The thing about the third week of the NFL Preseason is, as a general rule, you'd probably prefer the players on your Fantasy Football team didn't play in games. Because so few teams actually play their most important players this deep into the preseason, if someone you're going to be relying on this season played significant snaps this week, that's probably not a great sign.
Of course, that isn't true across the board. There are still important position battles to be fought over, and some teams just like to have their guys get live reps, even with little to play for. You can't just say across the board that everyone who played this weekend doesn't matter for Fantasy; that would be silly.
So, what mattered? Here are 10 players whose arrow is pointing up at the end of the preseason.
Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers
I had some concerns about slotting White in as an RB2 at the start of draft season, but I'm on board now. I still have questions about whether he's actually going to produce much – this Buccaneers offense is likely to be pretty mediocre, and I just don't have a ton of faith in White being much more than an average playmaker. However, what's been clear based on preseason usage is that he's going to be the clear lead back in this offense.
Baker Mayfield played nine snaps in the third preseason game, and White was on the field for each of them, which simply cemented what we learned in the first two games, when White had the night off along with the rest of the team's starters. White isn't going to play 100% of the snaps for the Buccaneers, and he may end up being underwhelming enough to open the door for one of Ke'Shawn Vaughn or Chase Edmonds (or maybe even undrafted rookie Sean Tucker, if he makes the team) to push him for playing time. But White is the clear lead back here, with three-down skills, and should be drafted as an RB2 and a top-60 pick.
Marvin Mims, WR, Broncos
Mims entered draft season the presumed No. 4 wide receiver for the Broncos, and he might have even been fifth on the depth chart. However, with injuries to Tim Patrick, KJ Hamler, and then Jerry Jeudy last week, Mims is probably going to start in Week 1 alongside Courtland Sutton. Mims took on Jeudy's two-WR set snaps in Week 3, after largely operating only in three-WR sets prior to that. Obviously, Jeudy's absence could play a big part in Mims' usage, but you also have to now account for the possibility that Mims, the No. 63 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, might be productive enough early this season to force his way into an even bigger role. We generally expect rookie wide receivers to see their usage grow as the season progresses, which is why we urge patience with the likes of Quentin Johnston. But Mims might be positioned to be relevant from Week 1, with room to grow from there. He probably needs to be drafted in the final rounds in all leagues now. He might even remind you of a wide receiver Russell Wilson had a lot of success with in Seattle:
Tyjay Spears, RB, Titans
It's been clear for a while now that Spears is the obvious backup to Derrick Henry, and his usage in Week 3 seemed to further cement that. He played every snap on the first two drives for the Titans and has played 38 preseason snaps, per ProFootballFocus.com; Julius Chestnut and Hassan Haskins have combined for 15 with Henry sitting out. Spears will, obviously, need an injury to Henry to matter for Fantasy, but the fact that they got him involved in the passing game – three targets this week, including one where he was split wide in an empty set – bodes well for his chances to have a role. In a one-round rookie draft where I had the 13th pick this weekend, I took Kendre Miller ahead of Spears, but I'll admit, I kind of agonized over it; Spears could be a very solid RB2 if the 29-year-old Henry misses time.
Adam Thielen, WR, Panthers
Thielen is left almost exclusively for the late rounds, sporting a 152.3 ADP over the past two weeks as WR62. But I do think the preseason has indicated that he could play a surprisingly useful role for Fantasy. Thielen is playing pretty much every snap for the Panthers with the first-team offense, often out of the slot, and he was targeted seven times on Bryce Young's 24 attempts this preseason, catching six of them for 63 yards and a touchdown, which came this week. I don't think Thielen has a ton of upside – his yards per target has dropped in five straight seasons, to just 6.7 a year ago – but I do think the 33-year-old is a decent early-season option, especially if you drafted someone like Jerry Jeudy or Terry McLaurin who may not be 100% for Week 1.
Pierre Strong, RB, Browns
Typically, trades made during the final few days before final roster cuts are due don't matter for Fantasy, but I really think this one might. The Browns went out and traded for Strong, a fourth-round pick last season, after Jerome Ford missed basically the entire preseason with a hamstring injury. Nick Chubb is the obvious starter here, but Strong has excellent athleticism, showed decent pass-catching chops in college, and could be a factor as a third-down back for the Browns. What is more interesting is the potential for Strong to emerge as the handcuff for Chubb in an offense that runs the ball very, very effectively. I'd bet on Ford being that guy if he's healthy right now, but Strong is in a much better situation in Cleveland than he was being buried on the Patriots depth chart, and in deeper leagues, I actually quite like the idea of adding him just to see what happens.
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Broncos
Here's another one for you deep-leaguers out there. I'm not even sure if McLaughlin is going to make the Broncos roster, but it kind of feels like he needs to. McLaughlin is the NCAA record holder for rushing yards but went undrafted out of FCS Youngstown State, and all he's done in the preseason is keep producing, rushing for 113 yards on 21 carries with four touchdowns in three games – he added seven catches for 33 yards on eight targets, too. The Athletic's Nick Kosmider now projects McLaughlin to make the team's 53-man roster, and while I'd expect he'll be inactive on game days while Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine are healthy, I'm adding him in some of my deeper leagues, just because that kind of production is hard to ignore.