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 2022 season and beyond.
Here are our top players to watch for in tonight's preseason action:
Anthony Richardson (QB - Indianapolis Colts) - vs CHI, 7:00 PM on NFL Network
It wasn't a pretty debut for the 4th overall pick, going 7/12 for 67 yards and an INT through one quarter of action last week against Buffalo. However, it seems the coaching staff saw enough to name Richardson the Week 1 starter.
The biggest concern for Richardson was his development as a passer. We saw that issue arise last week with some inaccuracies but in general, he's been ahead of pace in terms of development per camp reports. It's now time to see if that translates to game film.
I'm very interested to see if the Colts allow a bit more expansive play selection for Richardson, especially now that he has been named the Week 1 starter. We know what he can do as a runner, which should lead him to top-12 value as a rookie, but his passing will dictate how high his ceiling is.
Skyy Moore (WR - Kansas City Chiefs) - vs ARI, 8:00 PM
Skyy Moore played limited snaps in the preseason debut last week, like most of the Chiefs' starters, but didn't see any work.
This week, the Chiefs will reportedly be playing their starters for the first half against the Cardinals, granted the likes of Mahomes and Kelce may play less. This will give us the clearest perspective on the potential distribution among the WR group that is wildly different from this time last year.
As a starter, likely seeing notable work out of the slot, Moore is anticipated to be the go-to WR for Mahomes and the second target in the Chiefs' offense beyond Travis Kelce. We will get a look at that tonight.
Javonte Williams (RB - Denver Broncos) - vs SF, 8:30 PM
After tearing his ACL in October last year, Javonte Williams just recently returned to practice 2 weeks ago, is reportedly "100 percent" per Head Coach Sean Payton, and will get some action tonight against San Francisco.
Williams won't get a lot of action tonight (10-12 plays), but it'll still be our first look into how well he has progressed from his season-ending injury and give us an idea of how soon he will be back to his anticipated full workload.
If he looks like his usual self, he could soon fly up draft boards, but if there appear to be notable signs of lingering effects from his knee injury, RB Samaje Perine could end up being a must-target as one of the best draft day values.