2021 Dynasty/Fantasy Preseason Wk3 Game Analysis: Seahawks 27, Chargers 0
Seattle got a sack-strip fumble-TD early on Chase Daniel and it never got much better after that for LAC, as the battle of teams playing mostly all backups against each other went to Seattle in a shutout.
The Chargers are part of the new breed of teams/Brandon Staley part of the new breed of coaches that sits all the starters they can in the preseason, so getting shutout doesn’t speak much about the state of the Chargers…nor Seahawks.
I moved this game report up on my schedule because of the number of emails I received about one particular player here. We’ll start off the notes there.
Dynasty/Fantasy Player Notes…
-- I got more messages about Alex Collins (10-37-1, 7-52-0/7) than any player combined in the last 24 hours. People asking me if saw how good he looked, etc. I didn’t see it live…so, I jumped quicker to this game to take a tape watch.
I have to say, everyone was right – when did Alex Collins become good? The guy played with an urgency that no other back has played with this offseason – he was bouncing around the field, making excellent jump cuts, and moving piles on contact, and catching all 7 of his targets. He ran like how you’d want to see any RB fighting for his football life...kinda like how you want Rashaad Penny (7-24-0, 1-5-0/2) to work.
Penny started ahead of Collins but it wasn't long before we saw Collins…then Collins put on a show and Penny blended into the background. Collins definitely locked in a roster spot here…and probably a #2 RB spot on the depth chart…possibly getting Rashaad Penny out of Seattle once and for all. More likely, Collins will be #2 and Penny a close behind #3.
It’s not that Penny has been bad this preseason, just Collins better…clearly.
A very unusual sentence to type in 2021: Alex Collins is the Chris Carson handcuff more than Rashaad Penny.
If it came down to it, they’d probably split/rotate if/when Carson would be down and out.
-- I’d guess the Chargers would rather have Collins or Penny as backups than Justin Jackson (always hurt) or Joshua Kelley (3-2-0).
Kelley hasn’t been bad this preseason but hasn’t provided any memorable moments to seize the #2 spot. Jackson has been hurt most all preseason. Rookie Larry Roundtree (6-27-0) plays with some energy, but he’s just not enough to rely on for real impact in the NFL.
I believe the Chargers will ink Latavius Murray, if/when Lat is released. I wouldn’t rule out David Johnson landing here either to be the #2. Short of those veterans joining up, Kelley may have a slight edge over Jackson…or they’d be a duo if Austin Ekeler missed time.
-- We got to see the debut of Dwayne Eskridge (1-9-0, 1-19-0/1) here – it was brief and unassuming. Nothing special happened. He took a jet sweep that was normal looking. He caught a pass and slipped down after. I didn’t see any good/bad or ‘wow’…it happened so fast, and Geno Smith is so bad…it wasn’t a situation for a showcase for Eskridge.
-- Two Chargers IDPs who caught my attention…
Nick Niemann (13 tackles, 1 sack) is getting more comfortable as the preseason goes on. Still, my expectations were higher/more hopeful. He’s been OK, growing…but he’ll definitely be a backup to start the season.
The more impressive rookie here was DE Chris Rumph (4 tackles, 1.0 sack, 3.0 TFLs). He was being disruptive most snaps…just a raw, unbridled pass rusher off the edge. He’s more on my radar now than he was before. He’ll move up my next Dynasty Rookie Rankings. Not ‘wow’, just showed promise and potential I did not catch in any pre-Draft studies/data.
