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Footballguy
I thought it would be good to have a thread for preseason notes, injuries, big performances, etc.
Texans at Panthers
Benardrick McKinney sat this game out, allowing Zach Cunningham to play 39 snaps. He put together 4 solos and 3 assists. KJ Dillon has been a popular S sleeper. Dillon parlayed 42 snaps into 2 solos and an assist. The rest of the Houston defense doesn’t leave a lot of tackles for Ss. Dylan Cole was a UDFA LB this year. He’s got some fans out there who think he could actually earn snaps as early as next season. Cole put up 2 solos and an assist on 38 snaps.
Two LBs had solid stat lines for Carolina. Jared Norris had 4 solos and 4 assists on 52 snaps. Jeremy Cash had 3 solos, an assist and half a sack on 39 snaps. Cash is a college safety who plays LB in the NFL. Both were UDFAs last year and both would need an injury or two to the top 3 LBs on the depth chart to be useful during the regular season. Dezmen Southward put together 4 solos and 2 assists on 53 snaps. He’s a former 3rd round pick at S who was asked to play CB. He’s bounced around a few teams and practice squads. Rotoworld has him listed 2nd behind Kurt Coleman at FS.
Broncos at Bears
Derek Wolfe suffered a pretty bad sprained ankle. It looks like Wolfe will be ready for Week 1. The more important consequence could be it gives someone else a chance to pass Jared Crick as the opposite end. Adam Gotsis was a 2nd round pick last year. He’s been getting some positive pub after a ho-hum rookie season. Demarcus Walker was a 2nd round pick this year. Both will earn snaps during this season regardless. If one is able to take over for Crick, they could become a valuable producer in the spot formerly manned by Malik Jackson. Jamal Carter Sr and Orion Stewart are both UDFA Ss. They led the team in tackles, Carter with 6 solos and Stewart with 5 solos.
Nick Kwiatkoski has a potentially productive role this year with Danny Trevathan coming back from injury. Kwiat had 5 solos and an assist but ended up with a concussion. Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks are set as 2 of the starters on the DLine. The second DE spot is still up for grabs. The battle is between Mitch Unrein, Jaye Howard and Jon Bullard. I couldn’t find any snap count information. Unrein played with the starters. Neither Unrein or Howard produced a stat, while Bullard had 2 solos and 1 for a loss. He also whiffed on a sack on Paxton Lynch.
Falcons at Dolphins
De’Vondre Campbell and Duke Riley will both start at LB for Atlanta. The question comes down to who gets sub package snaps alongside Deion Jones. Campbell played 10 snaps against the Dolphins. He ended up with 3 solos, 1 for a loss, and an interception. Riley played 27 snaps and put up 2 solos and 3 assists. Round 1: Campbell.
Obviously, the big story here is Raekwon McMillan’s torn ACL on the opening kickoff. It’s a shame. McMillan is only 20 but his owners get to spend the next year hoping this doesn’t turn into a Ragland situation. Mike Hull is currently considered the replacement for McMillan at Mike, although it’ll be a 2 down role. Hull had 1 solo against the Falcons. Cordrea Tankersley, the 3rd Round rookie CB, led the team with 6 solos.
Vikings at Bills
The battle for starting WILL has been between Emmanuel Lamur and Edmund Robinson. It’s a 2-down role so the usefulness is questionable even in deeper leagues. Lamur had 1 solo, 1 assist and 1 PD. Robinson had 2 solos, 2 assists and 1 PD. The #3 WILL, Eric Wilson, led the team in tackles, putting up 5 solos, 2 assists and 2 PDs. He may have just added his name to the competition. Minnesota’s 4th round pick, Ben Gedeon, is currently backing up Eric Kendricks at MIKE. Gedeon piled up 5 solos and an assist. Some people are hoping Jayron Kearse beats out Andrew Sendejo at SS. Kearse, the sophomore 7th rounder, added 2 solos and an assist.
Ramon Humber has been listed as the starting WILL. Considering this team found lighting in a bottle last year with 33-year-old Lorenzo Alexander, we have to be prepared to consider Humber a legit starter. He played with the starters against the Vikings. He didn’t play every snap but played with Preston Brown in the Nickel. Humber also led all starters in tackles with 2 solos and 2 assists. Gerald Hodges may be the guy who has the best shot to replace Humber in the starting lineup. He ended the day with 2 solos. Brown already seems to have won the battle against Reggie Ragland for the starting Mike. Ragland had a solid game with 4 solos, 2 assists and a TFL. Trae Elston, a sophomore UDFA S, led the team with 5 solos and 1 assist while adding a PD. Rotoworld lists him as the #3 FS. PFF gave a high draft grade to UDFA DT Marquavius Lewis. Lewis produced 4 solos, 1 sack and 3 TFLs. He’s not on MFL yet but I’ll be keeping an eye on him. The Ronald Darby trade leaves a starting CB spot up for grabs. Shareece Wright, last year’s Raven’s frequent burn victim piled up 3 solos and an assist. I’m looking elsewhere.
