Brock Bowers rotates with the starters:Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has used a familiar tight end rotation in the preseason, which would mean a significant decrease in routes run by Bowers this season.
The Houston Texans stick with veterans: The Texans didn’t use either of their rookie wide receivers in any of their 11 personnel snaps with the starters.
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Estimated Reading Time: 18 mins
Nathan Jahnke’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2025. Here, we touch on only players who are relevant in fantasy football leagues.
These are my 10 biggest reactions to the slate. To get a more in-depth breakdown, check out my full Sunday recap.
The New York Jets‘ backfield remains a rotation
Breece Hall barely played over 50% of New York's offensive snaps with the starters, despite missing Isaiah Davis.
The Jets had a three-man rotation with one drive with the starters last week. Hall led the way, but Braelon Allen also played on early downs, and Davis consistently played on third downs, as well as an early down. Davis missed this game due to an ankle injury.
Hall again started the game. He typically played two consecutive snaps, while Allen entered the game immediately after. The Jets had five third downs over their two drives with the starters, and Allen was on the field for all five. While Hall ran the ball a little more often, Allen was more effective running the ball.
Hall played 61% of New York's offensive snaps with the starters. He played at least 69% of the offensive snaps in all but three games last season, and the three games came before he missed time due to injury and two of his first three games back from injury. We can expect that the 61% rate will decrease at least a little bit once Davis is back. While most backfields have a two-man rotation, Hall is expected to be in one of the worst rotations in the league for fantasy purposes. There is uncertainty around the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, but there is a chance those could all stabilize to two-man rotations eventually.
Hall’s ADP is RB14, but everything the coaches have said mixed with the Jets’ rotation with the starters makes Hall one of the easiest players to avoid at their current ADP.
Tank Bigsby starts for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Etienne Jr. started in the first preseason game.
The Jaguars used a relatively basic running back rotation in their first game. Etienne took the first drive, Bigsby played the second and third, Bhayshul Tuten took the fourth drive to the eighth drive, and LeQuint Allen played the ninth and 10th drive, and just four plays were exceptions when drives ran long and the Jaguars wanted to give the current running back a break. These kinds of rotations are common in the preseason and give us a look at the current order of the depth chart, but they do little to help us understand how running backs might rotate during the season.
This week, the backfield better resembled how it might look in the regular season. On the first drive, Bigsby played on first and second downs, while Etienne played on third down. This makes sense, given the two running backs' strengths. On the second drive, Etienne started, played two snaps, followed by Bigsby's two, and another four for Etienne. This put the two running backs in basically a 50/50 split. They surprisingly were near-even in routes, targets and carries. We can expect this to shift at least a little bit in the regular season with Etienne catching more passes and Bigsby running more, but we shouldn’t expect these tendencies to be as strong as last season, given how Liam Coen used his running backs in Tampa Bay last season.
Currently, Etienne has a consensus ADP two rounds earlier than Bigsby, ranging from one round or less on ESPN and Yahoo! to four rounds on Sleeper. These should be closer together, and if anything, Bigsby should be the one drafted earlier.
For the second straight game, Tuten did not play a snap with the starters. He missed some time during training camp, so it’s understandable that he hasn’t worked his way to the starters yet. He may mix in more frequently as the season progresses, hurting both Bigsby and Etienne's fantasy value. The only way any of these players will become a consistent fantasy starter this season is if one starts to clearly outperform the other two.
Nick Chubb starts for the Houston Texans
Chubb played a clear majority of snaps with the first string, suggesting he could be the Week 1 starter.
Texans running back Joe Mixon remains on the non-football injury list due to a foot and ankle injury. The closest thing to a recent official report comes from Aaron Wilson, who said he isn’t a lock to be ready for Week 1. The lack of transparency on the issue from the team and rumors around the severity of the injury have led some fantasy analysts to remove him from their draft board. He has slowly but surely moved down my rankings and is RB39 as of this writing.
Chubb (concussion) and Dameon Pierce (quadricep) missed last week’s preseason game but practiced most of this week. Most reports suggest they have split snaps with the starters, but the team was comfortable playing Chubb on Saturday but not playing Pierce. Currently, either player is worth a shot in redraft leagues, given the uncertainty around Mixon’s injury. Chubb is given a clear edge at this point, given his health and past level of play.
