Throughout the preseason, we heavily emphasize identifying potential impact players throughout the season that others may not recognize as they aren't necessarily "stars". In our 'Preseason Players to Watch' series, we highlight potentially noteworthy players in each night's game(s) that may be impactful for fantasy football, both in the 2024 season and beyond.
Here are our top players to watch for in tonight's preseason action:
Will Levis (QB - Tennessee Titans) - at NO, 2:00 PM on NFL Network
According to Titans' team reporter Jim Wyatt, we will get to see the Titans' starters suit up for "a few series" of action today, including 2nd-year QB Will Levis.
We really haven't seen a ton from Levis so far in the preseason despite him playing in both of the Titans' first two preseason games, only throwing the ball 5 times. Granted, he did complete 4 of those 5 passes and did get to show us some goal-line rushing (TD), we're hopeful to see a bit more out of Levis this week.
We already know what Levis brings to the table in terms of the immense downfield arm talent, the big frame, and the ability to make plays with his legs, but we have yet to see if he has truly progressed in the short-to-intermediate passing range, particularly with the accuracy that was his biggest drawback as a draft prospect and in his rookie season.
The Titans went out and are replicating the Bills' development plan that worked on a similarly-built (and comparable skill set) player in Josh Allen, bringing in an established quality receiver (Calvin Ridley) to bolster the receiving corps that now possesses one of the better duos in the league. Hopefully, we'll get to see a bit more of the shorter-range work from Levis as an improvement there, with his already established deep ball, an improved WR room, and a much more pass-oriented offense, which could imply a potential breakout season for the QB.
Tyjae Spears (RB - Tennessee Titans) - at NO, 2:00 PM on NFL Network
Spears was surprisingly decently involved in the Titans' offense in 2023, registering over 150 touches even despite being alongside Derrick Henry and his 308 touches last season (5th in the NFL). Perhaps even more notably, Spears was extremely effective when involved, averaging 4.5 YPC and tallying 1.012 fantasy points per touch (FPPT), which ranked 5th among top-36 RBs last year and 7th among RBs with 100+ touches.
The talent is there, but the question still remains: What the workload split will be between Spears and free agent acquisition Tony Pollard?
Titans' HC Brian Callahan made note that he viewed the two RBs as "both starting players", which ultimately doesn't give us any indication. With each RB only getting limited work so far in the preseason (3 carries + 1 catch for Spears, 4 carries + 2 catches for Pollard), we should get a more in-depth look at what the workload split may be in the regular season.
One should anticipate a "hot hand" approach to the Titans backfield, which doesn't do much good for fantasy, but both Spears and Pollard offer draft-day ADPs that may make that a value should one take an early-season advantage.
Drake Maye (QB - New England Patriots) - at WAS, 8:00 PM on NBC
It's Week 3 of the preseason and we still don't have a good idea of who will be the one under center for the Patriots in Week 1, even despite Drake Maye lighting it up in both camp and in the preseason while veteran Jacoby Brissett continues to struggle.
Well, we should get an idea of who the QB1 is based on their play today with HC Jerod Mayo saying "Everyone that's healthy is going to play" in the preseason finale against Washington.
It's unlikely either Maye or Brissett will offer much in terms of fantasy relevance beyond very deep 2QB/SuperFlex leagues, but who the starter is will likely impact the supporting cast. With Maye, the WRs (Douglas, Polk, etc.) and the RBs (Stevenson, Gibson) will likely be a bit more involved and have higher upside. With Brissett, the TEs will likely be leaned on a bit more heavily (as he has historically done). It won't be much of an impact (and certainly not one to make draft day decisions off of), but another positive performance from Maye could land him the starting job and likely give the entire Patriots offense a bit of a jolt to start the season.