NFL preseason will continue this week with games on five consecutive days. It starts with the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks doing battle on Thurday and concludes on Monday night with the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets going at it.
Each of these games feature a player we should be paying attention to ahead of the next round of roster cuts. With starters typically resting in preparation for playing Week 3 of the NFL preseason, there’s a whole lot of under-the-radar players who need to make an impact.
From a former first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles to a struggling New York Jets wide receiver, here’s a look at 10 of them.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NFL preseason power rankings
Jalen Reagor, wide receiver, Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman just recently traded another disappointing wide receiver in that of JJ Arcega-Whiteside to the Seattle Seahawks. With Philadelphia’s depth chart at this position looking as good as ever, Reagor could be next.
A first-round pick of the Eagles back in 2020, Reagor actually played with Philadelphia’s subs in their preseason opener against the New York Jets. We’re expecting to see him on center court again Sunday afternoon against the Browns. It will be Philadelphia’s way of showcasing the struggling pass-catcher ahead of the next round of roster cuts later during the NFL preseason. Reagor, 23, caught 3-of-4 targets for 26 yards against the Jets.
Related: Ranking NFL defenses heading into the regular season
Dakota Allen, linebacker, Cleveland Browns
After being selected in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, Allen didn’t cut it in Southern California. The former standout at Texas Tech didn’t make it out of his initial training camp on the active roster before ho-hum stints with the Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars.
In competition for a spot on the Browns’ 53-man roster as a reserve linebacker, Allen shined big time against his former Jaguars squad last week. He tallied eight tackles (one for loss) in extended playing time. He also excelled stopping the run.
The Lance Chance U alumnus should see more playing time as he competes for a backup spot with the likes of Tony Fields, Willie Harvey and Jacob Phillips come Sunday against the Eagles. His ability to play special teams (522 total snaps past two seasons) could also loom large.
Related: NFL preseason QB rankings
Jordan Love, quarterback, Green Bay Packers
Love could be holding on to the Packers’ QB2 job by the thinnest of margins following his three-interception performance in the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers. The former first-round pick from Utah State did some good throughout the evening. But he continued to struggle with both decision-making and mistakes.
- Jordan Love stats (NFL preseason Week 1): 13-of-24 passing, 176 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Despite the stats, two of Love’s three picks bounced of the hands of receivers. According to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, it was a case of bad luck.
“We say it all the time about quarterbacks, they’re going to get too much credit when we do well and they’re going to get a lot of the blame when we don’t, and that’s just the reality of playing that position in this league. But I was pleased with Jordan’s performance.”
Matt LaFleur on Jordan Love’s performance
A seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots back in 2018, Danny Etling looked better than his well-known counterpart against San Francisco. While he’s unlikely to challenge for the QB2 spot, another pedestrian performance from Love against the New Orleans Saints Friday evening could lead to Green Bay making a move for a veteran and opting to trade Love.
Deejay Dallas, running back, Seattle Seahawks
The forced retirement of Chris Carson has opened things up for other running backs to step up in the Pacific Northwest. A third-year player out of Miami (F), Dallas more than made the most of his opportunity against the Pittsburgh Steelers this past weekend. He tallied 73 yards on 10 rushes for an average of 7.3 yards per tote. That was a much better performance than what we saw from Travis Homer and rookie second-round pick Kenneth Walker.
Seattle is planning on going with the injury-plagued Rashaad Penny as its starting running back this season. Walker’s status as an early-round pick has him as a favorite to land the RB2 spot. With that said, continued excellent performances from Dallas will get him more regular-season reps. With the questionable quarterback situation in Seattle, this is a major story heading into Week 2 of the NFL preseason against the Chicago Bears.
Related: Dallas Cowboys NFL preseason schedule
Cooper Rush, quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
It’s becoming more than clear following their mistake-filled NFL preseason opener against the Denver Broncos that these Cowboys need to find a legitimate QB2. If Dak Prescott goes down to injury, this iteration of Dallas’ quarterback room will be its doom.
Cooper Rush was absolutely terrible last week, completing 12-of-20 passes for a mere 84 yards. He tallied 72 net passing yards for an average of 3.6 per attempt. Rush did all of this against Denver’s second and third-team defense.