Washington at Ravens
Josh Harvey-Clemons put together 6 solos and added a QB hit on 35 snaps. The 7th round safety is trying to lock down a roster spot. Zach Vigil also put up 6 solos on 23 snaps. Vigil sits at the bottom of the ILB depth chart after going undrafted to the Dolphins two years ago. He was claimed off waivers by Washington on Tuesday. Mason Foster (12 snaps), Will Compton (6 snaps) and Zach Brown (12 snaps) are battling for the 2 starting ILB spots. Compton didn’t produce a stat. Foster had 3 solos and 1 assist. Brown had 2 solos, 2 assists and 1 TFL.
Brent Urban is a starter at DE for Baltimore. He led the team with tackles with 4 solos, adding a sack. He’s probably still available in your league. He might be worth a pickup. Patrick Onwuasor also had 4 solos. He started the game last season that Zach Orr missed due to injury. Kamalei Correa was already injured at the time and is expected to start in Orr’s spot. Correa only had 1 solo. I couldn’t find snap counts for the Ravens. I assumed Onwuasor had more snaps than Correa, but it’s still worth monitoring.
Jaguars at Patriots
Blair Brown is a popular 5th round LB for the Jags. He won’t earn a starting spot this year unless there’s an injury but he proved his popularity was warranted with 3 solos and 5 assists. The 3rd Round DE, Dawuane Smoot, has seen interest all offseason. That interest grew after Dante Fowler’s brush with the law. Smoot had 4 solos and 2 assists. The Jags had a productive 3rd Round DE last year as well. Yannick Ngakoue had 1 solos, 2 assists and a sack. Fowler had 2 solos and a QB hit.
New England didn’t play their starters, giving young guys the opportunity. Elandon Roberts and Jordan Richards both had 3 solos and 5 assists. Both also left the game with an injury. The DE spot across from Trey Flowers is up for grabs this offseason. Most people assume Kony Ealy will take it after the Pats traded for him. The cost, dropping from a 2nd to a 3rd, isn’t substantial and Ealy hasn’t had a good camp. Geneo Grissom, a 3rd round pick from 2015, hasn’t had a good camp and notched 1 solo and 4 assists. Derek Rivers was drafted in the 3rd round this year. They all seemed to be losing to the 4th round rookie, Deatrich Wise though. Wise has been getting a lot of good pub during training camp but very few people have noticed. He notched 2 assists before leaving the game with a concussion. The situation is worth watching. Wise may only miss a short time and could still win the starting spot. Or he may miss too much time and lose the competition by default, leaving Ealy, Grissom and Rivers battling for it.
Saints at Browns
It’s usually not a good sign when a CB leads the team in tackles. PJ Williams had 6 solos. That was on 43 snaps. Alex Okafor vs Hau’oli Kikaha for the DE spot opposite Cameron Jordan is one of two position battles to watch. Okafor played 12 snaps, the same as locked in starters Sheldon Rankins, Kenny Vaccaro, AJ Klein and Craig Robertson. Kikaha played 16 snaps. Neither produced a stat. Okafor is still a LB on MFL but Rotoworld updated their depth chart to make him a DE which MFL will pick up before the season starts. Stephone Anthony (33 snaps) and Alex Anzalone (40 snaps) are competing for the WILL. Anthony had 3 solos and a sack but seems to be disliked by the coaching staff. Anzalone had 1 solo and 2 assists, but most importantly for Anzalone, didn’t get hurt. David Onyemata is currently behind Tyeler Davison in replacing the IRed Nick Fairley at DT. Onyemata turned 37 snaps into 4 solos and an assist.
Cleveland has a competition at MIKE. It’ll be a two-down role, but if you think Cleveland will be losing a lot of games and the opposing teams will be running the clock in the 4th quarter, it could still be a low-end fantasy viable position. Tank Carder and Joe Schobert are battling. Carder played 19 snaps and recorded 1 solo while missing another tackle. Schobert turned 14 snaps into 2 solos, 1 sack and a PD. Advantage: Schobert. Rookie UDFA Kenneth Olugbode sits 3rd on the MIKE depth chart and used 42 snaps to produce 4 solos and an assist. Carl Nassib and Nate Orchard are competing for the DE3 spot behind Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah. Nassib played 33 snaps and garnered 1 QB hit, 1 FR and 1 offside penalty. Orchard, the former 2nd Rounder, got 2 assists and .5 sacks on 30 snaps. If you’re in a deeper league, I’d bet Nassib is owned while Orchard is riding your waiver wire. The recently-acquired Calvin Pryor played 34 snaps and contributed 1 assist. There are questions as to whether he’ll even make the roster.
