1. New Coordinators Bring New Hope Part One: Bryce Young

In April of 2023, Carolina decided Bryce Young was a better fit for their future than C.J. Stroud. Nearly 18 months later, that looks like one of the worst decisions made by an NFL franchise this decade. But Carolina has not given up on Young after just one season and neither should you. Yes, the Panthers were awful offensively last season, but things can change a lot in the NFL year-to-year based on several factors.

One of those is the introduction of a new offensive coordinator. The Panthers were one of 15 teams to make this change for 2024 by way of Brad Idzik. This weekend, Idzik and Young got to showcase their work for the first time and the results were encouraging. Young orchestrated a 12-play drive in which he connected with five different receivers before finding Jordan Matthews for a touchdown. Included in the drive was a 21-yard toss to new weapon Diontae Johnson, and a 17-yarder to Adam Thielen. Young is a great late-round, buy-low prospect and while it was only one drive Saturday, he looks like a different player this pre-season.

2. New Coordinators Bring New Hope Part Two: Geno Smith

It is truly remarkable what constitutes a disappointing season for a QB these days. In the case of Geno Smith, 2023 saw him throw for over 3,600 yards with better than a 2:1 TD-to-INT ratio. Still, those numbers were a far cry from his 2022 season in which he threw for 4,300 yards, 30 TDs and completed just short of 70% of his throws.

Smith is joining forces in 2024 with new offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, and much like Young, his play this weekend was crisp and season-ready. Smith easily has the weapons at his disposal to be a borderline fantasy starter and those weapons include Jaxon Smith-Njigba who may be one of the biggest late-round bargains in all of fantasy football. All in all, Smith completed 80% of his throws in limited play and went to Smith-Njigba twice through the air before ultimately hitting DK Metcalf for a touchdown. Certainly, the ceiling on Smith prohibits him from being a top 8-10 QB most likely, but in this offense, his floor is solid. He’s being sold as a low-end QB2 for fantasy purposes, but I actually think he’s one of the best QB2 options available on draft day.

3. Expanding Role for Evan Engram?

Just as Geno Smith had his career year in 2022, 2023 saw numbers from tight end Evan Engram never seen before. As in114 receptions and 963 receiving yards on a whopping 143 targets. Engram will be hard pressed to repeat those numbers this year, but his red zone utilization on Friday night (2 red zone TDs) gave fantasy managers hope that he may be able to re-create 2023 via increased trips to the end zone. Engram has never been a red zone monster having only averaged 3.4 TDs per season over his career including just 4 last year. But, Trevor Lawrence clearly views him as a top option in the passing game. And, if Friday is the beginning of a trend, Engram could surge to top-3 status at the position.

4. Purdy Continues to Be Out of Synch

Brock Purdy’s struggles throwing interceptions in practice this summer were probably overblown. And, while he hadn’t looked sharp heading into preseason’s final week (2-6 in limited action last week), it was noted that he was operating without his usual complement of offensive stars. So, with optimistic eyes, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle both played alongside him on Friday and the completion percentage did improve. But, Purdy also threw another interception - this one in actual game action. My faith in Kyle Shanahan certainly supersedes any grave concerns about Purdy’s play, but I do think it’s safe to wonder if Purdy is going to be a legitimate fantasy starter at QB or strictly a back-up. We should see some resolution to the Brandon Aiyuk issue this week, but in the meantime, approach Purdy as your top QB option with some caution.

5. Finally, A Spark in The Steel City

I mentioned last week how much difficulty the Steelers were encountering in the preseason as they install new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith’s offense. With Jaylen Warren (hamstring) sidelined this past weekend, Smith turned to someone familiar to get the offense jump-started in the form of Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson’s 31-yard gallop to the house represented Pittsburgh’s best offensive play of the preseason and gave notice that while Patterson won’t out-carry Najee Harris or Warren this season, he remains a big part of the Steelers’ plans. For those who have bumped up expectations for Harris after Warren’s injury, remember that Patterson is lurking in this offense. And, as Arthur Smith has shown in the past, he’s not bashful about using him early and sometimes often in games.

