NFL Preseason Takeaways: Jayden Reed, Marvin Mims Jr., Josh Downs (2023 Fantasy Football)

When the NFL had a four-week preseason, the fourth week’s games were almost completely irrelevant, with most teams refusing to play their starters. Now that the league has gone to a three-week exhibition season, the preseason finales are more of a mixed bag. Some teams didn’t play their offensive starters at all. But some teams treated Week 3 as a dress rehearsal, giving their offensive starters substantial playing time. We fantasy managers didn’t get an enormous volume of actionable information, but we got some — especially at the RB position.

Here’s a position-by-position look at some noteworthy fantasy tidbits from the third and final week of the preseason. And below is a deeper look at the WR position.

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Wide Receivers

Rookie Jayden Reed is expected to play a significant role for the Packers this season, but his usage might limit his fantasy potential. Throughout the preseason, Reed wasn’t on the field whenever Green Bay used two-TE sets. It’s especially noteworthy that Reed wasn’t one of the two receivers on the field when the Packers used 12 personnel (two TEs, two WRs) in their final preseason game, since starting WR Romeo Doubs was out with a hamstring injury. It’s an indication that Reed will rarely be on the field for two-WR sets and will be used exclusively as a slot man. There’s still fantasy value to that role, but Reed’s ceiling may be limited.

With Tim Patrick out for the season with a torn ACL and Jerry Jeudy dealing with a hamstring injury that could keep him out of action until late September or early October, rookie Marvin Mims is poised for a major role with the Broncos. Mims started the Broncos’ third preseason game and was a fixture in two-WR sets. Even when Jeudy returns, Mims should have some fantasy utility as a regular in Denver’s three-WR sets.

The Panthers have one of the messier WR situations in the league. Adam Thielen has FantasyPros’ highest Expert Consensus Ranking, slightly ahead of D.J. Chark and rookie Jonathan Mingo. In his best performance of the preseason, No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young targeted Thielen on 5-of-12 pass attempts. Thielen finished with four catches for 48 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown.

Rookie Josh Downs played extensively with the Colts’ starters on Thursday night and appears to have locked down a role as Indy’s primary slot receiver.