We are entering the home stretch, everybody. We have a two-game slate on Thursday, with the first between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts followed by the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs.
This is the final week of the preseason.In two weeks we get to watch the Kansas City Chiefs begin their quest for a three-peat against the Baltimore Ravens. Who’s excited to watch the Chiefs’ backups tonight?
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Bengals vs. Colts NFL Preseason DFS Picks
Cincinnati Bengals Targets
Last week, Logan Woodside played in 71.4% of the snaps for the Bengals. Fellow backup Jake Browning will not throw this week, which means both he and Joe Burrow will not play again this preseason. That leaves Woodside and Rocky Lombardi as the lone quarterbacks available to play. Last week, Woodside attempted 25 passes, completing 17 for 132 yards. The volume was everything we could have hoped for, but the production was terrible. It might not get much better if he’s dealing with Colts starters for a vast majority of his snaps.
Zac Taylor says starters will not play Thursday night against the Colts, too early to tell what happened with Myles Murphy. pic.twitter.com/HYCHI4YGNl
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 20, 2024
Elijah Collins (RB – CIN) and Trayveon Williams (RB – CIN)
Elijah Collins played the same number of snaps as Trayveon Williams last weekend (36.5%). Both produced similar stat lines. Collins rushed eight times for 21 yards and caught two passes for 15 yards. Williams rushed six times for 22 yards and caught two passes for 19 yards. With Chris Evans out for the season, both of these guys are fighting to be the third-string running back. I give Collins a slight edge due to his small PPR upside.
Kwamie Lassiter has been a preseason king thus far. He has played in 58.1% and 87.3% of the snaps, respectively, in the prior two preseason games. He is third in the NFL in preseason targets (13) and tied for fifth in receptions (eight). The Bengals will be without Kendric Pryor again, which means Lassiter, Cole Burgess and Shedrick Jackson should all get heavy workloads in this game. All three of these Bengals receivers are in play. A potential sleeper for the Bengals could be Charlie Jones, however. He returned to practice this week and could play in the preseason finale.
Sam Hubbard (knee) will start working back into practices through individual drills.
Kendric Pryor injured his finger in the game, has it in a splint and likely will be out this week, per #Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) August 19, 2024
Indianapolis Colts Targets
Just as he did last season, Shane Steichen appears to be treating the final preseason game as the dress rehearsal.
Shane Steichen said most starters will play about 1 1/2 quarters in Thursday’s preseason finale. #Colts
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) August 20, 2024
This is pretty much a no-brainer. If Anthony Richardson is playing close to a half of football against backups, he’s the top tier for this small slate. In last year’s preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, Richardson played 51% of the snaps. The Colts and Eagles also had a joint practice last year, so Steichen is sticking to his plan again.
The battle for the third running back slot for the Colts has been intense all preseason. I expect it to come down to the wire. Tyler Goodson, Zavier Scott and Evan Hull have been almost equal in their workload in the preseason. With Demetric Felton likely a cut candidate, I think running back could be a spot where the Colts try and see what their backups have. Thus far in the first two preseason games, Goodson has been the first backup running back on the field after the starters (Trey Sermon came in before Goodson in the first game before his injury).
This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have moderate-to-heavy exposure to Jonathan Taylor.
Michael Pittman is a given. He has played seven snaps this preseason. Last year, he played 49% of the snaps in the third preseason game. Josh Downs, who will miss this game, played in 45.2% of the snaps in that same game. So this begs the question: Who are the other Colts starting wide receivers for tonight?
Currently, both Alec Pierce and Adonai Mitchell are the co-WR3 on the depth chart. According to Warren Sharp, the Colts have used 11 personnel 83% of the time on early downs in the first half of the 2024 preseason. Both Pierce and Mitchell should be on the field for a good amount of snaps if this holds true for the final game of the preseason.
D.J. Montgomery (WR – IND) and Laquon Treadwell (WR – IND)
The Colts’ backup receivers have all gotten equal snap counts this preseason. However, D.J. Montgomery and Laquon Treadwell have led the team in targets. Montgomery has seven targets while Treadwell has nine, including seven last game. If I’m looking to take a backup from the Colts’ receiving corps potentially, it’ll be one of these two.
In the Colts first game, Treadwell caught a 16-yard touchdown. In the second game, he caught all seven targets for 72 yards. Montgomery was targeted four times in the opener and three times last week. There was also a 23-yard completion by Montgomery last week that was wiped away due to an offensive holding call. Ashton Dulin returned to practice from a hamstring injury on Tuesday, but his status is unknown for the game.
Jelani Woods needs toe surgery, which means he will be out for this game. We are looking to pair a tight end with Anthony Richardson here — Kylen Granson fits the bill perfectly. All three of Granson’s snaps in the preseason have come with Richardson at quarterback. He was targeted twice catching one pass for six yards.
#Colts unofficial depth chart for their preseason finale against the Bengals:
• WR3 is Alec Pierce OR AD Mitchell
• Nick Cross is the starting FS
• Trey Sermon (groin) is still RB2
• Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis are starting DEs
• Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson are starting TEs— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) August 19, 2024
Bears vs. Chiefs NFL Preseason DFS Picks
For the Bears, this is their fourth preseason game. Caleb Williams has seemingly reached his snap allotment for the preseason as have the rest of the Bears starters. As for the Chiefs, don’t expect Andy Reid to play any starters this weekend.
Chicago Bears Targets
Dante Pettis has produced thus far in the preseason when given the chance. He’s also only played seven snaps with Caleb Williams, so he likely hasn’t locked down a roster spot yet. Pettis is the only receiver on the Bears that has received multiple targets in each game.
Dante Pettis when lined up in the slot this preseason:
???? 91.1 receiving grade (1st)
???? 5 first downs (1st)
???? 98 yards (2nd)
???? 2 TDs (1st)
???? 158.3 rating when targeted (1st) pic.twitter.com/HUPsZFeAyN— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) August 21, 2024
The Bears’ depth chart at wide receiver also took a hit this week as Freddie Swain went on injured reserve (IR).
Tommy Sweeney has been producing in the preseason and he’s still fighting for a roster spot. His snap count percentages thus far have been 68.6%, 39.1% and 43.2%, respectively. He has the second-most targets (six) on the Bears this preseason and leads the team in receptions (six). A similar distribution of snaps as the Hall of Fame Game could be in play for the Bears’ tight end room.
Kansas City Chiefs Targets
It doesn’t look like we will see much, if any, Carson Wentz in this game. Chris Oladokun hasn’t been terrible in his limited playing time this preseason. With potentially a half of football, he could be a decent option if you’re not going with Richardson.
Deneric Prince has led Chiefs running backs in snaps (37), carries (11), rushing yards (63), targets (four) and receptions (three) this preseason. He’s in the running for a final roster spot on the Chiefs and it’s looking like Clyde Edwards-Helaire might not play in the finale due to an ongoing illness.
Nikko Remigio’s snap count took a big hit in the last preseason game due to the starters getting a few series. Remigio has been the most targeted player on the Chiefs this preseason with eight targets and five catches for 51 yards.
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