6. Akers Not Ready to Fade into the Sunset

This time last year, Cam Akers was being taken in the late-third and early-fourth rounds of redrafts as a solid RB2 for fantasy purposes. But, after averaging 1.3 yards per carry with the Rams to open the season, he was traded to Minnesota where he didn’t fare much better. Most probably wrote Akers (Achilles x2) off as a result of what transpired, but he was given a new chance this offseason by joining the Houston Texans. After all, the Texans’ No.2 RB last year, Dameon Pierce, had an equally forgettable season and was ripe to be overtaken for change of pace duties behind presumed starter, Joe Mixon. Akers carried the ball 7 times this week for 53 yards and added 19 additional yards on 3 receptions. Altogether, Akers gained well over 100 yards this preseason on 24 carries and caught eight balls also including a TD catch. Whether Akers makes the Texans’ final roster this week is still up in the air, but he probably showed enough that he’ll get a shot somewhere else if Houston cuts him loose. If he makes the team, I think he likely leapfrogs Pierce and becomes Mixon’s handcuff.

7. Richardson Ready for a Re-Launch

One of the most exciting, but also disappointing aspects of 2023 was the meteoric rise of Anthony Richardson before a shoulder injury ultimately shut him down for the season. And while Richardson did play briefly in Week 1 of the preseason, his play in the preseason’s final week increased dramatically.

Overall, Richardson is inconsistent as an NFL passer. His completion percentage last year prior to the injury was under 60% and he was 8-14 in this weekend’s action in the accuracy department. But, he also showed on an 80-yard TD drive that culminated in a TD throw to rookie Adonai Mitchell that he can be electric on the field. There’s little doubt that Richardson will be handled with kid gloves by coach Shane Steichen to avoid another injury, but there are few things I am more excited about witnessing in Week 1 of the regular season than Richardson’s return to play. His floor is certainly lower than the likes of C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, and Joe Burrow…but, oh that ceiling!

8. Will Jerry Jeudy Get “Thrashed” In Cleveland?

It is a big stretch to suggest that after the Browns made a huge commitment to Jerry Jeudy, he could lose his starting job to fifth-round draft pick Jamari Thrash. In fact, it isn’t going to happen. But, Thrash concluded a solid preseason this weekend with a 4-73-1 stat line and anyone who has followed fantasy football in recent years knows that Jeudy annually disappoints. Perhaps mentioning Thrash is only relevant to those in dynasty leagues where the potential he flashed in the preseason can be further explored in years to come. That said, the Browns are an injury to Amari Cooper away from calling all hands to the deck and Thrash looks the part of a contributor. Just something to tuck away for later use.

9. Levis to Ridley an Ideal Fit?

There’s a reason Will Levis was considered by some pundits to be a potential No.1 overall pick in the 2023 draft just as there are plenty of reasons why that didn’t come about and he dropped out of the first round. Speaking of the former, Levis has a big arm. Some would say he has a cannon in fact.

DeAndre Hopkins is a gifted wide receiver, even in the latter stages of his career, but he’s more of a possession receiver now and thus a somewhat poor fit for Levis’s skill set. Calvin Ridley is not that type of receiver. On the second drive of the night for Levis (the first ended in a TD rush by Tony Pollard after a methodical 84-yard drive), Levis connected with Ridley deep downfield for a 33-yard gain. Watching it live, it was hard not to notice how well the two players fit together in terms of strengths. In the previous drive, Levis also found Titan newcomer Tyler Boyd downfield for a 20+ yard gain.

As far as fantasy production is concerned, Levis appears to be an inconsistent prospect at this point who will struggle with elite defenses much as he did last season. But there’s little doubt that his supporting cast has improved dramatically and I think in a non-PPR league, Ridley may be of one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season. Together, he and Levis look like a duo who truly belong together.

10. Drake Show Forthcoming?

Jacoby Brissett hurt his throwing shoulder in the first quarter of last night’s game which meant an early exit and an early entry for first round draft pick, Drake Maye. Considering the Patriot way is to be coy with injuries, we may not know by press time if the injury was of any real consequence or not. Coach Mayo said afterwards Brissett could’ve returned to the game.

What we can tell you is that Maye came in and looked the most comfortable he has at any point in the preseason despite a couple of botched snaps right off the bat. The TD drive he orchestrated (88 yards) came about as Maye completed passes to four different receivers and also scrambled 17 yards for a key first down. The next few drives were uneventful, but then Maye hit K.J. Osborn with a 48-yard dart for a TD just before halftime. Unfortunately, the play was nullified due to a penalty, but Maye’s abilities were apparent.

This is going to be one of the league’s worst offenses, but don’t expect Maye to sit for long this year even if Brissett starts Week 1. Even bad offenses guided by rookies can be garbage time gold. If you can roster a third QB, Maye makes the top of the list of guys to consider.

Time for the real thing starting next week!