2022 Dynasty/Fantasy Preseason Week 3 Game Report: Chiefs 17, Packers 10
A battle of the 2nd-teams/backups…both teams used this game to assess the young players to set the 53-man roster (due 8/30). Those released players can be signed/claimed noonET 8/31.
KC won this choppy game, but they also won the ‘most interesting for FF notes’ battle of the two teams…as KC used everyone but CEH out of the backfield this game. And we’ll start the player comments there -- with the KC backfield.
Dynasty/Fantasy Player Notes…
-- This game might have thrown some cold water on the Isaih Pacheco (10-52-0) story…for a variety of reasons. The main reason being decreased ‘fluff’…the same kind of fluff that drove us to this point in the first place.
Fluff = Pacheco has been so hot, so the ‘smart’ FF player’s guy for weeks…that he was bound to lose some steam. He exploded in valuation inflation in August based on NOTHING…based on some beat writer tweets and the ever important ‘he’s working with the 1s today!’ tweet/note.
No one, in the mainstream, knew anything about Pacheco to start August…then they were all experts, based on nothing but tweets/notes…no one had ever seen him do anything to warrant the rocket ship ride of the past 3 weeks. It was all talk/chatter. And Pacheco still hasn’t done anything in a preseason game to support his inflation…so now the fluff/steam is cooling off.
This game event will continue to cool him off…mostly because he didn’t do anything highlight worthy -- but this game watch really went much deeper into popping the Pacheco balloon and should be a stark warning to everyone’s Rookie Derangement Syndrome on Pacheco.
Let’s examine the reason’s reality is a bitch (for Pacheco) here…
First off, the pattern of the RB appearances…
CEH went out for the ceremonial huddle to honor Len Dawson…the 1st-team, including Mahomes, went out and old school huddled and took a delay of game, and then left the field. CEH never to be seen again…but all the other RBs had to work.
Ronald Jones (8-43-0, 1-4-0/1) got the start and looked like nothing -- just a big guy running straight into tacklers, and not all that impressive. Was it a showcase ‘start’ to trade him or let him prove himself? Why would it be? You think some team is trading for Ronald Jones? If RoJo makes the 53-man roster, and he might…Pacheco is buried for at least a quarter-to-half the 2022 season (barring major injuries). If this was a showcase to deal Jones…they’d have been better to hold him out to ensure he didn’t get hurt to not block/halt any effort to deal him.
Jerick McKinnon (1-3-0/2) jumped in for a few plays after RoJo. Why? Why did KC need to see any more McKinnon work? If McKinnon was held in anywhere near as high a regard as CEH…McKinnon would’ve never taken a snap here…but he was out there, after Ronald Jones.
Then, somewhere in/around the time McKinnon popped in briefly we got the first signs of Isaih Pacheco (10-52-0)…in for a few snaps and limited touches. It wasn’t until RoJo and McKinnon were fully done that we finally got more Pacheco work…buried with the 3rd and 4th-team QB. Is that how you treat the supposed/looming CEH takeover candidate? Dameon Pierce isn’t working with the 3rd and 4th-team. Pacheco is.
Oh, and if you think KC is secretly planning for a Pacheco takeover of CEH…guess who was playing special teams, on the kickoff cover team? #10…not Tyreek Hill. You think Breece Hall, Rachaad White, Kenneth Walker, or Dameon Pierce, among other highly regarded rookie RBs are working on kick return defense? Is that how you treat an RB you think is special and you’re wanting to leap over RoJo…and McKinnon…and CEH? It is not.
Pacheco is going to be a lowly/non-used RB for 4-8 weeks, minimum…but will return kicks and play on special team’s defense -- and that tells you a lot about what KC thinks of him right now. A 7th-round expandable body…one they were lucky to fall ass-backwards into.
Guys like Pacheco, 7th-round picks, don’t get pushed to the top right away normally…it will take several injuries above them to force the coach’s hands and then if a Pacheco shows out with that, then the coach’s are in a conundrum on what to do when the other guys get healthy.
If you’re drafting Pacheco hot for FOMO, in redraft, you’re likely in for 4-6-8 weeks of clogging up a roster spot before you finally give up (in 10-12 team leagues with decent waivers available). UNLESS an injury bug hits and catapults Pacheco to an opportunity…but you could say that about 25-50 other RBs in the league right now.
As far as Pacheco’s performance here, with some more touches finally… He was fine. You can see the size and speed. He made good reads of holes between the tackles -- after last week being banished to hell on his 1-2 carries where he missed a cut/hole opportunity. A week later, he’s all fixed! He’s not. We still don’t know his full deal/capabilities because he did his majority preseason work this game against to-be-cut-soon defenders in the 2nd-half of a meaningless scrimmage. But you want him to take advantage of weak defenses -- and he did here.
I’m a Pacheco fan, but this whole ADP/awareness rise, roller coaster ride in August has been so ridiculous. He’s a promising prospect…that’s likely buried to start the 2022 season and that we still don’t know ‘how good?’ right now.
-- Less interesting happenings in the Green Bay backfield here…
Tyler Goodson (7-28-1, 5-26-0/5) looked a lot better this week and showed off his case for making the roster -- because of his top-notch hands in the passing game. Goodson is trying to leap past Patrick Taylor (7-34-0, 3-17-0/3), and I think he did just that.
Taylor will likely be cut and put on the practice squad and Goodson will be the #3 RB, one who is no threat to Dillon-Jones if either of the 1A’s gets hurt.
-- Matt Bushman (3-73-2/3) had a game…a 52-yard TD, followed by a short pass TD…two TDs! Is this a breakout!? No. He was left wide-open by like 10-yards on his long TD. He’s just a bigger, slower TE body at this point. He’ll be cut and put on the practice squad.
Jody Fortson (3-26-0/3) is the TE of more interest for me for KC. You’ll see him continuing to rise in our redraft and Dynasty rankings.
-- Jordan Love (16-26 for 148 yards, 0 TD/1 INT) has fully proven, through his three preseason starts, that he’s not getting any better…he’s peaked and is not an NFL starter-talent.
If Aaron Rodgers goes down, this team is toast for holding off Minnesota or making any run through the playoffs…and Lazard and friends go FF-down with the ship as well -- the same as half the league’s WRs/TEs would get jobbed by the main starter going down.
-- Speaking of August rookie superstars, Romeo Doubs (2-13-0/3) being called ‘Preseason Jerry Rice’ by the FF smarks is funny to me…and right on target. He has some promise, but also some issues with the reliability of his hands. He’s not gonna start for GB Week 1 and he’s probably not gonna see many targets for half a season or more, unless injury forces him into the starting lineup. He’s a wasted redraft pick right now.
If Doubs is ‘Preseason Jerry Rice’ then Isaih Pacheco should’ve gotten a similar label (‘Preseason Gale Sayers’?).
-- Quick IDP note…
Cincy 2nd-round draft pick SAF Bryan Cook (4 tackles) is getting a lot of positive chatter not only from the (fawning) local media but from within the team/management. He looks solid to me, but the way they talk about him is like he’s a superstar in waiting. I’m just making note of that -- he’s either that good, and gonna play a lot of snaps out of the gates -- or he’s not that great, but he’s gonna get treated like he is by the team and play a lot of snaps.
