NFL Preseason Week 1 is our first glimpse of the incoming rookie class and the fantasy football battles for snaps, targets, and carries. Underdog Fantasy's Hayden Winks breaks down the action after watching all the games and tracking their usage. Use the promo link below to match your deposit up to $100 and to unlock a Breece Hall 0.5 rushing yards special before NFL Week 1 kicks off.

Stock Really Up

• The Vikings. Sam Darnold played with the starters and made multiple impressive throws; corner route to the sideline, dig route over a zone defender, bootleg throw dropped by Ty Chandler, and an on-time out route to the sideline where Chandler nearly sacked him by chopping out Darnold's legs. He played on time and with good accuracy. Then rookie JJ McCarthy came in and had plenty of moments. Yes, his interception on a broken play can't happen, but the rest of the game was really, really clean. He had a nice scramble after his go-to read fell at the top of his route. More importantly, McCarthy made multiple high-level throws to all levels of the field while playing on time. His decision-making was strong, and he didn't look small or weak as a thrower. Coach Kevin O'Connell and Justin Jefferson should feel really good about their odds of replacing Kirk Cousins this year on a quarter of the cost.

• Brian Thomas Jr. played on 9-of-9 snaps with Trevor Lawrence, while Christian Kirk only played in 3-WR sets. This is not overly surprising given Kirk's slot history, but it's not a layup that a rookie has the 2-WR set gig from Preseason Week 1. That distinction paves the path for any ceiling outcome Thomas can carve out for himself. We saw what that could look like on this "Sports Center Top 10" downfield reception. His speed is sensational, but don't forget about how damn big he is, too.

Stock Really Down

• Marshawn Lloyd left the game with a hamstring injury. He's already missed offseason practices with injuries, and he's been inconsistent when on the field according to training camp reports. Lloyd also was clearly behind A.J. Dillon during Preseason Week 1, which mimmicks the training camp order. There's real upside talent with Lloyd, but time is ticking for coach Matt LaFleur to trust him. As a reminder, Dillon had 46 carries during his rookie season with LaFleur. It's time to mix in Round 18 Dillon.

• Cole Kmet was not a full-time player with the Bears first-team offense (11-of-20 snaps and 5-of-8 routes), while playing behind and next to Gerald Everett (14-of-20 snaps and 5-of-8 routes). This TE committee was deployed by new OC Shane Waldron while he was with the Seahawks, and Everett is on a 2-year, $12M contract. With Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze already stealing away meaningful target shares, Kmet can't afford to lose snaps, too. Kmet also had a wide-open drop.

• Justin Fields ran out of the Steelers' pre-game tunnel after Russell Wilson, who physically led the team out before getting a veteran's day off. Fields played sloppy with the 1st-team offense. He had two fumbled snaps, a 3rd-and-6 sack vs. Cover 1 (mostly his fault), and a 3rd-and-4 sack (mostly Pickens' fault for running the wrong route). It's the kind of performance that moves Russ's starting odds up... Another thing to note with the Steelers is Broderick Jones started at right tackle, while Troy Fautanu was the backup right tackle when Jones slid to left tackle after Dan Moore was removed from the game. It's an odd situation. Neither youngster played well. Can't say I love switching players to the other side that they're used to.

• Quentin Johnston playing behind D.J. Chark, Simi Fehoko, and Brenden Rice??? It's Joever.

Stock Kinda Up

• Malik Nabers played in 2-WR sets, mostly from the outside. He was moved into the slot on a 3rd-and-9 play to get a better matchup for him, and he looked as fast as we all remember in college. The Giants did not have Wan'Dale Robinson or Darius Slayton suit up, so there's not too much to learn about Jalin Hyatt, but it was just nice to see Nabers in 2-WR sets and moved into the slot on a key play.

• Josh Jacobs had a 1st-down carry, 2nd-down reception, and stayed on 3rd-down during the Packers 3-play scoring drive. Extremely small sample, yes. But hard to do better than that in terms of usage.

• C.J. Stroud having Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs in 2-WR sets, then having Tank Dell pop in for a 34-yard TD with a few forced missed tackles on a post route is just unfair. Dell not getting the nod over Diggs in Preseason Week 1 isn't a death sentence, obviously. It's also not the best-case scenario. Diggs did play the slot on most of their 3-WR set snaps for what it's worth.