Chubb played the clear majority of snaps with the starters, while Dare Ogunbowale also mixed in. In the regular season, if these were the top two running backs, we would expect Chubb to play on early downs and short-yardage situations, while Ogunbowale plays on third downs and the two-minute drill. However, the Texans didn’t have a two-minute drill with the starters, and there were no clear passing situations. Ogunobwale played on third-and-5 and fourth-and-5, but also took a normal early-down snap. This suggests Ogunbowale is higher on the early down depth chart than fourth-round rookie Woody Marks. While there is plenty of time for Marks to work his way up the depth chart, as of now, he is fifth behind Mixon, Chubb, Pierce and Ogunbowale. De’Von Achane and Tyler Allgeier were similarly low on their team’s depth charts in their rookie years and were significant factors by the end of the season. However, anyone expecting Marks to be a factor in fantasy leagues in September might want to lower their short-term expectations.
Antonio Gibson starts for the New England Patriots
Gibson only played with the backups in the first preseason game but started over TreVeyon Henderson for this game.
In the first preseason game, Rhamondre Stevenson started, while Henderson mixed in significantly with the starters, including taking both of the third downs. Gibson didn’t play until the backups entered the game, suggesting he was a clear third on the depth chart.
This week, the Patriots didn’t have Stevenson, so it was Gibson who started. Henderson’s usage was very similar to last week, initially entering the game on the fourth play, starting the second drive and taking all of the third down snaps. The second drive was a little longer than the first, leading to Henderson playing more snaps than Gibson. Henderson ran the ball more often this week, leading to a touchdown.
It is common for running backs or tight ends to have an every-down role in the preseason before playing a rotational role in the regular season, but it is exceptionally rare for a player to be in a rotation and play in specific situations in the preseason before taking an every-down role early in the regular season. Most believe Henderson’s talent is so undeniable that he will earn the every-down role eventually, but the Patriots seem content on using him as part of a rotation, even if Stevenson were to miss regular-season games. Had the Patriots simply wanted to limit Henderson’s playing time in this game, they could have played him for the first seven to nine plays and then rotated him out, like most teams typically do in the preseason, including the Vikings in this game.
This will make Henderson a frustrating player in redraft leagues, as he will have some games with huge plays leading to significant fantasy value, while others will be games where he doesn’t make the big play, so he won’t have a safe floor due to his low volume.
Houston Texans’ veterans lead the way at wide receiver
Both Hayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel played limited snaps with the Texans’ starters.
The Texans have listed Nico Collins, Christian Kirk and Jayden Higgins as their starters on the unofficial depth chart. There are numerous times when a rookie is further down on the depth chart than where they actually are, but it’s rare for a rookie to be listed ahead of a veteran, yet the veteran is ahead in the preseason.
In the first preseason game, Collins and Kirk were among the veterans who sat out. Higgins and Xavier Hutchinson were the clear outside starters in that game, but it was noteworthy that Higgins played the X-receiver role, while Hutchinson was the Z. Collins has been an X receiver throughout his career, and if Higgins was going to play significant snaps this season while everyone was healthy, it would be at the Z-receiver role. Noel was the slot receiver in three-receiver sets.
In this game, Collins, Kirk and Hutchinson played all eight plays in 11 personnel with the starters. Collins was the X receiver, Hutchinson was the Z, like last week, and Kirk was in the slot for most plays. Higgins and Noel’s only snaps with the starters were two consecutive plays out of 21 personnel. While there is undoubtedly a chance Higgins becomes the primary starter over Hutchinson at some point this season, at the moment, it appears Higgins will be Collins' backup, while Noel will be Kirk’s backup. Veterans Justin Watson, John Metchie III and Braxton Berrios all entered the game in the second quarter after Collins and Kirk exited. Those three players are competing for one or two roster spots.
Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed make their preseason debuts for the New Orleans Saints
Both wide receivers missed the second half of the 2024 season.
The first and most obvious takeaway is that it’s good to see both players are healthy. We expect both players to rarely leave the field this season and both played 100% of New Orleans' snaps with the starters, so this game was also in line with expectations.
Brandin Cooks was among the veterans not playing in this game, so we don’t have a great view of how the wide receivers will be rotated or used this season. The general expectation is that Cooks would join Olave and Shaheed in three-receiver sets, but that might not be the case, as none of the three receivers primarily play out of the slot.
