Fantasy Football 2016: Matt Camp’s Post-Preseason Week 3 Notebook

Meaningful football is still over a week away. The third preseason game is supposed to be the closest thing we get to that, but coaches use it in various ways. If that means resting some of their best players, like the Raiders did with Latavius Murray and the Jets did Brandon Marshall, then I’m all for it. 

Teams are narrowing their focus to cut down their rosters, so I’ll be doing the same in my game reviews. Instead of looking at each on a game-by-game basis, I’ve broken down my analysis by position by highlighting the players with the most fantasy impact. For each player, I made a notation to indicate if his fantasy value is going in the right or wrong direction heading into the season. 

For instance, you’ll get my thoughts on the preseason debuts of running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Ameer Abdullah and quarterback Joe Flacco. Elliott’s performance was important enough on its own as his debut on an NFL field, but it might give fans and fantasy players a little more confidence knowing the Cowboys will be without Tony Romo for a long time. 

As part of this final notebook, I’ll also provide one last tip of the week that I followed in a recent industry draft. Hopefully, it provides proper insight on how to draft with your head on a swivel.        

     

Game Reviews

I’ve broken these down by position with my current positional rank for each and an indication to which direction the player is moving in terms of maximum fantasy value. Also, while the reviews have some focus on the third week of the preseason, this is more of a review of each player’s entire preseason performance.

 

Quarterbacks 

2. Andrew Luck, IND (wrong direction)

If you only look at the numbers, Luck’s had a strong preseason that appears to put last season’s train wreck in the rearview mirror. After sitting out the opener, Luck has completed 21-of-26 attempts (80.8 percent) for 205 yards (7.9 yards per completion) without a touchdown or turnover in his two preseason games.

Watching Luck in action is a different story, mostly because Indianapolis’ offensive line is a major issue. Already a work-in-progress, the Colts allowed Luck to get sacked three times by the Eagles on Saturday night and lost left guard Jack Mewhort for 2-4 weeks to a knee injury, according to owner Jim Irsay.

It looks like the Colts will be smart enough to work around their protection issues by using more three-wide receiver sets and quicker passes, although that could mean more blocking for tight end Dwayne Allen. I’m concerned enough about Luck’s well-being behind that shaky line to consider moving him down a spot in my next big board. 

13. Joe Flacco, BAL (right direction)

Flacco’s return to the field in the third preseason game wasn’t about statistics. It was about him looking comfortable, taking hits, staying strong in the pocket and erasing any concerns about his knee injury holding him back. He achieved all of that, and that’s all that matters. Although he’s known for his big arm, just about all of Flacco’s throws were in the short and intermediate area, and he made more than a few good ones into some tight windows.

27. Dak Prescott, DAL (right direction)

Prescott’s performance in the preseason has been surprisingly good, and that’s become much more important following the injury to Tony Romo. Romo attempted just one pass before checking out for the day and giving way to Prescott. Almost all of Prescott’s 17 completions (23 attempts) were in the short and intermediate area, which is what you’d expect, although he did take some inaccurate shots down the field. Because he possesses athleticism that Romo doesn’t, Prescott did run some read option with success (2 carries, 12 yards), and the Cowboys should integrate more of that into their offense since they know he’ll be starting for a while.

I don’t expect Prescott to have much of an impact on Ezekiel Elliott’s fantasy value, but the Cowboys could rely on the ground game even more to slow things down. That could take away from Dez Bryant’s targets, so his fantasy stock takes a hit.

     

Running Backs 

3. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL (right direction)

Our first look at Elliott in game action was a great display of everything he’s capable of—other than pass catching (0 targets). Elliott ran inside with power, outside with speed, beat defenders and picked up extra yards after contact. While it doesn’t show up in his fantasy stats, Elliott proved he’s a willing and strong blocker in his pass protection. That’s a facet of the game that young backs tend to struggle with, which can keep them off the field. That isn’t a problem for Elliott and only boosts his value. 

18. Jeremy Hill, CIN (right direction)

Last year was a nightmare for Hill, so if he burned your fantasy team last year, I’m sure it’s easy to hold a grudge. I’m here to tell you that’s a bad idea.

Hill’s fumbling problems seemed to shake his confidence, and other than 11 TDs, he wasn’t a reliable player for the Bengals or fantasy. From what I’ve seen from him in the preseason, including Sunday night against the Jaguars, Hill looks like a different player. He’s quicker, healthier and is running with confidence once again. If not for the presence of Giovani Bernard to steal touches as a runner and a receiver, I’d probably rank Hill higher. He’ll be very important to Cincinnati’s offense, especially with concerns in their receiving corps after A.J. Green.

24. DeMarco Murray/39. Derrick Henry, TEN (right direction)

I didn’t expect to be this interested in the Titans. Yet after three preseason games, I find their backfield to be one of the most intriguing fantasy storylines heading into the regular season. While …

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