Eagles at Packers
Derek Barnett played 23 snaps. He produced 2 sacks and 2 assists. He’s #good. I’m starting to regret only drafting him on 1 lineup. Nate Gerry is trying to earn the backup LB spot after playing S at Nebraska. He turned 17 snaps into 3 solos. Rookie UDFA S Tre Sullivan played 27 snaps and led the team with 4 assists. He also laid a huge hit on Malachi Dupree. Sullivan needs more play like this to lock in his roster spot and start moving up the depth chart.
Marwin Evans is a sophomore UDFA S. He has some depth chart issues. He did perform will in the game, leading the team in tackles with 6 solos and 1 assist, and adding an interception on 41 snaps. Rookie Josh Jones played 43 snaps, lining up at both S spots as well as LB. He earned 4 solos. 2nd Round CB Kevin King hasn’t had a great camp and turned 36 snaps into 5 solos.
Steelers at Giants
TJ Watt played a ridiculous 63 snaps on defense, adding another 10 on Special Teams. It’s the preseason. He turned it into 2 sacks, 3 solos, 2 assists, 2 more QB hits and a PD. If OLB can be a viable position in your league, he should be productive. Mike Hilton is a UDFA sophomore CB. He played 19 snaps against the Giants. He had 6 solos, an assist and a sack. Javon Hargrave is the starter this year at NT. He had 2 solos, an assist and a TFL on 15 snaps. Keith Kelsey is a UDFA ILB out of Louisville. He recorded 1 solo for every 3 defensive snaps. He’s below Tyler Matakevich, LJ Fort and Steven Johnson on the depth chart just to back up Ryan Shazier and Vince Williams.
Landon Collins played 10 snaps. He led the team with 4 solos, an assist and a TFL on 10 snaps. He just won’t let anyone else tackle for the Giants… BJ Goodson played 25 snaps. Most people think he’ll be the starting Mike this year. He had 1 sack. Darian Thompson and Andrew Adams are competing for the FS starting spot opposite Collins. Thompson played 25 snaps and earned 1 solo. Adams played 23 snaps and earned 4 solos. I doubt Collins will allow either to get tackles during the regular season.
Buccaneers at Bengals
Kendell Beckwith was TB’s 3rd Round pick. The best that can be expected of him this year, without injury, would be the starting SAM spot and coming off the field in sub packages. He played 35 snaps and had 3 solos, 2 assists and a sack. The guy currently ahead of him on the depth chart, Devante Bond suffered an injury that could keep him out of the rest of the preseason. Kwon Alexander had 4 solos and an assist in 13 plays on the opening drive. Keith Tandy and Chris Conte both played the 13 snaps with the starters. Free agent signing JJ Wilcox and 2nd Round pick Justin Evans each played 35 snaps. Wilcox produced 3 solos and 2 assists. Evans had 1 solo and 4 assists. Both will earn snaps during the regular season.
CB leading a team in tackles… KeiVarae Russell had 6 solos and a PD. Russell was a 3rd round pick by the Chiefs last year but was waived in September. He was immediately claimed by the Bengals. Otherwise, the Bengals young players produced. 2016 3rd Round pick Nick Vigil had 3 solos and 3 assists. Rookie 3rd Round pick Jordan Evans had a sack, 2 solos and an assist. Rookie 6th Round pick Jordan Evans had 5 solos and an assist.
49ers at Chiefs
Austin Calitro is a UDFA LB who has already been waived by the Jets this year. He had 7 solos and 1 TFL on 25 snaps. That’s 2 snaps fewer than Reuben Foster who had 2 assists and a PD. Aaron Lynch showed up after losing some weight after OTAs. Lynch had 2 sacks, an assist and a PD in 15 snaps. He could lock up the DE3 spot on the depth chart with more games like this.
The ILB spot opposite Derrick Johnson is available. Ramik Wilson (17 snaps) got the start and had 2 solos and an assist. 5th Round rookie Ukeme Eligwe (41 snaps) has impressed in camp and led the team with 3 solos and 2 assists. Former starters Josh Mauga (20 snaps) and Justin March-Lillard (14 snaps) and new acquisition Kevin Pierre-Lewis (23 snaps) are also competing.
