Preseason 2023 NFL Week 1: Biggest Takeaways from Saturday's Games
The NFL Preseason slate rolled on Saturday with several notable quarterback debuts. Anthony Richardson, Will Levis and Bryce Young all got their first taste of live action in the early wave of games.
Teams still have nearly a month to prepare for the official start of the NFL season, but these preseason games are still important. The exhibitions provide a live stage to give rookies an introduction to the league, new additions a ramp up to acclimate in new systems and those on the roster bubble to earn a spot.
It's important not to read too much into final scores and stat lines, but there are some worthwhile takeaways that come out of each game.
Here's a look at what we learned from Saturday's action so far with more takeaways to come as the slate progresses.
Good, Bad and Ugly in Anthony Richardson's Debut
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The Indianapolis Colts took Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick because of the enticing physical tools, not because he's a finished product.
That notion was reinforced in Richardson's first live round against an NFL defense.
The former Florida quarterback had a little bit of everything in his first preseason start. He completed his first two attempts to Isaiah McKenzie for short gains. When he went back to the McKenzie well for the third time, he sailed a pass off his back foot and was picked.
There were also some good moments for the rookie. Toward the end of the first quarter, he had a beautiful deep ball that he dropped right over the defender to Alec Pierce, although the sophomore wasn't able to bring the ball in.
In all, Richardson completed 7-of-12 passes for 72 yards with no touchdowns and the interception. He also had two carries for seven yards.
It was the kind of performance that aligns with his scouting report. B/R's Derrik Klassen noted Richardson, "flashes high-level throws but (is) prone to a few bizarre misfires per game."
Limiting those misfires will be key if Richardson is going to start early in the season. Gardner Minshew came in and went 6-of-6 in the first half for 72 yards to close out the first half.
New head coach Shane Steichen told reporters he wanted to start Richardson to see, "where he's at." As it turns out, he's right where many pundits had him. A talented prospect with a high ceiling and a lot of room to grow.
Malik Willis Proves Trade Value, Will Levis Shows He's Ready for QB2 Job
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The Titans backup quarterback battle was one of the more intriguing storylines of the day. Mike Vrabel and his staff sat Ryan Tannehill and let the two young quarterbacks share responsibilities for the day to audition for the backup job.
Both played well overall and made a case for themselves.
Malik Willis was 11-of-17 for 102 yards and an interception at halftime. That's a marked improvement over what he looked like in his rookie season. That's more passing yards in one half of action than he had in all three of his starts last year.
Even his interception was a catchable ball that bounced off Josh Whyle's hands.
The fact that Willis threw the ball 17 times is an encouraging sign of progress. This time last year, Vrabel was frustrated by Willis' indecisiveness when it came to throwing the football and he appears to be more comfortable in that area.
Given the fact that the Titans took Will Levis with a second-round pick, it's hard to envision Willis having a future with the Titans. However, this performance showed that he's made real improvements and would be worth another team giving up a pick to continue his development.
Levis got off to a rough start. He completed his first pass before throwing a near-pick and taking sack on a three-and-out possession. But he seemed to settle in after that, converting on a third-and-long in the first half and finishing 9-of-14 for 85 yards and an interception at the end of the game.
Both quarterbacks took too many sacks (four apiece), but Willis proved he isn't a lost cause and Levis showed he would be a solid backup to Ryan Tannehill right now.
DJ Moore Is Going to Be Justin Fields' Best Friend
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Life is going to be a lot easier for Justin Fields with the addition of DJ Moore.
Moore's first catch in Bears uniform made that pretty apparent. He took a simple screen pass to the house from 62 yards to tie the game up after the Titans scored on their opening drive.
That was Moore's only target of the day as the starters were fairly limited, but it was a glimpse at what he can for Fields and this offense. Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are nice complimentary pieces but Moore is a No. 1 receiver who has had success with less-than-ideal quarterback situations.
Khalil Herbert also looked good in limited reps. He took another simple screen pass for a 56-yard house call.
Fields ended up going 3-of-3 for 129 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Fields still needs to prove that he can be a downfield passer with consistency but Bears fans should be excited to see the level of execution and the added dimension that Moore is going to bring to the offense.
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Panthers Need to Figure Out Bryce Young's Protection ASAP
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Bryce Young's first preseason play ended up being pretty emblematic of his entire debut.
On second down, the Panthers came out in an empty formation, the Jets responded with a defensive line stunt that brought pressure quickly. Young didn't panic. He looked at his first read before moving to the right side of the field and delivering an accurate ball to Adam Thielen as he took a shot from Solomon Thomas.
