggles, the door is open for Montgomery, although neither player is likely to have a lot of fantasy value, especially if the Packers get tight end Richards Rodgers more involved.

Run Eagles Run

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The Eagles showcased their starting offense at full strength in their second game of the preseason—a 40-17 win over the Ravens—which gave a nice glimpse into their new-look backfield. The combination of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews already looks like a great one for the Eagles.

Murray started the game and handled all but two of the carries on the opening drive (Darren Sproles took those) before Mathews took his first handoff of the game 14 yards for a touchdown. On that drive, Murray rushed four times for 15 yards.

On the team’s next possession, it was Mathews leading the way with a pair of runs inside the 10-yard line before Murray came in to finish off another scoring opportunity with a two-yard TD run. Matthews ended up with just the three attempts for 19 yards and a score, while Murray had five carries for 17 yards and his short TD.

Expect Murray to lead the team in carries and yards, but Mathews is in line for an important role in the rushing attack, which will be very busy this year. Murray remains a top-10 fantasy back, and Mathews continues to look like a great value with an ADP around 111 as my 30th-ranked running back.

The Redskins Can't Trust RG3

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Are the Redskins really evaluating their quarterback situation and trying to find their best option to win, or are they stubbornly sticking with Robert Griffin III? 

During last week’s game against the Lions, Griffin was battered behind a terrible Redskins offensive line and eventually knocked out of the game with head and shoulder injuries. After the contest, head coach Jay Gruden confirmed Griffin suffered a concussion. 

As our Jason Cole reported, the injury wasn’t expected to keep Griffin out for long. He was already back at practice Sunday and cleared for noncontact work, according to John Keim of ESPN. Griffin could start the third preseason game vs. Baltimore if he’s cleared. 

With the Redskins clinging to RG3 as their starter, they’re refusing to admit he’s not the best option, at least publicly. However, Jason Reid of ESPN wrote those in the building know they have no chance unless they look to someone else, whether it be Colt McCoy or Kirk Cousins.

By sticking with Griffin, the team is putting him and its offense in a terrible spot, which is a big reason why I’m staying away from Redskins for fantasy if I can help it.

David Now Leads the Battle of the Johnsons

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Cardinals rookie running back David Johnson never had much hype surrounding him this preseason. But any that did exist took a hit when the team signed Chris Johnson last week at a time when the rookie was battling a hamstring injury. 

Maybe that was all the motivation David needed, because he was back to practice the next day and was cleared for game action against the Chargers on Saturday. He led the Cardinals with 13 carries for 66 yards and added a pair of receptions for 15 yards in the 22-19 loss.

Afterward, head coach Bruce Arians said, per the Associated Press (via NFL.com), “I thought after he quit dancing and he got out of the dance studio, he ran real well."

While the rookie impressed, Chris Johnson didn’t even play thanks to a hamstring injury that could cost him up to two weeks, per Arians. With the veteran not guaranteed a roster spot and the younger Johnson impressing, this could be a very short stint for the former Titan and Jet.

Even with the addition of a veteran to the backfield, I kept the 6'1", 224-pound David Johnson in my top 40 running backs, as he has a chance to play an important role this season as a bigger version of Andre Ellington (5'9", 199 lbs).

Sam Bradford Passes a Huge Test

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After some unnecessary panic about Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford sitting out the first preseason game, we got to see him experience his first action since tearing his ACL during 2014 preseason.

Statistics were not important in his debut for the Eagles, but how he’d react to getting hit was definitely the focus. Bradford passed the biggest, most dangerous test when Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs hit him below the knee on a read-option play. Bradford remained in the game for the rest of the drive and wasn’t any worse for wear.

The quarterback looked a little charged-up in his first opportunity, overthrowing Riley Cooper down the field on his first throw before settling down to finish 3-of-5 for 35 yards in leading the Eagles to a touchdown on his only drive.

I haven’t been shy about my high expectations for Bradford in this offense and have since moved him up a spot in my rankings, which makes him my 11th-ranked QB for the season.

Marcus Mariota Gives the Titans Hope

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My expectations are pretty low for the Titans this season, and if possible, I’ll be avoiding them for fantasy. However, I do not doubt the talent of Marcus Mariota. He’s given the team reasons to be excited throughout training camp and after two preseason games.

Mariota has been working more under center than he did while at the University of Oregon, and he already looks comfortable. Against the Rams in the team's second preseason game, he executed the play action with relative ease on multiple occasions and flashed some athletic ability on a designed rollout and first-down pass.

The Titans stuck with Mariota for three drives, and he led them to three points, although he should have had a nine-yard touchdown to Dexter McCluster, who dropped a pass that hit him between the numbers. Mariota wound up 5-of-8 for 59 yards and added a rush for one yard.

After the game, Mariota told reporters, “After the first two plays... I kind of went out and had to revert to Pop Warner, just running over to the coach, getting the play and running back to the huddle.”

It wasn’t a phenomenal performance by any means, but it did show that Mariota is picking things up quickly and doesn’t seem overwhelmed by anything. He might not have a lot of help around him, but Mariota could be good enough to boost this rebuilding team up higher than its ground-level expectations.

Stop Talking About Darren McFadden

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A bothersome oblique injury has plagued Joseph Randle throughout training camp and is one of the reasons he’s been unable to claim the starting running back job for the Cowboys, although all indications are he’ll be the man come Week 1. 

That’s kept the door open for veteran Darren McFadden to work with the first-team offense in practice and get the start in the team’s second preseason game. However, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity against the 49ers, rushing for just four yards on three carries, which are the kind of numbers we’ve come to expect from McFadden at this point in his career.

Randle’s status was somewhat up in the air for the game in San Francisco, but he ended up replacing McFadden on the team’s third offensive series. He led the Cowboys with 30 yards on seven rushes and didn’t catch his only pass target.

Just seeing Randle out there after battling the injury was a positive sign.

The Cowboys need to end this charade that the starting RB job is still wide open. Maybe it’s a motivational ploy for Randle, but they know he’s their most talented back, and McFadden hasn’t been trusted to stay on the field for almost his entire career.

If Randle stays healthy, he’ll have this spot sewn up soon enough.

Tyrod Taylor Is No Tuel Time

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What was expected to be a two-man race for the starting quarterback job in Buffalo is exactly that through two preseason games, but the participants are different, and a new leader may have emerged.

Tyrod Taylor, who spent the last four seasons as a backup in Baltimore, has pushed his way into the QB competition and has made E.J. Manuel an afterthought. 

In the second preseason game, Taylor got the start, went 7-of-10 for 65 yards and was the team’s leading rusher with 41 yards on four attempts. This came in a game in which Matt Cassel didn’t play, leaving it to Taylor and Manuel to handle all the snaps against the Browns.

Head coach Rex Ryan continues to say he won’t name a starter until right before the regular-season opener against the Colts on Sept. 13, but that should be an indication of just how far Taylor has come to not only move past Manuel, but also to move into a legit competition with Cassel for the starting job.

Considering the Bills have a very talented defense and would like to pound the rock with LeSean McCoy, they might be better off with someone like Taylor since he can run and effectively execute the read-options, which gives opposing defenses something else to worry about when figuring out a game plan. Cassel is the more experienced and safer option, but he has limitations as a passer and isn’t considered a mobile QB.

This could be a squad that’s destined to start multiple QBs this season, so there’s no reason to get too excited for Taylor. He’s just brought something different to the table, and the team is certainly taking notice.

All rankings and statistics are from Fantasy Pros unless otherwise noted.