Titans at Jets
The two notable stat lines here appear to be Kevin Byard and Jayon Brown. The 2016 3rd Round pick Byard will be the starting FS. He had 4 solos and 2 TFLs. Brown appears to be Sean Spence’s replacement as the 3rd ILB. He had 4 solos and 1 TFL.
UDFA LB Connor Harris has been a popular name. The depth chart after Darron Lee is unsettled. Harris had 24 snaps, 2 solos and an assist.
Cowboys at Rams
With Barry Church now playing in Jacksonville, the starting SS spot is available in Dallas. Jeff Heath is the projected starter but a pair of 6th round draft picks could give him some competition. Xavier Woods tallied 6 solos and an assist. Kavon Frasier produced 5 solos. 1st Round Taco Charlton notched a sack and 3 solos.
There’s not much to say about the Rams. Kevin Peterson, a rookie UDFA CB, had 5 solos. Kevin Davis, a rookie UDFA LB had 3 solos and 2 assists. Maurice Alexander will be the starting SS this year for the Rams. Two guys I kept an eye on last year were Ss Marqui Christian and Blake Countess. Christian had 4 solos and Countess had a solo and an assist.
Raiders at Cardinals
The competition for ILB could be pretty easily determined. Corey James had 7 solos and 5th round rookie Marquel Lee had 5 solos and an assist. 7th Round rookie Shalom Luani is 3rd on the SS depth chart. He added 5 solos, an assist and a PD. Two rookie DLinemen had standout games. UDFA Latroy Lewis and 7th Round pick Treyvon Hester both had 2 sacks and 4 total tackles. Maybe the 2nd team interior O-Line for the Cardinals isn’t good.
Josh Bynes is definitely worth keeping an eye on, 6 solos, an assist, .5 sack and a PD. Deone Bucannon will miss time into the season. The Cardinals have Karlos Dansby and Hasaan Reddick. Bynes could find a way onto the field. Budda Baker had 5 solos and a PD. In the HOF game, he lined up at both safety spots, slot corner and outside corner. They are going to use him all over the field and he’s going to make plays.
Lions at Colts
The biggest news for Detroit is the potential loss of Kerry Hyder for the season. They’ll take a second look but it looks like a torn achilles. The Lions will already be missing Armonty Bryant for the first 4 weeks due to a Substance Abuse policy suspension but now it seems like his roster spot should be safe. That means the DE starting across from Ziggy Ansah for at least the first 4 weeks will be former 6th Round pick Cornelius Washington, who, in 4 years, is averaging 7.5 tackles and .75 sacks per season. Washington is injured at the moment, so Brandon Copeland, Jeremiah Ledbetter, rookie UDFA Jeremiah Valoaga (6 solos and a sack) and rookie UDFA Alex Barrett (4 solos, 2 assists and a sack) will get chances. Just spitballing here Detroit, I bet the Jets would take a 5th round pick for Sheldon Richardson, who would be a substantial improvement. Outside of the DE situation, Jalen Reeves-Maybin logged 4 solos and 2 assists. That’s not enough to overcome Tahir Whitehead and Paul Worrilow at WILL, but it’s a start.
There wasn’t much to learn from the Colts. Antonio Morrison and Jon Bostic, who are at the top of the ILB depth chart, didn’t play. And Edwin Jackson (3 solos, 2 assists) Anthony Walker Jr (1 solo, 1 assist) and Sean Spence (2 solo) didn’t do anything to move ahead of the two. Spence, after being an offseason hype darling, seems to have dropped to the third team defense. Barkevious Mingo had 5 assists against the Lions, so again, former 1st round picks will get as many chances as they need.
Seahawks at Chargers
There aren’t a lot of position battles on the Seattle defense. Who starts at CB across from Richard Sherman is the primary one. Shaquil Griffin had an assist. Jeremy Lane didn’t play. Bradley McDougald and Delano Hill are the other additions to the team.Their roles will need to be determined. McDougald had 2 solos. Hill had a solo.
The backup SS spot in Los Angeles could be valuable this year. The SS in a Gus Bradley defense is a fantasy producer. Jahleel Addae hasn’t played 16 games since 2013. Rotoworld says Adrian Phillips is the current backup. He had 4 solos and 1 assist. Rayshawn Jenkins was drafted in the 4th Round out of Miami. He had 3 solos and 2 assists. Desmond King was a steal in the 5th Round. He can play slot corner and either Safety position. The only question will be whether he gets on the field enough to make plays. He put together 3 solos, an assist and a PD. Otherwise, Nigel Harris, a UDFA LB, put together 6 solos and 3 assists.
