The 2022 NFL preseason kicked off Thursday night, featuring a matchup between undefined and undefined. This is a (more exciting in theory than in practice) Hall of Famer from Canton, Ohio.
Spoiler alert for those keeping track of preseason wins and losses: The Raiders won 27-11. The Twitter conversation mostly focused on the Raiders RB usage Josh Jacobs (11 snaps, five carries, two targets, six routes for 30 rushing yards and two receptions for 14 yards). He played in their first two drives while most of their other starters did not.
While it’s become very unusual for a starter to see a lot of playing time in the first preseason game, there’s a reason we shouldn’t care too much, and why we shouldn’t overdo this concern into hand-wringing about Jacobs’ job security.
The Raiders are now led by head coach Josh McDaniels, a Bill Belichick disciple and former New England Patriots offensive coordinator. Patriots love them some agility, cunning, cloak and dagger. You get it. It is reasonable to expect more rotation to how the patriots used their backs in the past. However, between Jacobs, a rookie Zamir White, Brandon Bolden, Kenyan Drake, et al., we must also give credit to Jacobs. The fourth-year back is better than any of his backups, and while I don’t foresee any kind of “Jacobs renaissance” under new management, he can be counted on to produce as a fantastic RB2, which is all he is.
When you look through this Raiders roster, you’ll notice a lot of former Patriots players. Including the QB Jarrett Stidham, which started Thursday night and was capable for the most part. He completed 8 of 15 for 96 yards and also ran for a 12-yard score. One player I have had my eye on is RB Zamir White. He was the thunder James CookGeorgia’s flash and that style of play shows in the way he runs. He is a downhill runner, good between the tackles and has strong hands. I don’t believe he has much fantasy, but like Jacobs, he can do anything as a triple back. White is certainly a player to watch and considered a very late round pick.
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The other notable news was how impactful the first overall pick was Travon Walker was for the little time we saw him on the field during the Jaguars’ first two defensive snaps. He tallied one tackle and a sack in the boxscore, and the Raiders moved the pass defense to his side on the second dunk. They implemented chip blocks and seemed to show some respect for his athleticism. Coupled with the signing of free agent Arden Key and veteran pass rusher Josh Allen, Walker should provide some promise, some fireworks that made my ears prick up for this Jacksonville defense in 2022.
There hasn’t been much going on for Jacksonville’s offense, and given that they came out with backups, the fantasy output is thin. QB Jake Luton didn’t look like a viable backup. Jacksonville did allow 159 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, but some of that could be attributed to Las Vegas choosing to use more starters and more of its second string for longer than Jacksonville. It was basically like 1s vs. 2s, 2s vs. 3s, etc. as the Raiders always had the upper hand throughout the game.
Looking ahead for both teams, we want to see the chemistry between them Derek Carr and Davante Adams. We want to see Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and Christian Kirk all together on the field. I will Darren Waller bounce back from what was a good but underwhelming 2021 season? For how much drop will there be Hunter Renfrow after his breakout season? We have not yet received an answer to these questions.
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