Can Fantasy Football Preseason Heroes Save Your Team's Day Once Season Starts?

Here are some players that have played well in the preseason. Let’s evaluate them to see if they can translate their preseason production into fantasy worth when the season begins.

Quarterbacks

Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals

Leinart is the preseason leader with 517 passing yards. He also has completed 61.3 percent of his passes with three TDs to one INT. His passer rating of 97.3 is the fourth best. If Kurt Warner goes down, I think he’ll be ready to finally produce.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Joe is looking like a decent QB2 this season, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 470 yards and one TD. He has yet to throw a pick and sports a 94.3 passer rating. 

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks

Hasselbeck continues to have an outstanding preseason, completing a ridiculous 71.7 percent of his passes for 414 yards and four TDs. He has thrown one pick and has a robust passer rating of 111.7. He’s looking like a solid low-end QB1.

Vince Young, Tennessee Titans

VY solidified his backup role with the Titans. He is fifth in the league with 377 yards. He has completed 59.6 percent of his passes with three TDs and three INTs. His passer rating is 75.0. I would not draft Young and would only consider picking him up should he play well for a couple games should Kerry Collins go down.

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

Cutler had a nice game in a hostile environment as he returned to Denver. He has completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 329 yards and two TDs. His passer rating is solid at 92.0. He is a low-end QB1 with the potential to move up.

Running Backs

Glen Coffee, San Francisco 49ers

Coffee had 34 yards on eight carries (4.3 yards per carry) and three catches for 27 yards in San Francisco’s win over Dallas. Coffee leads all RBs with 230 yards on 38 carries (6.1 ypc). He also has five receptions for 35 yards. He’s not good enough to use as a flex player or bye week replacement in typical leagues, but he should be on fantasy rosters as a Frank Gore handcuff.

James Davis, Cleveland Browns

Davis has been impressive during the preseason with 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) with a TD. He has added seven receptions for 44 yards. He had 28 yards on five carries (5.6 ypc) and four catches for 27 yards in a win over Tennessee. He may not open the season as the starter, but if Jamal Lewis struggles, it will be hard to keep Davis off the field. Do not let him go undrafted. 

Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants

Bradshaw had another solid game against the Jets with eight carries for 47 yards (5.9 ypc) and two catches for five yards. In the preseason he has 136 yards on 19 carries (7.2 ypc) with one TD and six catches for 21 yards. He is a decent flex option and a excellent handcuff to Brandon Jacobs.

Kory Sheets, San Francisco 49ers

Sheets is tied for the lead with three preseason TDs. He has also run for 144 yards on 33 carries (4.4 ypc). He punched two in against Dallas while running for 42 yards on 11 carries (3.8 ypc). He’s battling for a roster spot but doesn’t have much fantasy value.

P.J. Hill/Lynell Hamilton, New Orleans Saints

Lynell and P.J. are battling for roster spots. Lynell has 143 yards on 31 carries (4.6 ypc) with four catches for 16 yards. He had 95 yards on 16 carries (5.9 ypc) in the win over Oakland. P.J. is tied for the lead with three TDs. He also has 113 yards on 22 carries (5.1 ypc) with one catch for two yards. He had 83 yards on 12 carries (6.9 ypc) with two TDs against Oakland.

With Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell ahead of them on the depth chart, neither has much fantasy value.

Leon Washington, New York Jets

Leon has 119 yards on 19 carries (6.3) with six catches for 40 yards in the preseason. In the Jets' recent win over the Giants, he had 62 yards on nine carries (6.9 ypc) and three catches for seven yards. Thomas Jones has just 61 yards on 29 carries (2.1 ypc) with two TDs. If his struggles continue, Leon can work his way into a larger role in the Jets offense. He’s a good flex option with a ton of upside.

Wide Receivers

Troy Williamson, Jacksonville Jaguars

Troy still leads the NFL in receiving yards with 232, but his one-catch, 11-yard performance against Philadelphia is a reminder that he shouldn’t be counted on for fantasy production. Yeah, he’ll catch the occasional deep ball, but consistency will be an issue.

Chris Henry, Cincinnati Bengals

Henry scored for the third straight preseason game. He had two catches for 62 yards. So far he has 13 grabs for 217 yards and three TDs. If he can stay out of trouble, he could have double-digit TDs. Considering he’s going in the later rounds, he should be a great value pick.

Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants

Nicks had a monster six-catch, 144-yard, two-TD performance against the Jets to put him on the fantasy radar. That gives him eight catches for 208 yards. I don’t see him having much fantasy value as he’ll likely share split end duties with Domenik Hixon.

Robert Meachem, New Orleans Saints

Meachem caught one pass for 71 yards in the win over the Raiders, giving him 177 yards on six catches for a ridiculous 29.5 yards per catch. He also has competition for playing time, but he has a much better QB and passing game with Drew Brees and the Saints.

Maurice Stovall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stovall had six catches for 74 yards against Miami to bring him to 12 for 123 yards in the preseason. He could earn a few starts based on Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton’s health, but I don’t see him being much of a factor. I’d look elsewhere for WR depth.

Tight Ends

Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans

Jared continued to produce with five catches for 39 yards in a loss to Cleveland. He has 17 catches for 159 yards this preseason. The Titans could be using a lot of two TE sets with Cook and Bo Scaife. He’s a decent TE2 option.

Jonathan Stupar, Buffalo Bills

Stupar has 15 receptions for 155 yards and a score. He went without a catch in the Bills' loss to Pittsburgh. Look for other options for your TE2.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.