• Rachaad White didn't play, but the Buccaneers debuted 1st-round C Graham Barton and he was excellent. Truly excellent. He held up in pass protection and flew around the field as a run blocker. Barton is an elite athlete and bulldozer. If he builds upon his debut, the Bucs run game can be taken seriously in 2024 after a disappointing last season. White (and every Bucs RB since the Obama administration) has been well below average in efficiency. That's primarily been an interior OL issue.

• Keon Coleman started with Khalil Shakir when the Bills opened the game in a 2-WR set, which isn't common for rookies in Preseason Week 1. He stayed in for 3-WR sets when MVS and Curtis Samuel mixed in, ultimately leaving the first-team offense as the only player to run a route on all five Bills dropbacks. Shakir (3), Samuel (3), and MVS (2) rotated in while Josh Allen was still in the game. The entire WR room stayed in after Allen left, but Shakir's night was the quickest to be over after that. Playing time leans towards Coleman and Shakir right now, though it's worth noting the Bills manufactured a few plays directly to Samuel, who now projects for more of a rotation than initially expected.

• Caleb Williams looked dynamic and in control during his first preseason game. The Bears designed a handful of bootleg roll outs to get him on the move, and Williams made a couple signature strikes on the move. More importantly, Williams' feet were quiet and he made multiple full-field progressions after audibiling and setting up protections pre-snap. Williams had a back-side read for a 3rd-and-12 conversion to DJ Moore, then scrambled for a first down on 3rd-and-9 against 2-man coverage that left the middle of the field open. He looked like a veteran, one with some play making attached. Bears fans should be really, really excited.

• Brock Bowers was used in a variety of ways, lining up at TE, slot WR, outside WR, and in the backfield. The Raiders used plenty of 2-TE sets with Michael Mayer playing more traditional TE. Bowers had a nice catch on an in-breaking route over the middle.

• Javonte Williams was the clear-cut starter for the Broncos on early downs, while Samaje Perine played on passing downs with the 1st-team offense. Perine had a drop that led to an interception before his day was done. With the 2nd-team offense, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime rotated around. Estime had a fumble in traffic but also scored at the goal line. All 4 are unlikely to be active on gameday, and the Broncos seem to be down to two options: cut Perine or make Estime a healthy scratch as the RB4. Denver is looking for a reliable pass protector right now. We'll see if Estime can make noise in the next two games.

• Romeo Doubs was the only Packers WR to be on the field for all three (3) snaps with the 1st-team offense. He started and played in the 2-WR set. Jayden Reed started but was subbed out on the first 2-WR set, as he did during his rookie year (not good for his Round 5 ADP). Christian Watson started but was subbed out for Dontayvion Wicks on the second snap in a 3-WR set for Dontayvion Wicks, who immediately beat press-man coverage out of the slot for a 65-yard slot fade touchdown. It's hilarious just how on brand the 3-play sequence was for best ball twitter. All the narratives were hit. The true stock up is Jordan Love. He gets to benefit from having all this depth and coach Matt LaFleur.

• Jahan Dotson moved to the slot. He had a disappointing sophomore campaign that was filled with limited plays based on his size and average athleticism. Dotson getting freer looks on the interior is a win if this preseason usage sticks. He still played in 2-WR sets, too. Dyami Brown is the unexpected starter here. Brown made an excellent catch on a beautiful downfield throw on 3rd-and-6 against Cover 1 man coverage from Jayden Daniels. The rookie QB finished off the drive with a zone read keeper for a score. It was a solid outing for Daniels. The interesting part for Dotson is that he did not get pulled with the other starters afterward. Dotson played into halftime with the 2nd-string offense (after Terry and Dyami were pulled for example) as the outside receiver in 3-WR sets. This felt like a test to me, to see if he can survive on the perimeter. He had one downfield target from that spot, one where he fell over and the ball went incomplete. It's good that Dotson is likely going to play the slot this year. It's bad that the staff feels like they need to test their presumed No. 2 receiver.