Last week, Brandon Cooks and Mason Tipton were the primary receivers on the first drive, while Cedrick Wilson Jr. played in the slot in three receiver sets. In this game, Wilson also played in three-receiver sets and was the slot receiver more often than not. Wilson had seven snaps out of the slot in 11 personnel on the first three drives, compared to Olave's three and Shaheed's three. This suggests Wilson could have a larger role in the offense in 11 personnel, and Cooks could end up being more of a backup to Olave and Shaheed. It’s also possible we simply see a rotation of Olave, Shaheed and Cooks playing in the slot, while all of them take between 30-40% of the snaps in 11 personnel.
It’s worth noting that Wilson’s best season was in 2021 with the Dallas Cowboys, where he caught 45 passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns as the Cowboys‘ primary slot receiver, while CeeDee Lamb was playing more snaps lined up out wide. Kellen Moore was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator that season.
The slot role in New Orleans is particularly noteworthy because of Moore’s history. Over the last three seasons, Moore’s primary slot receiver has averaged between 15.3 and 21.5 PPR points per game. His six primary outside receivers in three receiver sets have largely been unrosterable in fantasy, but the major exception wasA.J. Brown last season. We will likely see those tendencies change this season due to Olave and Shaheed playing significantly on the outside and their talents, but we could see Wilson receiving a few more targets than originally anticipated, while Olave and Shaheed receive a little less.
Tennessee Titans WR Elic Ayomanor ’s usage suggests a regular-season role
Ayomanor was put in motion at a high rate for his second-straight preseason game, which is something the other Titans wide receivers don’t do often.
The Titans completely reworked their wide receiver room from last season, as Calvin Ridley was the only returning player near the top of the depth chart. The Titans added veterans Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson while drafting Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor in the fourth round of the draft.
In the first preseason game, Jefferson was the X receiver and Ridley was the Z, while Lockett played i the slot in three-receiver sets. Ayomanor was the backup Z, taking two snaps from Ridley, while playing both snaps in 13 personnel. Dike was the backup slot, taking one snap from Lockett. The Titans decided to rest both Ridley and Lockett for this game.
Unsurprisingly, Ayomanor started as the Z receiver, while Dike joined as the slot receiver. The Titans had wide receivers in motion on 254 plays last season, which was the eighth-lowest among teams. Ridley had a 13% motion rate, which was clearly the highest among the Titans’ top wide receivers. Ayomanor went into motion six times last week, while the rest of the wide receivers on the roster combined for five motions. Only one of Ayomanor’s motions was with Ward on the field. This week, Ayomanor was in motion on five of his 10 plays with the starters. It would not be surprising if Ayomanor is in for a package of plays each week where it’s helpful to have a wide receiver in motion.
Cam Ward left the game after three drives, but all three wide receivers who started this game kept playing. Jefferson and Ayomanor were taken out before the two-minute drill drive, while Dike kept playing. Last week, when Ward stopped playing, Jefferson’s day was also done. The fact that Jefferson was playing at a point when no projected starters were also on the field suggests his starting job might not be secure. Jefferson's benching would likely mean Ridley would move back to the X receiver spot, which he played in 2023 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Since Dike has played explicitly in the slot in three-receiver sets, it would be Ayomanor who would take a starting spot.
First look at the new Seattle Seahawks wide receiver room
The Seahawks played all of their wide receivers in this game, giving us confirmation of how their wide receiver rotation will look.
The Seahawks ran nine plays with the starters. Smith-Njigba played 100% of the snaps in 11, 12 and 21 personnel, while Kupp missed one of the three snaps out of 11 personnel. Smith-Njigba and Kupp shared the slot role, finishing with three snaps out of the slot each. Most of those plays were out of two-receiver sets. During the Seahawks' three plays out of 11 personnel, a different player lined up in the slot each play. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has a long history of not having a clear slot receiver, so this rotation should not be a surprise.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling remains the third wide receiver on the depth chart, but he only played two snaps with the starters. There was one play in 11 personnel with Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young. The fact that Valdes-Scantling didn’t play all three snaps out of 11 personnel was surprising. The Seahawks ran one play out of 13 personnel, and Tory Horton was the only wide receiver on that play. It was also surprising that Horton wasn’t in on the field for that 11 personnel play, rather than Bobo or Young.
Horton and Valdes-Scantling were the clear top-two wide receivers on the second drive. Valdes-Scantling stopped playing on the third drive. Horton has impressed during training camp, but the Seahawks' low 11-personnel rate will make it very difficult for any wide receiver, outside of Smith-Njigba and Kupp, to matter, unless someone can completely overtake Kupp on the depth chart.
