With the 2014 preseason underway it is now that fun time of year again where overreactions to preseason games create pandemonium in the fantasy sports world. In 2013 Bryce Brown was the bell of the ball after posting 564 yards and four scores in 2012, and was expected to get his share of the carries backing up LeSean McCoy. Brown was being drafted in rounds six through nine and was a major sleeper candidate.
Flash forward to the actual season, and Brown tallied just 75 carries, compared to 115 in 2012, finishing with a meager 314 yards and two scores leaving him well out of fantasy relevance.
Preseason games can be simultaneously worthless and worthwhile, as rookies and free agents get to find their roles with new teams, yet play against mostly scrubs or second-teamers. With the first set of games behind us in the 2014 preseason, what can we actually learn from these appetizers of the game we all know and love?
Friday night featured a first course of football in the form of six exhibition games. Participating in these contests were the Eagles, Bears, Dolphins, Falcons, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Panthers, Bills, Saints, Raiders, Vikings, and Rams. In each game we saw backups playing their heart out for a crack at the starting lineup. But who showed up, and who was shut down?
Saints rusher and former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram tallied 83 yards and a scores on just eight carries in a New Orleans victory over the Rams. Ingram is buried behind both Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson on the team’s depth chart, but has never been given a full opportunity to excel due to injuries and the Saints’ tendency to use a running back by committee system. However, with a few more games like this Ingram would be a must-play for the Saints, or tremendous trade bait.
The Raiders and Vikings played one blockbuster of a game in which the teams combined for only 16 points. However, the quarterback battle in Minnesota came a little closer to being decided as Matt Cassel was precise in his throws completing five of six for 62 yards. Cassel is a massive step up from Christian Ponder, and is expected to start the year ahead of the man many deemed the top quarterback of the 2014 class, Teddy Bridgewater.
Another rookie started off much better in his debut than his counterpart in Minnesota as Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles completed seven of eleven passes for 117 yards. Though Bortles is expected to sit out his first season, this was a nice debut for an oft-underappreciated prospect.
Buffalo’s second-year gunslinger took the helm for his second preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, and completed nine passes for 96 yards in his short time on the field. Ej Manuel continues to telegraph his passes at the line of scrimmage, and will not improve until he changes this dangerous tendency.
In another barn-burner, the Dolphins and Falcons also managed just 16 points in a contest that featured the first look at a potential fantasy sleeper in Devonta Freeman. Freeman’s 10 carries for 50 yards gave life to a Falcons’ running game that was dormant last year due to the Steven Jackson injury. Freeman will be well worth a late-round flier in most league formats, especially if and more than likely when he steals the starting spot from the ancient Jackson.
In the final contest of the evening, GJ Kinne stole the show… Kidding of course. The Bears-Eagles game was all about offense, a side of the ball tight end sleeper Zach Ertz knows all about. Ertz caught four balls for 60 yards, and was the Eagles’ leading receiver in the contest.
Furthermore, fourth-rounder Josh Huff returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half as well. If Philadelphia can get consistent contributions from these two young players in addition to second-rounder Jordan Matthews, the Eagles offense could be even more formidable in 2014.