• Colby Parkinson rested with the rest of the Rams' clear-cut starters, while Davis Allen played with the 2nd-string. If you've read the training camp reports, then this isn't a surprise. If you've studied NFL contracts, then this isn't a surprise. Parkinson is THE late-round tight end of 2024 while standing at 6-foot-7 for Matthew Stafford. He should be drafted every single draft on Underdog Fantasy, yet it doesn't happen.

• Ben Sinnott was one of the most impressive rookies of the week. Period. He played traditional TE, not fullback. He was effective as a run-blocker and more importantly showcased a variety of routes and yards after the catch ability, even beating a defender to the edge for a first down. There's no way the Commanders can keep him hidden behind Zach Ertz for long based on what he looked like in his preseason debut. He was buried on the depth chart here, but the 2nd-rounder will definitely move up in short order. I say this as an original Sinnott skeptic.

• Andrei Iosivas played on 12-of-13 snaps with Joe Burrow, while Jermaine Burton played into the 4th quarter with the 3rd-string offense. Iosivas has been the starter in training camp, too, because he's been able to slide into the available slot role. He had a nice 3rd-and-5 conversion on a slant route out of the slot against man coverage. Burton has his work cut out to be a part of the offense early on, but he also looked good. Really good. He had a feisty reception against man-coverage, a 37-yard stutter-and-go TD against man coverage, and a 38-yard stutter-and-go back-shoulder reception in traffic. There's simply no way he's not the No. 4 receiver as soon as next week. He's just too good.

• Braelon Allen was the clear RB2 for the Jets. This has been the case in training camp, too. He's a strong late-round contingent play. He had two nice reps in pass protection, then found two wide open lanes where he finished forward over much-smalled DBs. At the same time, DTs made multiple shoe-string tackles while he was slow to get through holes. There were more ups and than downs.

• Tyrone Tracy was ahead of Eric Gray for the Giants' RB2 job behind Devin Singletary, who had the day off. Tracy had a few nice runs on top of getting the depth chart win. That said, Gray did shake off a safety during his long TD run.

• Bucky Irving showcased some nice vision on his runs with the 2nd-team offense. He's presumably ahead of Chase Edmonds on the depth chart, but the veteran didn't suit up so we don't know for sure yet. Irving's decision-making has always been good. It's just a matter of his lack of size and home run speed holding him back.

• Dameon Pierce played all the snaps with the Texans' 1st-team offense, while Joe Mixon had the night off. He's very draftable in Round 18, even after a disappointing sophomore campaign. The coaching staff has praised his offseason approach.

• Clyde Edwards-Helaire played on the 2nd drive with the 2nd-team offense, then his night was done. Deneric Prince played for the rest of the half with the 3rd-team offense. Prince has been ahead of CEH in training camp, but the coaches might've been giving him a shot to prove himself because they know what they have in Edwards-Helaire. It's a valuebale backup spot to track. My Round 18 draft picks are going to CEH until Prince flips him in preseason games.

• Tank Bigsby was the clear RB2 for the Jaguars and made three nice plays. He broke a couple tackles on the ground and hauled in his lone target, while playing with the 2nd-team offense. He's been a winner in training camp, too, so Bigsby is well on track to redeem himself after a dropped-filled rookie season. He's firmly in the Round 18 mix, if not higher. Jacksonville really wants him to be a factor.

• Alexander Mattison played on the Raiders' passing downs and then had a full drive to himself once Zamir White's day was done. It was possible that Dylan Laube or Ameer Abdullah would play the passing downs, but they are buried on the totem pole.

• Jordan Mason is battling Eli Mitchell, who didn't play in the preseason game, for the 49ers RB2 duties. Mason ran well on tape with the 2nd-team offense while CMC rested. He's a decisive runner with physicality. Just a fan of his game.

• Van Jefferson is the clear WR2 for the Steelers right now.

• Jalen Nailor is the clear WR3 for the Vikings right now.

• Michael Penix played well, while Kirk Cousins had the day off. He delivered some nice intermediate throws over the middle and towards the sideline, plus stood tall in the pocket against pressure. The rookie did sail a couple throws high, but they were more difficult throws. In general, solid first look.

• Nate Wiggins, the 1st-round corner out of Clemson, looked super athletic and sticky in man coverage for the Ravens.

• Hendon Hooker returned from his torn ACL and looked athletic, while competing for the Lions' backup QB job. He had a few scrambles, though one put him in concussion protocol. It was nice to see him back on the field. It's been a minute.

