NFL Preseason Takeaways: Brock Bowers, Ben Sinnott, Cole Kmet (Fantasy Football)

“It’s only the preseason.”

Sure, it can be foolish to make sweeping generalizations based on games that mean nothing in the standings. But savvy fantasy football managers know that preseason games often yield helpful clues about what to expect when the real games begin in September.

Here are what I believe to be the most important fantasy football takeaways from the first week of the NFL exhibition season. Let’s go position by position.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice: NFL Preseason Takeaways

Tight End

One of the things that has me excited about rookie Raiders TE Brock Bowers (aside from his prodigious talent) is that he’s the ultimate chess piece; he can line up anywhere. My concern has been that Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is more of a checkers player than a chess player. But my fears were allayed somewhat in the first preseason game for Las Vegas. Bowers played 11 snaps, variously lining up in-line, in the slot, out wide and in the backfield. I have Bowers ranked TE9, just ahead of Jake Ferguson, and will continue to scoop up the rookie in redraft leagues.

Gerald Everett played more snaps with Caleb Williams (14) than did Cole Kmet (11). A TE timeshare would drain Kmet’s fantasy value. I’ve dropped him to TE20 and have moved up Everett a couple of spots to TE32.

Rookie TE Ben Sinnott had three catches for 57 yards in the Commanders’ preseason opener vs. the Jets. The highlight was a 44-yard catch down the seam on which it took five Jets defenders to finally wrestle Sinnott to the ground. But here’s the bad news: Sinnott played zero snaps with the starters and appears to be behind Zach Ertz and John Bates on the depth chart. It might not be that way for long, however.