Young's processing, accuracy and ability to deal with pressure were reasons he was the No. 1 pick. In that regard, Young did a nice job of showing those things.
But the overall performance of the offensive line should be a source of concern. Young played for three drives before giving way to Matt Corral. The rookie was sacked just one time but consistently had pressure in his face.
In total, the Jets had six quarterback hits in the first two quarters. Corral took two sacks in the first half.
The Jets were one of the best pass-rushing teams in the league last season. They looked like they were in midseason form, but the Panthers will need to shore up their pass protection if they are going to keep the No. 1 pick healthy all season.
Cowboys Running Game Bland Without Tony Pollard
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One of the big questions the Cowboys need to answer during the preseason is what the backfield is going to look like without Ezekiel Elliott.
Pollard overtook Elliott for the lead role last season, but the veteran still took plenty of carries to keep Pollard fresh.
Dan Graziano of ESPN reported the Cowboys still don't see Pollard as someone whose going to be able to carry the backfield by himself:
"The Cowboys still see Pollard as a player they have to be careful not to overwork if they're going to keep getting the best out of him, so I would expect them to use other backs in combination with him."
With Pollard out of the lineup, the Cowboys other backs had an opportunity to prove they could seize a role in the offense.
The results were uninspiring.
Rico Dowdle got the most carries in the first half when the Jaguars 1's and 2's were in. He had six carries but had just 21 yards and seven of them came on one carry. He did have some burst but also fumbled at the goal line.
Malik Davis was even more unproductive with three yards on four carries. Dowdle was definitely the better of the two, he also had three receptions for 33 yards.
Rookie Deuce Vaughn added a spark in the second half. He broke off a 26-yarder and finished with eight carries for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps he'll see more early action in the second week of the preseason, or the Cowboys might be a team that looks to add a veteran back through free agency.
Zay Flowers Is Going to Be a Problem
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The stat line doesn't always tell the full story, especially in the preseason when working with a small sample size. Zay Flowers was a perfect example in his Baltimore Ravens debut.
The box score says the wide receiver had one carry for one yard, but he showed off a lot more than those numbers would indicate.
First off, here's a look at the one-yard run. Even though he didn't break it, he made an athletic move just to get it back to the line of scrimmage. He broke out a video game-esque juke to shake the first defender.
The biggest thing that Flowers did all night was confirm Peter King's analysis of the electric receiver. King named Flowers the "most impressive" rookie he had seen in the first six camps he visited this season, noting that cornerbacks had to hold him or interfere to keep him from getting the ball for NFL on NBC.
The Ravens first-team offense (sans Lamar Jackson) scored on a drive in which Flowers drew an illegal use of hands and a defensive holding penalty.
If it were a real game it's a safe bet the Ravens would have forced the Eagles to continue covering Flowers and he would have had a much bigger impact on the box score.
Jalen Carter's Quickness is Going to Translate
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The NFL at large might have made a mistake allowing Jalen Carter to fall all the way to No. 9 in the draft. The Eagles didn't necessarily need another dominant pass-rusher, but Carter wasted no time in showing his potential to become one.
Josh Johnson found out who he was on his first play. Carter crossed up Ben Cleveland on his first snap and got to Johnson with some bad intentions to make his presence felt.
Carter's pass rush numbers at Georgia weren't eye-popping. He had just six sacks in his last two seasons with the Bulldogs, but that's why it's important to look at traits.
Bleacher Report's Matt Holder noted Carter's ability to, "redirect and make the offensive lineman miss if slanting puts him out of position."
It was good to see him put that on film right from the jump. Well, that is if you're an Eagles fan. For the other 31 teams in the league, it's not great news.
Pair of TCU Receivers Will Add Punch to Chargers Offense
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The Battle of Los Angeles preseason game had a heavy TCU flavor to it. The Chargers drafted a trio of TCU stars from last year's Fiesta Bowl winners in Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis and Max Duggan.
The Rams also had two Horned Frogs in action as well with interior offensive lineman Steve Avila and cornerback Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson both getting action.
But it was Johnston and Davis who stood out as potential difference-makers for the Chargers.
Johnston's day started off slowly. He has had issues with drops in training camp and had two on the team's opening drive. But he ended up getting things back on track, bringing in a touchdown pass from Easton Stick just before halftime.
Derius Davis—a fourth-round pick for the Chargers—did his best to claim the punt returner role. He showcased his speed and explosiveness with an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Davis also caught the only two targets thrown his way for 21 yards to show that he's capable of contributing on offense and special teams.
That's great news for a team that struggled offensively when either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams was not in the lineup due to injury.
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