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Fantasy Football: 10 biggest reactions to NFL preseason Week 1

2RH3H73 Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (4) runs with the ball during an NFL Football game in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, August 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

• The Philadelphia Eagles rest Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott: The Eagles' running back competition was already complicated, and it became even more confusing after their first preseason game.

Tank Bigsby plays with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ starters: Bigsby is far from claiming Travis Etienne‘s starting role, but his presence with the first team this early in August is a good sign he will play a major role this season.

Greg Dulcich is the Denver Broncos‘ backup tight end: Adam Trautman started for the Broncos and played 100% of snaps on first and second downs with the first team.

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PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2023. You can find more information on why it’s essential to pay attention to the preseason here. Here are the 10 biggest notes from the weekend of games. For more detailed notes from each game, click here for individual recaps.

And be sure to check out PFF's 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit for even more content to help you dominate your league.

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The Philadelphia Eagles‘ backfield gets more complicated

Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott sat out while D’Andre Swift started Saturday night and Rashaad Penny played into the second quarter.

  • Swift and Penny both have average draft positions among the top 35 running backs, while Gainwell is at No. 52 on Underdog Fantasy and Scott is going undrafted.
  • This suggests it should be Gainwell and Scott getting drafted early in fantasy.
  • There were reports early in the week that Gainwell was playing like the feature back.
  • Swift played the first six snaps Saturday night and had a 22-yard run. Then Penny played for the next quarter’s worth of snaps.
  • An argument could be made that the Eagles know what they have in Gainwell and Scott after the past two seasons, but players such as Olamide Zaccheaus, a free agent addition, received the night off even though he should also be a relative unknown for the team.
  • Penny seems like the most likely player to not make the roster if Philadelphia decides to stick with three running backs.
  • It’s worth noting the Eagles typically have different running backs play in different situations, which was not true Saturday night. Penny played in passing situations, which is not the norm for him, for example. This also happened last preseason, and the Eagles immediately went back to using running backs in situations once the regular season started.
  • At this point, it’s probably best to not draft Swift or Penny at their current ADPs and potentially draft Gainwell, depending on how high his ADP rises.
  • Nick Sirianni said after the game that he wanted to see Penny play and get some opportunities to get tackled, and that next week we might see different backs. This still suggests the ADPs of the Eagles' running backs will now be closer than before.

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