NFL Preseason Takeaways: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy (Fantasy Football)

“It’s only the preseason.”

Sure, it can be foolish to make sweeping generalizations based on games that mean nothing in the standings. But savvy fantasy football managers know that preseason games often yield helpful clues about what to expect when the real games begin in September.

Here are what I believe to be the most important fantasy football takeaways from the first week of the NFL exhibition season. Let’s go position by position.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice: NFL Preseason Takeaways

Quarterback

Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, the first two picks in this year’s NFL Draft, both looked sharp in their professional debuts. Williams completed 4-of-7 for 95 yards and added a 13-yard scramble. Daniels was 2-of-3 for 45 yards and had a 3-yard TD run. Yes, the sample sizes are tiny, but both rookies looked good in limited action. They’re being draft in either low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 range, and neither gave us any reason to tap the brakes. I have Daniels ranked QB11, Williams QB13.

Viking rookie J.J. McCarthy looked sharp, too, completing 11-of-17 passes for 188 yards with two TDs and one INT. But McCarthy is now dealing with some sort of knee injury, and it’s still very possible (if not probable) that Sam Darnold is Minnesota’s Week 1 starter.

There are some people who believe Sam Howell could push Geno Smith for Seattle’s starting QB job at some point this season. I am not among those people. Howell played extensively in Seattle’s first preseason game, completing 16-of-27 passes for 130 yards — which works out to an uninspiring 4.8 yards per attempt. A notorious sack magnet, Howell also took two sacks. Count me out.