Deep Sleepers from the Preseason
The 2021 preseason is complete and we are a week and half away from the regular season kicking off. I’ve elected not to add anyone new to the list below. Instead you’ll see the guys I listed in my first two articles along with their primary competitors (denoted by an *) and potentially a little blurb if there’s any news on who has won the jobs. The stats next to each player are their full stats for the preseason:
Week 2’s Players and their preseason stats:
RB Kenny Gainwell (Philadelphia) - 12 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD, 9 catches, 66 yards
*Miles Sanders: 2 carries, 13 yards, 0 TDs
*Boston Scott: 4 carries, 18 yards, 2 catches, 49 yards, 1 TD
*Jordan Howard: HAS BEEN CUT
RB Larry Rountree (LA Chargers) - 22 carries, 102 yards, 6 catches, 23 yards, 0 TDs
*Joshua Kelley: 18 carries, 30 yards, 4 catches, 21 yards, 0 TDs
*Justin Jackson: 5 carries, 13 yards, 1 catch, 9 yards, 0 TDs
WR Trent Sherfield (San Francisco) - 5 catches, 156 yards, 1 TDs
*Mohamed Sanu: 1 catch, 5 yards, 1 TD
*Travis Benjamin: HAS BEEN CUT
*Richie James: HAS BEEN CUT
WR Tylan Wallace (Baltimore) - 5 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD
*Devin Duvernay: 9 catch, 80 yards, 0 TDs
*James Proche: 7 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD
*Jaylon Moore: HAS BEEN CUT
*Binjimen Victor: HAS BEEN CUT
*Devin Gray: HAS BEEN CUT
TE Tyler Kroft (NY Jets) - 3 catches, 49 yards, 2 TDs
*Kenny Yeboah: HAS BEEN CUT
*Trevon Wesco: From what I could find, he’s been moved to Fullback
*Chris Herndon: TRADED TO THE VIKINGS
As far as I know, Kroft is the only Tight End left on the roster. It’ll be interesting to see what the plan is here. Maybe they will try to make a trade for David Njoku, O.J. Howard, or Zach Ertz?
Week 1’s Players and their preseason stats:
QB David Blough (Detroit) - 30/44, 336 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int
*Tim Boyle: 22/39, 135 yards, 1 TD, 0 Ints
*Jared Goff: 7/9, 56 yards, 0 TDs, 0 Ints
Boyle suffered a thumb injury that requires surgery, so barring a trade, Blough will be the QB2 in Detroit to start the year.
QB Sam Ehlinger (Indianapolis) - 21/31, 288 yards, 0 TDs, 3 Int, 11 carries, 55 yards
*Jacob Eason: 41/62, 389 yards, 0 TDs, 0 Ints, 2 carry, 5 yards
Eason was officially named the backup to Carson Wentz, and will start week 1 if Wentz is not ready to go.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (New England) - 30 carries, 216 yards, 5 TDs, 3 catches, 25 yards
*Damien Harris: 14 carries, 60 yards, 1 TDs
*James White: 4 catches, 35 yards, 0 TDs
*J.J. Taylor: 23 carries, 179 yards, 1 TD, 10 catches, 62 yards
*Sony Michel: TRADED TO THE RAMS
RB Eno Benjamin (Arizona) - 8 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD, 2 catches, 16 yards
*Chase Edmonds: 4 carry, 13 yards, 1 catch, 10 yards, 0 TDs
*Jonathan Ward: 9 carries, 38 yards, 5 catches, 27 yards, 0 TDs
*Tavien Feaster: HAS BEEN CUT
*Ito Smith: HAS BEEN CUT
The final preseason game was cancelled, which is very disappointing cause I was really looking forward to seeing what Benjamin would do for his grand finale. He had a fantastic preseason. I love his potential, and I’ve taken him as a late round flier in each of my drafts.
RB DeeJay Dallas (Seattle) - 5 carries, 24 yards, 5 catches, 72 yards, 1 TDs
*Alex Collins: 19 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD, 10 catches, 73 yards
*Rashaad Penny: 12 carries, 32 yards, 2 catch, 11 yards, 0 TDs
*Josh Johnson: HAS BEEN CUT
WR Lynn Bowden (Miami) - 4 catches, 47 yards, 0 TDs
*Mack Hollins: 6 catches, 69 yards, 0 TDs
*Jakeem Grant: 2 catches, 16 yards, 0 TDs
*Malcolm Perry: HAS BEEN CUT
*Isaiah Ford: HAS BEEN CUT
*Robert Foster: HAS BEEN CUT
WR K.J. Hamler (Denver) - 3 catch, 107 yards, 2 TD
*Jerry Jeudy: 3 catches, 73 yards, 0 TDs
*Courtland Sutton: 2 catches, 27 yards, 1 TD
*(Tim Patrick is the other primary competitor for starter targets)*
Patrick may be the odd man out in this rotation as there are some trade rumors floating around. Personally, I think Denver keeps all four and sticks to a rotation. Better to have four good options then only three and risk an injury. Of course the draft pick compensation might be too good to refuse.
WR Denzel Mims (NY Jets) - 3 catches, 51 yards, 0 TDs
*Corey Davis: 6 catches, 88 yards, 0 TDs
*Keelan Cole: 3 catches, 28 yards, 0 TDs
*Jamison Crowder: 1 catch, 4 yards, 0 TDs
*Elijah Moore: No Stats
The Jets have been dealing with some health issues, including Denzel Mims trying to come back from his food poisoning and Elijah Moore dealing with his quad. So, it makes you wonder if Keelan Cole and Jamison Crowder’s lack of preseason production was New York holding them back to prevent further problems in the group, or if it’s a sign that they’re not going to bring the same kind of upside as the other three.
