NFL Preseason Takeaways: Jahan Dotson, Javon Baker, Quentin Johnston (Fantasy Football)

A lot of you have fantasy football drafts coming up this week. Which of the developments from the second week of the NFL preseason warrant your attention if you’re in the final stages of fantasy football draft prep? Read on, my friend.

And in case you missed the first installment in this series, these were my top fantasy football takeaways from Week 1 of the preseason.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice: NFL Preseason Takeaways

Wide Receiver

Washington’s Jahan Dotson was a fantasy disappointment last season, but his usage in the Commanders’ second preseason game offers reason for optimism. Dotson had a single 3-yard catch on two targets, but he played 16 of the 18 snaps that QB Jayden Daniels played and continued to take snaps in the slot. A healthy dose of snaps and dual inside-outside usage for Dotson bodes well for a rebound season.

K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton were the starting outside receivers in New England’s second preseason game ahead of rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. This feels like meaningless deference to veterans. Polk and Baker are still worthy of late-round picks in large and medium-sized leagues, while Osborn and Thornton probably aren’t. It should also be noted that DeMario Douglas only played in three-receiver sets last Thursday. If the 5-9, 192-pound Douglas only sees the field as a slot man in two-WR sets, he’s not going to be fantasy-relevant.

Chargers rookie, Brendan Rice, a seventh-round pick (and the son of legendary 49ers WR Jerry Rice) started ahead of 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston. It’s probably not worth betting on a second-year breakout from Johnston, who hasn’t been able to get traction in his second NFL training camp.