Texans at Panthers
Benardrick McKinney sat this game out, allowing Zach Cunningham to play 39 snaps. He put together 4 solos and 3 assists. KJ Dillon has been a popular S sleeper. Dillon parlayed 42 snaps into 2 solos and an assist. The rest of the Houston defense doesn’t leave a lot of tackles for Ss. Dylan Cole was a UDFA LB this year. He’s got some fans out there who think he could actually earn snaps as early as next season. Cole put up 2 solos and an assist on 38 snaps.
Two LBs had solid stat lines for Carolina. Jared Norris had 4 solos and 4 assists on 52 snaps. Jeremy Cash had 3 solos, an assist and half a sack on 39 snaps. Cash is a college safety who plays LB in the NFL. Both were UDFAs last year and both would need an injury or two to the top 3 LBs on the depth chart to be useful during the regular season. Dezmen Southward put together 4 solos and 2 assists on 53 snaps. He’s a former 3rd round pick at S who was asked to play CB. He’s bounced around a few teams and practice squads. Rotoworld has him listed 2nd behind Kurt Coleman at FS.
Broncos at Bears
Derek Wolfe suffered a pretty bad sprained ankle. It looks like Wolfe will be ready for Week 1. The more important consequence could be it gives someone else a chance to pass Jared Crick as the opposite end. Adam Gotsis was a 2nd round pick last year. He’s been getting some positive pub after a ho-hum rookie season. Demarcus Walker was a 2nd round pick this year. Both will earn snaps during this season regardless. If one is able to take over for Crick, they could become a valuable producer in the spot formerly manned by Malik Jackson. Jamal Carter Sr and Orion Stewart are both UDFA Ss. They led the team in tackles, Carter with 6 solos and Stewart with 5 solos.
Nick Kwiatkoski has a potentially productive role this year with Danny Trevathan coming back from injury. Kwiat had 5 solos and an assist but ended up with a concussion. Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks are set as 2 of the starters on the DLine. The second DE spot is still up for grabs. The battle is between Mitch Unrein, Jaye Howard and Jon Bullard. I couldn’t find any snap count information. Unrein played with the starters. Neither Unrein or Howard produced a stat, while Bullard had 2 solos and 1 for a loss. He also whiffed on a sack on Paxton Lynch.
Falcons at Dolphins
De’Vondre Campbell and Duke Riley will both start at LB for Atlanta. The question comes down to who gets sub package snaps alongside Deion Jones. Campbell played 10 snaps against the Dolphins. He ended up with 3 solos, 1 for a loss, and an interception. Riley played 27 snaps and put up 2 solos and 3 assists. Round 1: Campbell.
Obviously, the big story here is Raekwon McMillan’s torn ACL on the opening kickoff. It’s a shame. McMillan is only 20 but his owners get to spend the next year hoping this doesn’t turn into a Ragland situation. Mike Hull is currently considered the replacement for McMillan at Mike, although it’ll be a 2 down role. Hull had 1 solo against the Falcons. Cordrea Tankersley, the 3rd Round rookie CB, led the team with 6 solos.
Vikings at Bills
The battle for starting WILL has been between Emmanuel Lamur and Edmund Robinson. It’s a 2-down role so the usefulness is questionable even in deeper leagues. Lamur had 1 solo, 1 assist and 1 PD. Robinson had 2 solos, 2 assists and 1 PD. The #3 WILL, Eric Wilson, led the team in tackles, putting up 5 solos, 2 assists and 2 PDs. He may have just added his name to the competition. Minnesota’s 4th round pick, Ben Gedeon, is currently backing up Eric Kendricks at MIKE. Gedeon piled up 5 solos and an assist. Some people are hoping Jayron Kearse beats out Andrew Sendejo at SS. Kearse, the sophomore 7th rounder, added 2 solos and an assist.
Ramon Humber has been listed as the starting WILL. Considering this team found lighting in a bottle last year with 33-year-old Lorenzo Alexander, we have to be prepared to consider Humber a legit starter. He played with the starters against the Vikings. He didn’t play every snap but played with Preston Brown in the Nickel. Humber also led all starters in tackles with 2 solos and 2 assists. Gerald Hodges may be the guy who has the best shot to replace Humber in the starting lineup. He ended the day with 2 solos. Brown already seems to have won the battle against Reggie Ragland for the starting Mike. Ragland had a solid game with 4 solos, 2 assists and a TFL. Trae Elston, a sophomore UDFA S, led the team with 5 solos and 1 assist while adding a PD. Rotoworld lists him as the #3 FS. PFF gave a high draft grade to UDFA DT Marquavius Lewis. Lewis produced 4 solos, 1 sack and 3 TFLs. He’s not on MFL yet but I’ll be keeping an eye on him. The Ronald Darby trade leaves a starting CB spot up for grabs. Shareece Wright, last year’s Raven’s frequent burn victim piled up 3 solos and an assist. I’m looking elsewhere.
