What We Saw: Preseason Week 1

Ben Brown
What We Saw 3 Years Ago
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Browns @ Jaguars

Final Score: Browns 23, Jaguars 13

Writer: Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter)

 

This game brought us the long-awaited Jacksonville debut of both Tim Tebow and Trevor Lawrence, both equally exciting prospects. The Browns opted to sit all of their starters, so we didn’t learn much about their team. The Jaguars did play their starters, and in addition to our first glimpses of Lawrence, we got our first look at what an Urban Meyer offense might look like at the NFL level.  There were a lot of passes designed to get the ball out quickly, and the plays with longer drop-backs were a bit of an adventure. Lawrence had some highs, like a deep pass to Marvin Jones down the middle of the field and another connection with Jones on a perfectly thrown comeback route, but he also was strip-sacked and looked hesitant at times. The Jaguars also used three running backs with the first-team offense and their offensive line continued to struggle, even against the backup defense of the Browns. For their part, the Browns’ second and third-string players looked a lot better than what the Jaguars had to offer, and the Browns were able to cruise to a 23-13 win, which wasn’t as close as the score would indicate as the Jaguars scored a touchdown with just 29 seconds left.

 

Cleveland Browns

 

Quarterback

 

Case Keenum: 12/17, 115 yards

Kyle Lauletta: 19/27, 212 yards, 2 TD, Sack | 1 carry, -1 yard

 

Baker Mayfield got the night off, and backup Case Keenum only played into the second quarter. Most of Keenum’s passes were checkdowns to the running backs, with a few downfield passes to Donovan Peoples-Jones mixed in. Keenum did get lucky when C.J. Henderson dropped what should have been an interception in the red zone, but otherwise, he was the solid-if-unspectacular quarterback we’ve come to expect. That left most of the game to former fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta. Lauuletta was impressive, albeit against backups and third-stringers, tossing two touchdowns and generally looking like you would want a competent quarterback to look in this situation. This throw to Davion Davis hung on him a bit but was still a pretty great throw:

 

 

His other touchdown came on a short pass to Ryan Switzer, which capped off the third straight scoring drive Lauletta led. Lauletta had some off-the-field issues earlier in his career, but he’s clearly got some talent and will probably catch on somewhere as a prospect even if the Browns opt against carrying a third quarterback.

 

Running Backs

 

Demetrious Felton: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 44 yards

D’Ernest Johnson: 5 carries, 14 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards

Johnny Stanton: 6 carries, 12 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

John Kelly: 8 carries, -1 yard | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 44 yards

 

Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt sat out along with the rest of the Browns’ starters. D’Ernest Johnson and Demetrious Felton got the start instead. Felton played running back and wide receiver in college, and tonight the Browns used him exclusively as a receiver with Johnson working out of the backfield. Both were productive as receivers, with Felton working as more of a slot-style receiver on underneath routes and Johnson catching both a check-down and a screen pass. The Jaguars seemed committed to stopping the run but were happy to concede underneath passes anywhere between the 20-yard lines. It’s very early to make this type of determination, but it seems like Jacksonville may be a bit of a funnel defense that fantasy managers may want to target with pass-catchers out of the backfield. The television broadcast noted that the Jaguars will use an aggressive pass rush, and as the game went on the Browns mixed in more delayed screen passes to take advantage of that. Cleveland’s backup offensive linemen didn’t do much in the run-blocking department tonight, and as a result, the team didn’t get much going in the run game.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Donovan Peoples-Jones: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards

Davion Davis: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD

Ja’Marcus Bradley: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 38 yards

Rashard Higgins: 2 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards

Ryan Switzer: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards, 1 TD

 

Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones both have some chance of being the Browns’ third receiver. Peoples-Jones came in with a lot of camp hype and was pretty impressive, coming down with several difficult catches. None was better than a one-handed catch he made as he was falling away from the ball on the sideline.

 

 

Higgins saw less work and didn’t really have a chance to impress, but with a more concrete track record in the NFL it’s likely the team didn’t need to see much from him. Davion Davis made a nice catch on the aforementioned Lauletta pass, but other than that the receivers were pretty quiet as most of the receiving work went through the running backs. Ryan Switzer caught the other touchdown after having a rough start to the game.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterback

 

Trevor Lawrence: 6/9, 71 yards. 2 sacks, Fumble

Gardner Minshew: 4/8, 47 yards, INT, Sack

C.J. Beathard: 13/16, 102 yards, TD

Jake Luton: 8/13, 53 yards, TD

 

Trevor Lawrence finally made his debut for the Jaguars, and on the very first play, he held the ball a little longer than he should have, resulting in a strip-sack. The Jaguars recovered, and Lawrence bounced back to have a nice if unexciting game. A lot of the throws he made appeared to be plays designed to get the ball out quickly, but on a few plays he had time to throw and we got to see some of the talent that made him the number one overall pick. He made a nice throw to Marvin Jones on a comeback route, where Lawrence had the ball waiting for Jones as he turned around, and threw this beautiful throw down the field to Jones that got the entirety of Duval County excited.