Stock Kinda Down

• Hollywood Brown (shoulder) left the game and went to the hospital for a fairly rare "sternoclavicular joint dislocation." There are different grades of injury, but the initial timeline is measured in 1-2 months depending on if he'll need surgery. Initial reports and the fact he left the hospital shortly after suggest he won't need surgery and should be back in the 4-6 week range. That puts his Week 1 availability in doubt, but he shouldn't miss too much time after that. I'd much rather have a shoulder injury than a lower-half muscle-based injury.

• Rome Odunze looked quite fast on his limited routes, but he was a 3-WR set only player (as expected) behind Keenan Allen. This is not reason to fully panic. This could flip in-season if Odunze earns it. The notable part was the Bears 67% usage of 3-WR sets with the first-team offense, which would've been about 12th in the NFL last year. In a perfect world, the Bears would be in 3-WR sets all the time, but they made Gerald Everett a bigger priority than expected in the opener and OC Shane Waldron has a tight end fetish.

• Us fantasy football sickos looking for answers in the Bengals backfield. Zack Moss was ill just before the game, so he didn't play. Chase Brown played all 13 snaps with Joe Burrow, which can be seen as a positive. It's hard to play more than 100% afterall, but we didn't get to learn what the actual split is going to look like. Sad!!! If you want any analysis at all, I can come up with some film takes. Brown had two bad reads on his five total carries (bounced a wide open hole up the middle to the perimeter and then didn't let his duo block develop up the middle). He also couldn't finish a check-down in the flats for a first down in what I'd call a weak finish on contact. This is obviously nitpicking, but these are the things that I saw on his rookie tape and when seeing him dead last in rushing success rate. Just my opinion, acknowledging playing time in a good offense dwarfs lackluster skill issues in fantasy football.

• D'Andre Swift only played two snaps, so this is far too early to tell, but he did get subbed out on the second play of the drive for Khalil Herbert, who is competing with Swift for early-down runs. The Bears also used Travis Homer, who was playing for the injured Roschon Johnson, on third downs. The Bears were playing their other veteran starters like DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, so Swift losing key snaps immediately is a signal this could be a very mixed committee. Hopefully this isn't a surprise to you because that's been the case with Swift for two other teams. Swift did have a 43-yard screen on a blitz, thanks to Caleb Williams' improvisation.

• Broncos RBs. The entire unit was pretty sloppy, but let's break it down. Javonte Williams started and was subbed out on some passing downs in favor of Samaje Perine, who dropped a swing pass that led to an interception. Perine also played on passing downs with the backups. His roster spot isn't safe. Jaleel McLaughlin played with the Bo Nix-led 2nd-team offense and had an up-and-down outing. He's definitely fast, as seen on his wheel route completion, but he also missed a blitz pickup, bounced some runs to the outside incorrectly, had a drop on a screen, and was subbed out at the goal line for rookie Audric Estime, who also played with the backups only. Estime is the complete opposite of McLaughlin, but he did at least haul in his 3 targets, picked up a nickel blitz, and scored a goal-line TD. The rookie did have a costly fumble six while fighting for extra yards, so it wasn't an ideal outing either. The biggest question moving forward is who would be the passing down back if Perine is released? I'd guess Javonte or Estime.

• Trey Benson looks like James Conner's backup, not his sidekick. Michael Carter played on passing downs, while Benson was primarly an early-down player. This was similar to his usage at Florida State when he was in a defined committee. Benson was given many different types of runs and one screen pass that was caught. Without the passing down role, however, Benson is likely to struggle for standalone value. He is an upside handcuff until proven otherwise.

• Curtis Samuel. Read the Keon Coleman blurb from above.

• Ja'Lynn Polk wasn't a starter during the Patriots first-team offense, but I wouldn't read into that at all. It was the veterans who started, and one of them was immediatly cut after the game (JuJu Smith-Schuster). He should push to start over Tyquan Thornton as soon as next week. No need to panic at all. It might be a little worrisome that fourth-rounder Javon Baker played into the fourth quarter, however. Baker slipped at the top of his routes repeatedly on film. Get this man some new cleats. Also, play with more composure imo.