Washington at Ravens
Josh Harvey-Clemons put together 6 solos and added a QB hit on 35 snaps. The 7th round safety is trying to lock down a roster spot. Zach Vigil also put up 6 solos on 23 snaps. Vigil sits at the bottom of the ILB depth chart after going undrafted to the Dolphins two years ago. He was claimed off waivers by Washington on Tuesday. Mason Foster (12 snaps), Will Compton (6 snaps) and Zach Brown (12 snaps) are battling for the 2 starting ILB spots. Compton didn’t produce a stat. Foster had 3 solos and 1 assist. Brown had 2 solos, 2 assists and 1 TFL.
Brent Urban is a starter at DE for Baltimore. He led the team with tackles with 4 solos, adding a sack. He’s probably still available in your league. He might be worth a pickup. Patrick Onwuasor also had 4 solos. He started the game last season that Zach Orr missed due to injury. Kamalei Correa was already injured at the time and is expected to start in Orr’s spot. Correa only had 1 solo. I couldn’t find snap counts for the Ravens. I assumed Onwuasor had more snaps than Correa, but it’s still worth monitoring.
Jaguars at Patriots
Blair Brown is a popular 5th round LB for the Jags. He won’t earn a starting spot this year unless there’s an injury but he proved his popularity was warranted with 3 solos and 5 assists. The 3rd Round DE, Dawuane Smoot, has seen interest all offseason. That interest grew after Dante Fowler’s brush with the law. Smoot had 4 solos and 2 assists. The Jags had a productive 3rd Round DE last year as well. Yannick Ngakoue had 1 solos, 2 assists and a sack. Fowler had 2 solos and a QB hit.
New England didn’t play their starters, giving young guys the opportunity. Elandon Roberts and Jordan Richards both had 3 solos and 5 assists. Both also left the game with an injury. The DE spot across from Trey Flowers is up for grabs this offseason. Most people assume Kony Ealy will take it after the Pats traded for him. The cost, dropping from a 2nd to a 3rd, isn’t substantial and Ealy hasn’t had a good camp. Geneo Grissom, a 3rd round pick from 2015, hasn’t had a good camp and notched 1 solo and 4 assists. Derek Rivers was drafted in the 3rd round this year. They all seemed to be losing to the 4th round rookie, Deatrich Wise though. Wise has been getting a lot of good pub during training camp but very few people have noticed. He notched 2 assists before leaving the game with a concussion. The situation is worth watching. Wise may only miss a short time and could still win the starting spot. Or he may miss too much time and lose the competition by default, leaving Ealy, Grissom and Rivers battling for it.
Saints at Browns
It’s usually not a good sign when a CB leads the team in tackles. PJ Williams had 6 solos. That was on 43 snaps. Alex Okafor vs Hau’oli Kikaha for the DE spot opposite Cameron Jordan is one of two position battles to watch. Okafor played 12 snaps, the same as locked in starters Sheldon Rankins, Kenny Vaccaro, AJ Klein and Craig Robertson. Kikaha played 16 snaps. Neither produced a stat. Okafor is still a LB on MFL but Rotoworld updated their depth chart to make him a DE which MFL will pick up before the season starts. Stephone Anthony (33 snaps) and Alex Anzalone (40 snaps) are competing for the WILL. Anthony had 3 solos and a sack but seems to be disliked by the coaching staff. Anzalone had 1 solo and 2 assists, but most importantly for Anzalone, didn’t get hurt. David Onyemata is currently behind Tyeler Davison in replacing the IRed Nick Fairley at DT. Onyemata turned 37 snaps into 4 solos and an assist.
Cleveland has a competition at MIKE. It’ll be a two-down role, but if you think Cleveland will be losing a lot of games and the opposing teams will be running the clock in the 4th quarter, it could still be a low-end fantasy viable position. Tank Carder and Joe Schobert are battling. Carder played 19 snaps and recorded 1 solo while missing another tackle. Schobert turned 14 snaps into 2 solos, 1 sack and a PD. Advantage: Schobert. Rookie UDFA Kenneth Olugbode sits 3rd on the MIKE depth chart and used 42 snaps to produce 4 solos and an assist. Carl Nassib and Nate Orchard are competing for the DE3 spot behind Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah. Nassib played 33 snaps and garnered 1 QB hit, 1 FR and 1 offside penalty. Orchard, the former 2nd Rounder, got 2 assists and .5 sacks on 30 snaps. If you’re in a deeper league, I’d bet Nassib is owned while Orchard is riding your waiver wire. The recently-acquired Calvin Pryor played 34 snaps and contributed 1 assist. There are questions as to whether he’ll even make the roster.
