Preseason Week 3 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders

• Cole Turner could be the Commanders’ starting tight end: Turner has only two career receptions, but he’s been the clear leader among Washington's healthy tight ends.

• The Cincinnati Bengals could keep seven wide receivers: There is a clear top-five among the veterans, and they drafted two wide receivers who also seem likely to make the roster.

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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.

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Cole Turner is locked in as the Commanders’ TE2: Turner has been ahead of John Bates and others throughout the preseason.

• Turner played 245 offensive snaps last season, third among Commanders tight ends. He finished behind Logan Thomas (680) and John Bates (510) but ahead of Armani Rogers (158).
• He got significant playing time from Week 5-7 when Logan Thomas was out with a hamstring injury and John Bates was dealing with a hamstring injury.
• He caught his only two career passes in Week 6, the one game in that stretch that Bates didn’t play.
• Turner then suffered a concussion and missed time. Once he was back, he was used as a blocker almost exclusively.
• New offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has favored Turner over Bates, starting him in all three preseason games. Turner has typically stopped playing in the first half, while Bates has typically played into the fourth quarter.
• Rogers suffered an Achilles injury in May and is out for the season, so Turner hasn’t needed to worry about staying ahead of him.
• Thomas is expected to be the starter but has missed the entire preseason with a calf injury. There is no guarantee that Thomas will get his job back.
• Bieniemy has plenty of experience when it comes to having an elite fantasy tight end in the offense with Travis Kelce, so it’s at least possible that Turner starts this season and is a big part of the Commanders offense.

Cincinnati Bengals crowded wide receiver room: Nine wide receivers are fighting for six or seven roster spots.

• Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are locked into the top three spots. Trenton Irwin was the top backup last year, and he received the night off tonight, making him the likely fourth wide receiver for 2023.
• Trent Taylor, Stanley Morgan and Kwamie Lassiter II all got some playing time last year and are still on the roster, while Cincinnati drafted Charlie Jones in the fourth round and Andrei Iosivas in the sixth round.
• Trent Taylor and Iosivas started last week and this week, making them the likely fifth and sixth players on the depth chart.
• Jones has been the primary punt returner throughout the preseason. And given his pedigree as a fourth-round pick, he seems likely to make the roster.
• Taylor was the punt returner last season, but he was the fourth-lowest graded punt returner among those with at least 20 returns last season.
• This means that Lassiter and Morgan are likely the odd men out in a few days.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The Commanders announced before the game that quarterback Sam Howell, running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson, wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel and tight end Logan Thomas would not be playing.
• The Bengals rested quarterback Joe Burrow, running backs Joe Mixon, Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans, wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Trenton Irwin, and tight ends Irv Smith Jr. and Drew Sample.
• Evans having the night off while Chase Brown played tonight is a good sign that Evans remains ahead of Brown on the depth chart.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.