• Marvin Mims started the game, but he played just 1 snap with the Broncos 1st-team offense and then played with the backups well into the 3rd quarter. This isn't normal stuff, but Broncos reporter Benjamin Allbright called this "by design". My theory is Mims is actually the starter, but the team didn't want to put well-liked clubhouse veteran with the 2nd-string offense that was going to play into the 3rd quarter with Bo Nix. They'd rather have Mims get more reps, so he gets the nod as the starter and then plays with Nix. Is that ideal? No. Is it even a great explanation? Maybe not. But it's the best I got.

• Trey Sermon was the clear-cut RB2 for the Colts once Jonathon Taylor left the game (good), but Sermon did leave the game with a hamstring injury (bad). It's unclear how severe it is. Tyler Goodson was the RB3.

• Jaylen Wright had an up-and-down debut. He played behind Jeff Wilson and Chris Brooks, as did De'Von Achane last year, but his on-field play was good and bad. His explosiveness was evident on a few runs and the broken play lateral (good). The Dolphins ran the same exact outside run 4 different times to use his speed (good). He also had a fumble on the QB exchange (bad) and missed a few potential big gains with iffy vision (bad). This echoed what his college tape was like.

• Kimani Vidal only returned to practice two days before the preseason game (unclear if it was even team practice or not), and he didn't play in the preseason game. The exact same thing happened with Ladd McConkey. I think it's far too early to write him off when this is still the Chargers RB depth chart we are talking about. Do people really think the Chargers didn't want to see him play football in that preseason game? Is that really the consensus take? That's literally never happened. He wasn't healthy enough to play or didn't practice enough to get prepared for the game. It's really that simple. Let's give it another 1-2 weeks.

• Will Shipley was behind Kenny Gainwell as the Eagles' RB2 in Preseason Week 1. There's still plenty of time for that to change.

• Malachi Corley only played in 3-WR sets, even with the starters resting. This shouldn't be a surprise as a Mickey Mouse route runner out of Western Kentucky, but it does really limit his ceiling. Camp reports Xavier Gipson is ahead of him for starting slot snaps, too. You could draft him in Round 18, but there are better options for the most part.

• Luke McCaffrey played with the 2nd- and 3rd-team offenses because the Commanders used Jahan Dotson as a slot receiver, allowing Dyami Brown to crack the starting lineup. Dotson struggled as a sophomore while playing outside, so him moving inside does make sense to free him up. It was already going to be tough for McCaffrey to win as a 3-WR set only player with a dual-threat rookie QB. Now we have legit playing time concerns, as he was out there for the very last plays of the game here. Not for me in Round 18.

• Devontez Walker is buried on the Ravens' WR depth chart. They rested their 3-WR set starters, and Walker still wasn't playing with the 2nd-team offense. He was a very raw prospect in my opinion, as a freestyle route runner without elite athletic traits. Not for me in Round 18.

• A.T. Perry was a backup for the Saints, even with Rashid Shaheed sidelined. Not a bit, the Saints trotted out Taysom Hill as the starting X receiver on the very first play and was put there again on their first 3rd down. What a time to be alive. When that wasn't happening, it was Cedrick Wilson as the 2-WR set player next to Chris Olave. This is a situation to avoid.

• Treylon Burks did not play slot receiver. He just filled in for the presumed DeAndre Hopkins role, while Tyler Boyd played the slot. Hopefully Burks can push Boyd for 3-WR sets once Hopkins is back. He played well in the slot as a prospect.

• Chigoziem Okonkwo only played 8-of-14 snaps with the Titans 1st-team offense. He didn't play all of the 11-personnel snaps, nor all the 12-personnel snaps. Josh Whyle and another TE I've never heard of took him off the field. Okonkwo has never been a full-time player because he doesn't have full-time skills. It'll be hard for him to be on the fantasy radar in a below-average offense with below-average snaps. There are better Round 18 options (Juwan Johnson and Colby Parkinson come to mind).

• Theo Johnson (5-of-9 routes) and Daniel Bellinger (3-of-9 routes) are in a committee as the Giants' top TEs. No thanks, even in Round 18.

• Allen Robinson is on the Giants???

• Fans of the Patriots. Give Drake Maye more preseason snaps! All the other rookie QBs had their moments. Maye threw a couple screens and was done. Sad!!!