Eagles at Packers
Derek Barnett played 23 snaps. He produced 2 sacks and 2 assists. He’s #good. I’m starting to regret only drafting him on 1 lineup. Nate Gerry is trying to earn the backup LB spot after playing S at Nebraska. He turned 17 snaps into 3 solos. Rookie UDFA S Tre Sullivan played 27 snaps and led the team with 4 assists. He also laid a huge hit on Malachi Dupree. Sullivan needs more play like this to lock in his roster spot and start moving up the depth chart.
Marwin Evans is a sophomore UDFA S. He has some depth chart issues. He did perform will in the game, leading the team in tackles with 6 solos and 1 assist, and adding an interception on 41 snaps. Rookie Josh Jones played 43 snaps, lining up at both S spots as well as LB. He earned 4 solos. 2nd Round CB Kevin King hasn’t had a great camp and turned 36 snaps into 5 solos.
Steelers at Giants
TJ Watt played a ridiculous 63 snaps on defense, adding another 10 on Special Teams. It’s the preseason. He turned it into 2 sacks, 3 solos, 2 assists, 2 more QB hits and a PD. If OLB can be a viable position in your league, he should be productive. Mike Hilton is a UDFA sophomore CB. He played 19 snaps against the Giants. He had 6 solos, an assist and a sack. Javon Hargrave is the starter this year at NT. He had 2 solos, an assist and a TFL on 15 snaps. Keith Kelsey is a UDFA ILB out of Louisville. He recorded 1 solo for every 3 defensive snaps. He’s below Tyler Matakevich, LJ Fort and Steven Johnson on the depth chart just to back up Ryan Shazier and Vince Williams.
Landon Collins played 10 snaps. He led the team with 4 solos, an assist and a TFL on 10 snaps. He just won’t let anyone else tackle for the Giants… BJ Goodson played 25 snaps. Most people think he’ll be the starting Mike this year. He had 1 sack. Darian Thompson and Andrew Adams are competing for the FS starting spot opposite Collins. Thompson played 25 snaps and earned 1 solo. Adams played 23 snaps and earned 4 solos. I doubt Collins will allow either to get tackles during the regular season.
Buccaneers at Bengals
Kendell Beckwith was TB’s 3rd Round pick. The best that can be expected of him this year, without injury, would be the starting SAM spot and coming off the field in sub packages. He played 35 snaps and had 3 solos, 2 assists and a sack. The guy currently ahead of him on the depth chart, Devante Bond suffered an injury that could keep him out of the rest of the preseason. Kwon Alexander had 4 solos and an assist in 13 plays on the opening drive. Keith Tandy and Chris Conte both played the 13 snaps with the starters. Free agent signing JJ Wilcox and 2nd Round pick Justin Evans each played 35 snaps. Wilcox produced 3 solos and 2 assists. Evans had 1 solo and 4 assists. Both will earn snaps during the regular season.
CB leading a team in tackles… KeiVarae Russell had 6 solos and a PD. Russell was a 3rd round pick by the Chiefs last year but was waived in September. He was immediately claimed by the Bengals. Otherwise, the Bengals young players produced. 2016 3rd Round pick Nick Vigil had 3 solos and 3 assists. Rookie 3rd Round pick Jordan Evans had a sack, 2 solos and an assist. Rookie 6th Round pick Jordan Evans had 5 solos and an assist.
49ers at Chiefs
Austin Calitro is a UDFA LB who has already been waived by the Jets this year. He had 7 solos and 1 TFL on 25 snaps. That’s 2 snaps fewer than Reuben Foster who had 2 assists and a PD. Aaron Lynch showed up after losing some weight after OTAs. Lynch had 2 sacks, an assist and a PD in 15 snaps. He could lock up the DE3 spot on the depth chart with more games like this.
The ILB spot opposite Derrick Johnson is available. Ramik Wilson (17 snaps) got the start and had 2 solos and an assist. 5th Round rookie Ukeme Eligwe (41 snaps) has impressed in camp and led the team with 3 solos and 2 assists. Former starters Josh Mauga (20 snaps) and Justin March-Lillard (14 snaps) and new acquisition Kevin Pierre-Lewis (23 snaps) are also competing.
