5 Biggest Fantasy Football Takeaways From NFL Preseason Week 3

Preseason Week 3 was our final glimpse at each team before the rubber meets the road two weeks now.

Unfortunately for us, a lot of teams used that window to rest starters, making those games meaningless for our purposes in fantasy.

But what can we glean from what we saw elsewhere?

Let's dig into this past weekend's action and outline whose stock is up and whose is down as we buckle in for our final drafts of the season.

Preseason Week 3 Winners and Losers

Jacory Croskey-Merritt May Be Ahead of Chris Rodriguez on the Commanders' Depth Chart

You don't often get a seventh-round rookie who sits out the final preseason game because his role is locked in.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt ain't your typical seventh-rounder.

With Brian Robinson traded to the San Francisco 49ers, Croskey-Merritt is now competing with Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez Jr. for early-down snaps. But while Croskey-Merritt and Ekeler rested Saturday, Rodriguez played eight snaps on offense.

Rodriguez is likely to still be a pest, potentially in high-leverage snaps near the goal line. And we know Ekeler will be the third-down back. Still, this is a positive for Croskey-Merritt.

Whether that justifies Croskey-Merritt's new standing as a top-100 pick in FantasyPros' recent half-PPR average draft position (ADP) data is a different question. The best paths to upside in fantasy are touchdowns and receptions, and Bill may not get either. That may be enough to make Ekeler the easier click at pick 121.

But Croskey-Merritt is in very good standing, and he gets you access to a Jayden Daniels offense without burning an early-round pick. I can understand that as an investment even if Croskey-Merritt has some limits to his ceiling.

We Should Buy Into Marvin Mims' Expanded Role

We got a glimpse at Marvin Mims' new every-down role back in Week 1. Every week keeps confirming that role is legit.

Mims played all 19 snaps when Bo Nix was on the field in Week 3, according to Anthony Reinhard's StatButler.com. A low snap rate was Mims' major malfunction last year, so it's a big shift.

It doesn't mean he'll suddenly morph into a stud, though.

Mims earned just one target across 22 routes this preseason, according to Next Gen Stats. He still has to contend with Courtland Sutton for looks, so his per-route data from last year is entirely misleading. We have to view this as a different player.

Still, Mims has proven he can make magic with the ball in his hands, and he's now being rewarded for that with more playing time. We should bump him up, and I like him as a target at pick 159. We just have to make sure we don't put too much stock into any of his rate stats as a part-time guy last year.

Chig Okonkwo Is a Late-Round Target at TE

Snap rate is king at tight end in fantasy, and in the late rounds, you won't get much better than Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Okonkwo played 14 of 16 snaps with Cameron Ward in Week 3, a continuation of what he had done earlier in the preseason. It's a big shift after Okonkwo played more than 80% of the snaps just once last year.

For the full season, Okonkwo had a 14.6% target share in his full games, but that rose to 19.6% with an expanded role in Weeks 11 to 17. He can earn targets when he's on the field, and he should be there more often this year.

In general, I like buying into players who are involved on offenses with high-upside rookie quarterbacks. That way, if we get a Daniels-in-2024 or C.J. Stroud-in-2023 situation, we can benefit in a big way. Ward is a high-upside quarterback, and we can get an every-down tight end tied to him at pick 186. Sign me up.

Jaydon Blue's Breakout Will Need to Wait

The Dallas Cowboys decided to rest most of their starters this weekend, including Javonte Williams. Not only did Jaydon Blue play, but he played behind Deuce Vaughn and sustained a mild ankle injury late.

Can't get much grimmer than that.

With Miles Sanders banged up and a cut candidate, it seems like Williams will open the year as the Cowboys' lead back. That could be enough to make him a target at pick 106, given the mess behind him. But it's firmly uninspiring, given how poorly Williams played behind an elite offensive line last year.

Blue's at pick 140, which I can better justify than Williams at pick 106. Blue doesn't have supernovas in front of him on the depth chart, so he has the potential to rise. We just have to know that if we pick him, he's not someone who's going to contribute to our rosters early in the year.

The Browns' Backfield Is a Mess

We don't have to spend much time here. The Cleveland Browns' backfield is a must to avoid.

In Jerome Ford's and Joe Flacco's first action of the preseason, Dylan Sampson started ahead of Ford. Pierre Strong Jr. got action on the third drive, and in total, four backs played with Flacco.

That's all with Quinshon Judkins still yet to sign his rookie contract.

On a bad offense, you need a player sucking up big volume to be a worthwhile fantasy target. Until Judkins gets ramped up, it seems unlikely we get that here, so I'm fine passing on these guys even at reasonable costs.

Futures Day is coming August 26th. Learn more here.

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