 

 

The only knock against Lawrence was at times he seemed to hold onto the ball too long, and he didn’t really break from the pocket to extend the play when allowed. Maybe that was a coaching decision, as the Jaguars definitely do not want to see him get hurt in the preseason, but it was still a little disappointing to see him have opportunities to use his legs and not take them.

Gardner Minshew, who according to Urban Meyer still has a chance to be the starter if you believe him, looked pretty bad. His deeper throws lacked speed, and the offense as a whole looked a little lost with him on the field. His interception came on a deep throw to end the half but even discounting that he had a bad performance.

 

Running Backs

 

James Robinson: 3 carries, 13 yards

 Carlos Hyde: 2 carries, 4 yards | 1 target

Travis Etienne: 1 carry, 2 yards | 1 target | 1 forced fumble

Dare Ogunbowale: 8 carries, 24 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

 

The most interesting fantasy development in this game was how the Jaguars deployed their running backs. James Robinson got the start and worked exclusively with the first-team offense. Robinson also didn’t come off the field for third-downs if he was already out there, which was the concern after the team spent a first-round pick on pass-catching back Travis Etienne. Etienne didn’t see the field until the second drive, while Carlos Hyde beat him onto the field and also stayed on the field for third down.

 

 

Robinson had a nice 9-yard run but also got stuffed on an attempted fourth-down run. Hyde, for reasons only known to Urban Meyer, was targetted on a wheel route which predictably did not work. Etienne wasn’t targetted until Minshew checked into the game, and made his only real impact when he forced a fumble following Minshew’s interception. If this pattern of usage continues through the rest of the preseason expect Robinson’s ADP to rise as drafters remember how good he was as a rookie, while Etienne’s falls as questions about what type of role he can carve out begin to mount.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Laviska Shenault: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Marvin Jones: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 52 yards

Colin Johnson: 2 targets, 1 reception, 0 yards

Tavon Austin: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 52 yards, TD

Laquon Treadwell: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards

Josh Hammond: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 55 yards

Tim Tebow: 1 target

Tyler Davis: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards, TD

 

DJ Chark missed the game after getting surgery on his finger, so the starting three-receiver set was Laviska Shenault, Marvin Jones, and Colin Johnson, with Laquon Treadwell coming in when they went to four-receiver formations.

 

 

It was a little concerning that Shenault only played in the slot, and that he came off the field when the team went to only two-receiver formations, but when he was on the field the Jaguars were looking to get the ball into his hands.

 

 

Marvin Jones was the better receiver tonight though and appeared to be Lawrence’s go-to read when the play was breaking down. The long catch he had, shown above, came after he had finished his route and went into a scramble drill type of route, even though Lawrence was still sitting in the pocket. That type of chemistry will come in handy during the season, especially since it seemed like the offensive line might force Lawrence to throw hot to his first read pretty often to start the season.

Treadwell has gotten a lot of buzz in camp and looked good on his limited targets. The broadcast mentioned that he has been working with a mental coach this offseason, and if he ever gets that part of his game figured out he is a big, athletic, receiver that was once a consensus first-round pick. Tavon Austin got some special teams work, as well as catching a touchdown as a receiver and might make the team as a gadget player worth keeping an eye on in very deep fantasy leagues.

 

 

Austin also caught what appeared to be a target for the main attraction of tonight’s game, Tim Tebow. Tebow looked bad as a blocker and didn’t do anything as a receiver, but he does look massive and he played with the second and third-team offenses, so maybe he still has a shot to make the team. I’m rooting for him personally, even after this clip.

 

 

 — Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter).

Series Navigation
Introduction
Washington @ Patriots
Steelers @ Eagles
Titans @ Falcons
Bills @ Lions
Cowboys @ Cardinals
Dolphins @ Bears
Broncos @ Vikings
Browns @ Jaguars
Saints @ Ravens
Jets @ Giants
Bengals @ Buccaneers
Texans @ Packers
Chiefs @ 49ers
Seahawks @ Raiders
Chargers @ Rams
Panthers @ Colts

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