Quarterbacks
Dwayne Haskins Jr (PIT)
You don’t have to search too hard to find praise for the former 1st-round pick. Just type in his name on Twitter and you will see plenty of good things said about him in camp…
Dwayne Haskins is proving to be better than Mediocre Mason. As yours truly predicted.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) August 2, 2021
Dwayne Haskins leads offense to TD on his two minute drill. Caps it off with a 30 yard score rolling right to a wide open Rico Bussey. Haskins went 6/7 on the drive. #Steelers
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) July 29, 2021
It looks like Haskins may only get the 2nd quarter, depending on how long they keep Mason Rudolph in. Ideally, Rudolph leads the offense to two scoring drives early in the game and gives Tomlin a reason to go to Haskins sooner, but I expect at least a quarter from Haskins.
Tomlin says Dwayne Haskins will finish the first half and Josh Dobbs will finish the game.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 3, 2021
Josh Dobbs (PIT)
If Haskins is going to finish off the first half like the above tweet says, then Dobbs gets the entire second half. In preseason DFS, playing time matter more than anything else, and any player getting a full half of football is worth a roster spot. I also hold a special place in my heart for Dobbs. He and James Washington won me a lot of money a few years in preseason DFS when they played the Packers. He is my preseason DFS GOAT.
Cowboys QBs
I think I’m passing on all three Cowboys QBS. There have been some small praise for Garrett Gilbert, but there is an outside chance he is their starter Week 1 (very outside, but still)m so he may not play as much as we’d like. The other two have a lot more negatives than positives thus far in camp. Neither of them offers much upside. If I had to start one of the three, it would be Gilbert. He has thrown a few dimes to CeeDee Lamb in practice, so maybe he hits one early in the first quarter.
Running Backs
Embed from Getty ImagesDerek Watt (PIT)
Running back is such a hard position to pick in preseason DFS. Every team at this point has 6-to-8 running backs, but they will likely only play one at a time, leaving very little work for them individually. It’s also a position that coaches want to see them make the correct reads on their blocking assignments and not necessarily how well they look with the ball in their hands, so that could lead to fewer touches as well. Just for comparison’s sake, I took a look at Week 1’s 2019 preseason game between the Steelers and Titans — seven different players had rushing attempts with T. Edmunds leading the pack with a whopping six carries.
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The main thing you want in preseason DFS from your running backs, more than any other position outside of tight end, is touchdowns. If you get one TD from your RB then you will likely have one of the highest-scoring running backs for the weekend. If I were to pick one running back that could get a chance on a goal-line situation, it’s Derek Watt. Coach Mike Tomlin has been heaping praise on this kid, to the point he said they may utilize the full-back position more this season than they ever have in the past.
#Steelers Training Camp Takeaways from @Nick_Farabaugh:
— Steelers Now (@PghSteelersNow) August 3, 2021
Derek Watt is making his case to be a bigger part of the offense. https://t.co/4zdChxnSLH pic.twitter.com/H0yjV10L1C
Rico Dowdle (DAL)
One important factor in preseason DFS is depth charts. Some positions are more shallow than others, and that’s something you can exploit if you’re paying attention. Shallow depth charts mean more playing time for the guys at that position. The Cowboys do have six running backs on their rosters, which is fairly standard, however, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have secure roles in this offense and will likely both get the “starter” treatment. Now you’re looking at four running backs vying for the majority of playing time, and Dowdle is the name that kept coming up in my research.
#Cowboys' Mike McCarthy says RB Rico Dowdle is better from 2020 because he's in NFL shape. Says it took him time to get accustomed to NFL conditioning. Says Dowdle has a lot of "natural run instinct," and you could see in OTAs that he's taken a second-year jump.
— Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) July 29, 2021
He is the favorite to win the No. 3 job in Dallas right now, which could lend itself to less playing time if the coaches already view him as such, but again, it’s all about those touchdowns and Dowdle is a good bet as any to score on the ground.
JaQuan Hardy (DAL)
If I had to throw another name on the Cowboy’s list, it’s Hardy. Reports haven’t been glowing, but he has done enough to earn the junk time snaps in the fourth quarter.
Anthony McFarland (PIT)
There is one reason and one reason alone that McFarland makes this list. Speed. The vanilla defenses that will be employed in this game could lend themselves to a broken play or two, and McFarland has the speed to take advantage. There is a chance that the Steelers view him as a “starter” to compliment Najee Harris during the season in a Thunder and Lightning scenario, but he is still worth the shot based on his speed alone.