Head coach Mike McCarthy and Co. will give the veteran another chance against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday evening. Should he continue to struggle, it would not be a surprise if Dallas scoured either the free agent or trade market for a legit backup. Cam Newton or Colin Kaepernick, anyone?
Derek Rivers, EDGE, Houston Texans
For a team as talent-stricken as the Texans, castoffs from other squads can have an opportunity to earn a spot on the 53. Rivers, 28, bombed out in his time with the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams after the former made him a third-round selection back in 2017. He played limited snaps in Houston last season and is battling for a roster spot.
Rivers more than made the most of his opportunities against the New Orleans Saints in Houston’s opener last week. That included him recording two quarterback hits and two sacks. It opened some eyes in Texas.
“You want that to happen. In fact, too, like Derek Rivers, guys that haven’t gotten a lot of reps, when the lights come on, they really perform that way.”
Texans head coach Lovie Smith on Derek Rivers
Rivers will get his next chance to prove that he can stick in Houston in a good challenge against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on Friday.
Related: NFL preseason schedule
Tom Kennedy, wide receiver, Detoit Lions
This small-school product from Bryant University has played all of 157 snaps since joining the Lions back in 2019. He’s split time between the active roster, practice squad and the street since entering the NFL. Not many know about the 5-foot-10 slot guy.
That changed Week 1 of the NFL preseason with Kennedy catching 8-of-12 targets for 104 yards in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He looked darn good in extended playing time.
All focus in Detroit this season will be on fellow wide receivers Jameson Williams, DJ Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown. However, quarterback Jared Goff is going to need more than that to up his game. Kennedy is in a competition for playing time with the likes of Kalif Raymond and Kalil Pimpleton in the slot. He should see a lot of action come Saturday afternoon against the Indianapolis Colts.
Bailey Zappe, quarterback, New England Patriots
A surprise fourth-round pick of the Patriots this past spring, this Western Kentucky product came in for Brian Hoyer with starter Mac Jones sitting in the Patriots’ preseason opener. Bailey Zappe responded by completing 19-of-32 passes for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception. New England let him pass the ball around the yard to some success.
The expectation is that Jones will see some action in Week 2 of the NFL preseason against the Carolina Panthers this Friday. With that said, there’s no reason to believe that Zappe won’t see substantial action in Hoyer’s stead. Even as one of the lesser-known rookie quarterbacks in the league, it should be fun to watch.
Related: Takeaways from Week 1 of the NFL preseason
Antonio Gibson, running back, Washington Commanders
The Commanders know full well what’s happening with the talented, but mistake-filled young running back. Gibson is pressing. The former college wide receiver is putting the ball on the turf too much. It led to head coach Ron Rivera calling him out after yet another fumble in Washington’s preseason opener last week against the Carolina Panthers.
“Sometimes he tries to make a big play,” Rivera said. “Every play is designed to score, but when it’s not going to score. You’ve got to understand, if it’s not there, just stick my foot in the ground and get what I can and protect the ball.”
Ron Rivera on Antonio Gibson
After fumbling the ball six times a season ago, Gibson is clearly in Rivera’s dog house. In fact, there’s a darn good chance he’ll fall behind rookie third-round pick Brian Robinson on the Commanders’ final depth chart heading into Week 1 of the regular season.
Given that Gibson played a nice amount this past weekend, it’s rather clear that he’s battling for the RB1 spot. That should continue in Week 2 of the NFL preseason against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s rather shocking given that Gibson was seen as a breakout star at this point last year, only to go for north of 1,300 total yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021.
Denzel Mims, wide receiver, New York Jets
It’s pretty much a make or break preseason for this former second-round pick from Baylor. As a sophomore in 2021, Mims caught just eight passes for 133 yards in 11 games. He hauled in a disastrous 34.8% of his targets and a saw Jets quarterbacks compile a 55.2 QB rating when targeting him.
Mims didn’t perform too much better in the Jets’ preseason opener, catching 2-of-5 targets while playing with second and third teamers. Whoever gets the bulk of the work this coming weekend with Zach Wilson out of action will be key here. However, Mims must show that he has what it takes to be on the 53. If not, a release or trad could be in the cards.