Titans at Jets
The two notable stat lines here appear to be Kevin Byard and Jayon Brown. The 2016 3rd Round pick Byard will be the starting FS. He had 4 solos and 2 TFLs. Brown appears to be Sean Spence’s replacement as the 3rd ILB. He had 4 solos and 1 TFL.
UDFA LB Connor Harris has been a popular name. The depth chart after Darron Lee is unsettled. Harris had 24 snaps, 2 solos and an assist.
Cowboys at Rams
With Barry Church now playing in Jacksonville, the starting SS spot is available in Dallas. Jeff Heath is the projected starter but a pair of 6th round draft picks could give him some competition. Xavier Woods tallied 6 solos and an assist. Kavon Frasier produced 5 solos. 1st Round Taco Charlton notched a sack and 3 solos.
There’s not much to say about the Rams. Kevin Peterson, a rookie UDFA CB, had 5 solos. Kevin Davis, a rookie UDFA LB had 3 solos and 2 assists. Maurice Alexander will be the starting SS this year for the Rams. Two guys I kept an eye on last year were Ss Marqui Christian and Blake Countess. Christian had 4 solos and Countess had a solo and an assist.
Raiders at Cardinals
The competition for ILB could be pretty easily determined. Corey James had 7 solos and 5th round rookie Marquel Lee had 5 solos and an assist. 7th Round rookie Shalom Luani is 3rd on the SS depth chart. He added 5 solos, an assist and a PD. Two rookie DLinemen had standout games. UDFA Latroy Lewis and 7th Round pick Treyvon Hester both had 2 sacks and 4 total tackles. Maybe the 2nd team interior O-Line for the Cardinals isn’t good.
Josh Bynes is definitely worth keeping an eye on, 6 solos, an assist, .5 sack and a PD. Deone Bucannon will miss time into the season. The Cardinals have Karlos Dansby and Hasaan Reddick. Bynes could find a way onto the field. Budda Baker had 5 solos and a PD. In the HOF game, he lined up at both safety spots, slot corner and outside corner. They are going to use him all over the field and he’s going to make plays.
Lions at Colts
The biggest news for Detroit is the potential loss of Kerry Hyder for the season. They’ll take a second look but it looks like a torn achilles. The Lions will already be missing Armonty Bryant for the first 4 weeks due to a Substance Abuse policy suspension but now it seems like his roster spot should be safe. That means the DE starting across from Ziggy Ansah for at least the first 4 weeks will be former 6th Round pick Cornelius Washington, who, in 4 years, is averaging 7.5 tackles and .75 sacks per season. Washington is injured at the moment, so Brandon Copeland, Jeremiah Ledbetter, rookie UDFA Jeremiah Valoaga (6 solos and a sack) and rookie UDFA Alex Barrett (4 solos, 2 assists and a sack) will get chances. Just spitballing here Detroit, I bet the Jets would take a 5th round pick for Sheldon Richardson, who would be a substantial improvement. Outside of the DE situation, Jalen Reeves-Maybin logged 4 solos and 2 assists. That’s not enough to overcome Tahir Whitehead and Paul Worrilow at WILL, but it’s a start.
There wasn’t much to learn from the Colts. Antonio Morrison and Jon Bostic, who are at the top of the ILB depth chart, didn’t play. And Edwin Jackson (3 solos, 2 assists) Anthony Walker Jr (1 solo, 1 assist) and Sean Spence (2 solo) didn’t do anything to move ahead of the two. Spence, after being an offseason hype darling, seems to have dropped to the third team defense. Barkevious Mingo had 5 assists against the Lions, so again, former 1st round picks will get as many chances as they need.
Seahawks at Chargers
There aren’t a lot of position battles on the Seattle defense. Who starts at CB across from Richard Sherman is the primary one. Shaquil Griffin had an assist. Jeremy Lane didn’t play. Bradley McDougald and Delano Hill are the other additions to the team.Their roles will need to be determined. McDougald had 2 solos. Hill had a solo.
The backup SS spot in Los Angeles could be valuable this year. The SS in a Gus Bradley defense is a fantasy producer. Jahleel Addae hasn’t played 16 games since 2013. Rotoworld says Adrian Phillips is the current backup. He had 4 solos and 1 assist. Rayshawn Jenkins was drafted in the 4th Round out of Miami. He had 3 solos and 2 assists. Desmond King was a steal in the 5th Round. He can play slot corner and either Safety position. The only question will be whether he gets on the field enough to make plays. He put together 3 solos, an assist and a PD. Otherwise, Nigel Harris, a UDFA LB, put together 6 solos and 3 assists.