Steelers run Counter and Anthony McFarland hits the gas. 50+ yard rip for McFarland and the tight ends were the ones that sprang it.
— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) July 30, 2021
Wide Receivers
Simi Fehoko (DAL)
Fehoko is a big play type wide receiver. The Cowboys may look to take a deep shot or two with him on the field just to see what this kid can do. He isn’t a volume play, and by volume, I mean more than 3-to-4 targets, but he only needs one big play to pay off.
Day 3 @Simi_Fehoko pic.twitter.com/SSy2Q3RYn9
— Tiffehoko (@tiffehoko) July 27, 2021
Malik Turner (DAL)
Turner would be your “volume” receiver as a guy that runs good routes and just finds ways to get open. If he has three or four catches for 40-to-50 yards, he will have done his job for you.
Malik Turner continues to have a solid Camp. Good route runner and keeps finding a way open underneath the secondary. #CowboysCamp pic.twitter.com/rKLCmXkruG
— Kyle Youmans (@Kyle_Youmans) July 29, 2021
Isaiah McKoy (PIT)
The best thing about McKoy is I’ve seen tweets and camp videos of him catching big-time passes from all three of the Steelers QBs, including a one-handed catch that one beat reporter said maybe the best play in camp thus far.
Isaiah McKoy makes an unreal one handed catch down the sideline. Unbelievable grab. Probably the grab of camp so far
— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) August 2, 2021
Haskins throws a beautiful missile on the move over the middle to Isaiah Mckoy
— Adam Steel (@RenegadeAdam) July 29, 2021
Mason Rudolph with his best play of training camp. Bomber down the left sideline to Isaiah McKoy. Gain of 40. Nice ball with good air under it. #Steelers
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) August 2, 2021
Nice catch by Isaiah McKoy. Runs a pivot route, nearly gets clotheslined but he holds on for the TD in the end zone
— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) July 28, 2021
Tyler Simmons (PIT)
Simmons is another name that has popped up a few times on my feed, and he seems to have a good connection with Haskins which could make for a nice stack combo.
Dwayne Haskins finds an open Tyler Simmons for a TD. Simmons has had a nice first two days at Heinz Field thus far
— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) July 29, 2021
Haskins hits Tyler Simmons for a 38 yard completion down left sideline. Smash concept and Simmons got open. #Steelers
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) August 2, 2021
Tight Ends
Kevin Rader (PIT)
Tight ends are the ultimate touchdown or bust position in preseason DFS. Outside of the top 5-or-6 during the regular season, tight ends are typically touchdown or bust, and in preseason that is amplified. However, they are oftentimes the biggest pass catchers on the field and make for good red-zone targets. Listed at 6-foot-4 250, Rader fits the bill. If the tweet below is something that happens in the Hall of Fame game, you will be ecstatic.
Hell of a play by Kevin Rader here. And a hell of a throw by Dobbs. Shrouded by two defenders; Dobbs threads the needle and Rader elevates for a TD.
— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) July 30, 2021
Sean McKeon (DAL)
And the Cowboys version of Kevin Rader, also listed at 6-foot-4 250 is McKeon.
TE Sean McKeon with the TD to end team drills pic.twitter.com/cIDK7oQLtV
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 29, 2021
Defense/Kickers
I would refrain from starting any kickers in DFS preseason. Teams have the bad habit of trying out their emergency kickers in the preseason. A few years ago I rostered a kicker because he was the only kicker on their roster. He had to get the kicks, right? Wrong, they used their emergency kicker, the starting punter, to take all the kicks. He wasn’t even a player you could have rostered, cause, well, he was a friggin punter! …no, I’m not still biter.
Defense can be tricky. Normally in the regular season, I preach, “Don’t worry about points allowed, you want sacks and turnovers.” But, in the preseason, the defenses are so vanilla that you don’t always get as many of those turnovers or sacks as you would think. So it’s the points allowed that you want, which means best case scenario, 10 points. Which, honestly isn’t bad, but you rarely get shutouts in the preseason, so you’re capping your upside at 6 or 7 points. I wouldn’t completely avoid them, especially if you play cash games (don’t play cash games in preseason), but I wouldn’t overuse them either.
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