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2021 Dynasty/Fantasy Preseason Wk1 Game Analysis: Bengals 19, Bucs 14

We got an interesting glimpse of the Bucs 1st-team offense here plus the debut of Ja’Marr Chase…among several other nuggets of interest. Let’s get into it!

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Dynasty/Fantasy Player Notes…

 -- I believe the Buccaneers said a lot about their 2021 desires/touch counts, etc., in the first two drives of this game (the Brady-led ones with the 1st-team). We got some clues about the backfield and the passing games.

The backfield…

Leonard Fournette (2-2-0) started, so we can only conclude that he is ‘the starter’.

Gio Bernard (0-0-0, 2-16-0/2) came right in on 3rd-down and took targets…he’s the clear 3rd-down/PPR/James White 2.0 back.

Ronald Jones (1-0-0) started the 2nd series.

It’s obvious that Fournette and Jones will split 1st & 2nd downs in a hot hand scenario. Gio will be in on every 3rd-down and passing situation. I have no clue how Fournette or RoJo will matter much at all for PPR…and barely will for non-PPR. Good luck guessing who the hot hand will be week-to-week.

The passing game…

The very first downfield throw – Brady went right at Antonio Brown (0-0-0/1). Brady looked/locked on to him again on his next WR throw, but the pass rush got to TB before he could do anything.

In other news, Evans-Godwin got zero looks/targets.

Brady’s top receivers (in his heart): Gio, Ant Brown, Gronk…then Evans-Godwin. People don’t want it to be true, they still think it’s 2019 with Evans-Godwin – but the moment Antonio Brown arrived to play last season, Brady was spreading targets to all three WRs. Now, Brady has a full year working with AB…and now Gio, the James White savior has arrived. It’s bad news for Evans and Godwin at the levels they trade/ADP.

 -- FYI, Joe Mixon (1-3-0) got one touch and looked like the Mixon we’re all wishing upon a star on…and have been for years. Light on his feet and shifty. No lingering effects from his injury that I saw in one whole play.

 -- Kyle Trask (4-15 for 35 yards, 0 TDs/0 INTs) looked mostly over-his-head, uncomfortable/hesitant in his debut. We’ll see what happens in a year of development (I’m not damning any new age QBs anymore after watching the growths of guys from last season). But for now…he’s not ready. He was nothing close to the 1st-round rookie QBs in their debut.

 -- Ja’Marr Chase (1-18-0/1) was in for a few plays and got a bubble screen set up for him. Watching him alone…I didn’t see anything that showed me he was some gift from God prospect. He looked like a million other young, OK WRs. The routes he ran were deep ball decoy routes, not #1 WR routes.

 -- I’d rather have Jaelon Darden (2-19-0/6) than Chase, for NFL purposes. There is a ‘is this the next Tyreek Hill’ type of vibe off Darden. I don’t say that lightly. I’ve never said anyone is like Tyreek because no one is…but Darden is definitely small, fast, and can get by people in a blink. Bruce Arians being over the moon with him is no joke.

They tried to get Darden the ball in a variety of ways this game. They were pushing him. While Ja’Marr Chase was already big-timing-it like he was too good to be playing in a preseason game…my view. And there was no urgency to get him the ball a bunch.

 -- Bengals RB Chris Evans (12-25-1, 4-33-0/4) showed a few flashes of NFL-viability. The Michigan RBs to the NFL under Harbaugh have been weak, but Evans showed better than the failed ones from the past – not a star, but capable.

 -- Joseph Ossai (3 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 2 QB hits) disappointed me, but not in the way you’d fear. I wanted Ossai to play more interior linebacker, but he was playing more 4-3 EDGE pass rusher.

The disappointment ends there because he was a force rushing the passer otherwise. Way better-looking than Joe Tryon (0 tackles) in this game.

 -- O.J. Howard (1-15-0/1) made a catch midway into this game, and I was like…’Oh, yeah…he’s still in football’. Why they exercised his 5th-year option ($6M), I have no idea…but there he is. He looks bigger/slower than usual…coming off his injury.

 -- Speaking of bigger and slower…the local broadcast team spoke of Tyler Johnson (0-0-0/0) coming into camp overweight, and now we see him working with the bottom team guys – I’m ready to extinguish that light/ray of hope. If he can’t help himself, then I’m not going to keep pining away. Jaelon Darden has come in and stole everyone’s hearts, while Tyler has disappointed everyone.