Fantasy Football NFL Preseason Takeaways: Darren Waller, Jake Ferguson, Sam LaPorta

We’re two-thirds of the way through the 2023 NFL Preseason. Well, almost. The Ravens and Commanders hadn’t taken the field on Monday night before the publication of this article, so thoughts on that game will not be included here.

But there are some noteworthy takeaways from the other 15 preseason games that took place over the last few days. Let’s take a position-by-position look at some of the more interesting ones for fantasy purposes. And here’s a deeper look at tight ends.

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Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE

Preseason Week 2 Takeaways

Here are a few fantasy takeaways from the second week of exhibition games:

Tight End

Darren Waller looked like a baller. He dominated the Giants’ picture-perfect first offensive series, catching 3-of-4 targets for 30 yards, and losing a fourth reception when he was rocked by Panthers safety Vonn Bell and lost control of the ball. Giants head coach and play caller Brian Daboll knows how to get Waller easy targets in open space. If Waller stays healthy — granted, a big “if” — he could put up huge numbers this year.

Second-year Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson was given the second game of the preseason off. It’s another good sign he’s going to play a significant role in the Dallas offense.

It’s a good sign that the Lions didn’t start rookie TE Sam LaPorta in their second preseason game. Rookie tight ends are a historically poor investment, but this is an unusually good rookie TE class, and LaPorta figures to get a lot of playing time for a good offense.

It was Teagan Quitoriano, not Dalton Schultz, who started at tight end for the Texans. This isn’t too concerning if you’re a prospective Schultz investor. The ex-Cowboys was still on the field when the Texans’ starters were in 11 personnel. But Schultz came off the field when Houston went to 2TE sets, which is mildly concerning. The Texans aren’t going to have a high-volume passing offense, so Schultz will need all the snaps he can get to move the needle for fantasy.