It’s time to be concerned aboutBrock Bowers
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ elite tight end was playing on a limited basis with the first team offense.
The Raiders spent their first 13 plays on offense playing out of 11 personnel. Bowers played the first snap and caught a 28-yard pass. From that point, Bowers was consistently on the field on third downs, but Michael Mayer was typically on the field on first and second downs. Bowers played on one other first down over that 13-play stretch. This led Mayer to play eight snaps compared to Bowers' five. The Raiders followed this up with two goal-line plays, where three tight end and an additional offensive lineman were on the field. The Raiders put in their backups on the third drive, which meant both Bowers and Mayer were done playing.
On one hand, this is the preseason, and there is no guarantee that this is how the Raiders intend to use their tight ends in the regular season. It’s worth noting the Raiders have not been using 12 personnel with the starters in the preseason, and this could potentially be a significant part of their offense to put their best players on the field.
On the other hand, it shouldn’t be that surprising if the Raiders are limiting Bowers’ playing time on early downs. There were reports a month ago that the Raiders had major plans for Mayer. When Mayer was drafted, he was praised for being a well-rounded tight end who is capable of blocking and catching passes. In his rookie season, he was used primarily as an early down tight end. Bowers was listed at 243 pounds at the combine and 235 pounds on the Raiders' official roster. Other tight ends of his size, like Juwan Johnson, Chig Okonkwo and Dalton Kincaid, have all been rotational players to fantasy football managers' dismay. Bowers' 956 snaps last season were the most by any tight end at 240 pounds or lighter in the 19 seasons we have data. Las Vegas just drafted Ashton Jeanty, and the offense will go through the run game. It makes sense to have a better blocker on the field when possible.
This kind of rotation is also how Chip Kelly has used tight ends in the past. He had a two-man committee at tight end in his four seasons as an NFL head coach. With Philadelphia, Zach Ertz was the receiving tight end, while Brent Celek was an every-down tight end. In San Francisco, Brent’s brother, Garrett Celek, was the every-down tight end, while Vance McDonald was the receiving tight end. In three of those four years, the tight end who led the team in snaps was different than the tight end who led the team in receiving yards.
Even if Bowers plays in this role, he should still be expected to be a top-three fantasy tight end, given the state of the position. However, his ADP is in the mid-second round on Yahoo!, ESPN and Sleeper, right around the time as A.J. Brown and Drake London at wide receiver, Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor at running back, and the top quarterbacks. Given the uncertainty around how many pass routes he will run compared to the security of the other options, and the fact that Trey McBride and George Kittle are available in the third round, it would be advisable to pass on Bowers.
Evan Engram continues his rotational role
The Broncos played both of their starting tight ends, giving us a better look at how their tight ends will rotate this season.
Payton has a long history of rotating his skill players, so it should be no surprise that the Broncos are rotating Engram and Adam Trautman. Last week, the starters played over three drives. Engram and Trautman perfectly split snaps in 11 personnel on early downs. In 12 personnel, Trautman played in all six, while Engram played five of six, and Lucas Krull took the other snap. Engram played all four snaps out of 11 personnel on third downs.
This week, the rotation was a little more positive for Engram. He played seven of 11 snaps out of 11 personnel on early downs. He played the only snap out of 11 personnel on third down and played one of the two snaps out of 12 personnel. This has given him a snap rate of 75% over the last two weeks, which is a little lower than his average when healthy.
It’s worth noting the Broncos have stayed in 11 personnel more often than usual. They’ve used 11 personnel for 75% of the snaps with the starters last season, compared to 61% last year. They’ve been missing their fullback, Michael Burton, due to a hamstring injury, which means they haven’t run 21 personnel. Broncos backup tight end/fullback Nate Adkins is expected to miss regular-season time after going through surgery. The Broncos haven’t run as much 12 personnel, likely because of Adkins’ injury. Once he’s back, we can expect more plays out of 12 personnel and more plays without Engram.
This won’t matter if Engram continues to make 58-yard catches, like he did in this game, but a lot will depend on his target rate. The Broncos didn’t play any of their starting three wide receivers in this game, and Engram only had one target in the preseason. While this game was good news for Engram, he remains a tight end to avoid.
As always, the Denver Broncos‘ preseason usage hasn’t always been indicative of what they’ll do in the regular season, as their preseason plans are unique compared to the rest of the league. The Broncos' takeaways in the preseason should be taken with a grain of salt relative to all other takeaways.