Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
Anyone ready to step up with Kelvin Benjamin lost for the season?
Now that Cam Newton has lost his favorite receiving target for the entire 2015 season, the time has come for other Panthers pass-catchers to prove they can step up for the team's franchise quarterback. With Benjamin still in the mix last week, Jarrett Boykin and Devin Funchess led all rosterable receivers with 18 snaps. Boykin, a free-agent signing from the Green Bay Packers, caught one pass on as many targets. Meanwhile, Funchess, a rookie second-round pick, caught two of the four passes thrown in his direction. Philly Brown and Ted Ginn saw less action, but Carolina pretty much knows what it has in both players.
Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Is Eagles starting QB situation settled?
With Sam Bradford slated to make his Eagles debut Saturday night, we will get a first-hand view of just how ready he is to take over as the team's starter. And in reality, there might not be a bigger fantasy-related story all weekend. If Bradford is able to return to pre-injury form while playing in Chip Kelly's quarterback-friendly system, he becomes a solid top-12 quarterback option. If the veteran shows real signs of hesitancy in the backfield after suffering multiple ACL tears over the past two years, there will be reason to worry. Depending on how Bradford performs in practice and during the remainder of the preseason, there remains a remote chance that Mark Sanchez will find himself under center when the regular season comes calling.
Outside of that, the Matt Barkley - Tim Tebow battle for the No. 3 job could come to a head against Baltimore. Tebow appears to be in the lead there, but Barkley is coming off a stellar performance against the Indianapolis Colts last week.
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts
Will Marquess Wilson prove himself?
Wilson has a prime opportunity to prove he should be Chicago's starter opposite Alshon Jeffery until Kevin White returns. While the third-year pro has looked good in camp, it has yet to translate to real-game action. He put up just one catch on as many targets for six yards last week. Overall, the Washington State product has 19 receptions in two seasons.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Giants
Jaguars running back situation
Rookie running back T.J. Yeldon will make his NFL debut Saturday night against the New York Giants. The second-round pick shares the top position on Jacksonville's depth chart with Denard Robinson, but the expectation has to be that Yeldon, who has been impressive in camp, will be the lead back. It will be more than interesting to see how he performs in the final three preseason games. With an ADP at the bottom of the fifth round, expectations are high here.
New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Garoppolo
After an uneven performance against the Green Bay Packers, Garoppolo looks to show more consistency this week. If he's going to be New England's starter for the first four games, he's going to need to show realistic improvements during the remainder of the preseason. That starts with a receiver-depleted unit going up against a Saints secondary that will also be without four of its top-five players. Not an ideal scenario for the second-year player, but at least it's some sort of reps. Nowhere near a rosterable player in standard 12-team leagues, Garoppolo's fantasy value is all about DFS. In this, we all need to see more from the former second-round pick.
Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings
Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr
As of right now, both of these second-year players are valued as QB2 options. Bridgewater is currently coming in as the 15th quarterback off the board in the 11th round. Meanwhile, Carr is barely a draftable commodity in the 15th round. With that said, both young signal callers offer much more upside than where they are currently going.
For Carr, Saturday night's game will be an opportunity to mesh with new receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. If he's able to grow those two relationships, it will be huge for his fantasy stock. With Bridgewater, it's all about fine tuning his relationship with backfield partner Adrian Peterson and connecting with the likes of Mike Wallace as well as Charles Johnson.
Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
Running Backs in Houston
Even though Alfred Blue got the start in the preseason opener, Chris Polk saw the most snaps. That's going to be an interesting thing to watch as the preseason continues Saturday night. Which one will stand out to the Texans' coaching staff with Arian Foster likely lost for at least the first quarter of the season? The true dark horse in this race is Polk, who performed well last week.
San Diego Chargers at Arizona Cardinals
David Johnson preseason debut
After adding Chris Johnson this past week, the Cardinals running back situation has become pretty much a non-starter from a fantasy perspective. Andre Ellington remains the only true RB2 option. Meanwhile, the older Johnson needs to perform well in practice and during the remainder of the preseason to be guaranteed a roster spot. This is where the rookie third-round pick comes into play. He's seen as the only potential three-down back in the desert. It's now all about getting the reps and proving he can be that guy.