It is sometimes a bad idea to buy too much into the preseason, but it also gives us a good idea of which players are looking good and getting reps. Yesterday was our first opportunity to watch many rookies play and see if they gain ground in the eyes of the coaches and fans from other young players.
Here are some players that caught our attention.
Preston Williams
Williams made several impressive plays – finishing with four catches for 97 yards.
Preston Williams making plays for the #Dolphins!#ATLvsMIA
— PFF (@PFF) August 9, 2019
At 6’ 4” 211 lbs., Williams has impressive size. At Colorado State, he dominated finishing the season with 96 catches for 1,345 yards and 14 touchdowns. Those numbers were good for a 90th percentile dominator rating.
Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard is convinced that Williams “is going to be special”. Only falling in the draft due to 0ff-field concerns, Williams is a guy that should be on all dynasty and deep redraft radars. Don’t be fooled by his “UDFA” tag.
David Montgomery
David Montgomery looked excellent – rushing three times for 16 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for 30 yards. Many are already drafting Montgomery as early as the late 4th round, but he arguably looked even better than expected.
David Montgomery caps the drive with a 7 yard TD run. Jump cut at the LOS, easy score. #bears pic.twitter.com/O606kP6Mv9
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 9, 2019
It was already reported that Montgomery was a “problem for the Bears’ defense” and he had teammates “excited”. Expect his ADP to rise after a strong first showing.
N’Keal Harry
N’Keal Harry is the rookie wide receiver that many of us were most excited about. A solid athlete with elite production at an early age – Harry is the type of player that we like to target.
Another N’Keal Harry reception. Elevates, back shoulder, good placement. Great body control. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/swzpxgfCCm
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 9, 2019
The Patriots selected him in the first round and suddenly have a lot of targets available after Gronk announced his retirement. To put it mildly, the reports on Harry have been disappointing. Harry was working with the second team and Michael Giardi reported that he’s being outplayed by undrafted free agent Jakobi Meyers.
It’s still very early and rookie wide receivers typically struggle with the Patriots, but Harry is clearly capable of big things.
Dallas Goedert
Few players have had as glowing reviews this offseason as Dallas Goedert. The Eagles want to feature him more and tight ends coach Justin Peelle called his development “phenomenal.”
Dallas Goedert showing up pic.twitter.com/u9BS7oCpCZ
— Gayle Saunders (@EagleSessions) August 8, 2019
Goedert looked superb, catching three passes for 50 yards in limited action. It’ll be hard to break out with Zach Ertz in front of him, but Goedert may be special enough to force his way into an adequate number of targets. He can have standalone high-end TE2 value which would become upper-echelon TE1 if Ertz were to ever miss time.
Kyler Murray
Drafters are already expecting big things from Kyler Murray as he’s frequently drafted inside of the top 12 quarterbacks. If we can take anything away from his first start, it’s that he looks ready for the moment.
Kyler Murray goes perfect in first NFL action: 6-for-6 for 44 yards 🎯@K1 | #LACvsAZ pic.twitter.com/Y67gOVciV9
— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2019
Not only did Murray look extremely poised and comfortable in the offense, but he combines a unique ability to move in the pocket with an accurate rocket arm. Murray and the Cardinals offense should be enjoyable to watch this season.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
An excellent prospect out of Stanford, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside has flown under the radar. He had an outstanding dominator rating, broke out early, and has a promising size/speed combination.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside with a near one handed catch on his first series #Eagles pic.twitter.com/jIcP1Gb9P6
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 8, 2019
He may not have caught that pass, but he caught two passes for 23 yards. He’ll begin this season behind Alshon Jeffrey, DeSean Jackson, and likely Nelson Agholor but we expect him to push for targets by midseason while being a bona fide red zone target.
Miles Boykin
A third-round pick out of Notre Dame, Miles Boykin is a physical freak. His size, speed, agility, and leaping ability are all at least 90th percentile. The reason he wasn’t an excellent prospect is his lack of production and late breakout.
Miles Boykin joins the party. Isolated at the top of your screen. Easy outside release, eats up ground. Three straight receptions (this one called back due to hold) #Ravens pic.twitter.com/K2eXSVCWcE
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 9, 2019
Boykin could still be a very good receiver but achieving a breakout as a rookie with Lamar Jackson will be a very difficult task.
Royce Freeman
Royce Freeman only touched the ball three times yesterday but did break a 50-yard run.
Excellent blocking on this long Royce Freeman run #broncos pic.twitter.com/taoSFCWHzV
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 9, 2019
He was an excellent prospect entering last season but was outplayed by undrafted rookie Phillip Lindsay. The reports this offseason have indicated that this season will be “true split-touch situation” for the two young backs.
4. #Broncos are feeling really good about RB Royce Freeman right now. To the point that they are hoping to finally establish the true split-touch situation that they envisioned between Freeman and Phillip Lindsay last season. They feel like that plan is fully on track for 2019.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 31, 2019
Thanks for putting this together. It’s nearly impossible to find a concise list of draft worthy players who shined in the pre-season games.
Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it!