The 2022 NFL preseason kicked off Thursday night, with a matchup between the indefinite and indefinite. It’s the Hall of Fame game (more exciting in theory than in practice) from Canton, Ohio.
Spoiler alert for those following preseason wins and losses: the Raiders took the win 27-11. The discussion on Twitter mainly focused on the use of Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (11 snaps, five races, two targets, six courses covered for 30 yards on the ground and two receptions for 14 yards). He played in their first two records while most of their other starters didn’t.
Although it has become very unusual for rookies to see a lot of playing time in the first pre-season game, there is a reason why we shouldn’t care much about it and why we shouldn’t exaggerate this. concern wringing its hand over Jacobs’ job security.
The Raiders are now led by head coach Josh McDaniels, disciple of Bill Belichick and former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Patriots love sleight of hand, subterfuge, cloaks and daggers. You get it. It is reasonable to expect more than one running back rotation to the how the Patriots have used their back in the past. However, between Jacobs, the rookie Zamir white, Brandon Bolde, Kenyan drake, et al., we should also give Jacobs his due. The fourth year back is better than all of his backups and while I don’t foresee some sort of “Jacobs rebirth” under new management, he can be counted on to produce like an RB2 fantasy, which is all he is.
When you go through this list of Raiders, you’ll notice a lot of former Patriots players. Including QB Jarrett Stidham, who started Thursday night and was capable for the most part. He completed 8 of 15 for 96 yards and also ran in for a 12-yard score. One player I have my eye on is RB Zamir White. He was the thunder for james cookis Georgia’s lightning and that style of play shows in the way she runs. He’s a downhill runner, good between tackles and has solid hands. I don’t believe he has a ton of upside fantasy, but like Jacobs, he can do it all as a three-man defender. White is definitely a player to watch and consider as a very late stealer.
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The other notable news was the impact of the first overall pick Travon Walker was for the short time we saw him on the field in the Jaguars’ first two defensive drives. He scored a tackle and a sack in the boxscore and the Raiders moved pass protection to his side in the second practice. They put up chip blocks and seemed to show some respect for his athleticism. Paired with free agent signing Arden Key and veteran passer Josh Allen, Walker should deliver promise, fireworks that have my ears awake about this Jacksonville defense in 2022.
For the Jacksonville offense, there wasn’t a lot of work to do and given that they released backups, the fantastic takeaways are slim. QB Jake Luton didn’t look like a viable backup. Jacksonville allowed 159 yards and three rushing touchdowns, but some of that could be attributed to Las Vegas opting to use more starters and more of its second string longer than Jacksonville. It was basically like a 1v2, 2v3, etc., as the Raiders still had the advantage throughout the game.
Looking ahead for both teams, we want to see the chemistry between Derek Carr and Davante Adams. we want to see Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and Christian Kirk all in the field together. Will be Darren Waller bounce back after a good 2021 season, but not live up to expectations? How much will there be deposit for Renfrow Hunter after his breakout season? We have not yet obtained an answer to these questions.
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