What We Saw: Preseason Week 2

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Dolphins @ Texans

Final Score: Dolphins 28, Texans 3

Writer: Chad Simpson (@CaoChadTTV on Twitter)

The story of tonight’s game was bad starts, good finishes. Tua had one, so did his replacement Skylar Thompson, and on the other side of the ball they were joined in the club by C.J Stroud. The other story of the game were the Dolphins RB’s. Achane got hurt while Mostert and Ahmed carved up the Texans D.

Four up

Will Anderson – Not fantasy relevant outside of IDP but had to put him here after he treated the Dolphins O-line like Swiss cheese on a near safety. After the near safety, Will decided instead to treat the Dolphins’ line like dominos and bulldozed through to force a Skylar Thompson fumble. Looks very much like the best defensive player and potentially all around player in the draft we thought he was.
Raheem Mostert – Looked like an elite RB on nearly every touch and target. Devon Achane injury further shoots his arrow upward.
Skylar Thompson – A shaky start and constant duress couldn’t derail Thompson. Puts pressure on fan favorite Mike White in one of the most important backup QB battles in the league.
Salvon Ahmed – Somehow made Mostert look mediocre by comparison. Absolutely shredded the Texans defense as he fights for a spot.

Three Down

Devon Achane – Injury could derail his rookie season completely, and will at minimum eliminate crucial reps for a rookie RB in a complex offense.
Mike White – Thompson has him playing from behind in the backup QB battle
John Metchie III – Worked as a backup and special teams player. Despite the great story has failed to showcase any reason to expect fantasy value through the 1st 2 weeks of the preseason

Miami Dolphins

| Preseason Week 1 |

Quarterback

Tua Tagovailoa: 5/7, 61 Yards, INT

A terrible start for Tua on his 1st drive and it took a bit before he found his stride. He definitely looked like Tua for the remainder of 2nd drive. Unfortunately, that would be all from the Dolphins QB after just two drives.

Notes

Terrible pick on 1st play from scrimmage. Ball grossly underthrown
Takes high snap and nearly gets Mostert killed on a handoff with a defender already on top of Mostert
First completion is a high ball that Durham Smythe reels in
Good job avoiding another pick on blown TE screen
Converts 3rd down with his first clean completion to Tyreek
2nd drive picked up steam and Tua looked to settle in with accurate throws

Missed Opportunities

Pulling him after just two drives despite just finding his rhythm felt like a mistake with how off he looked early on.

Skylar Thompson: 15/22, 157 Yards, 3 TD | 3 Carries, 2 Yards, 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Despite a rough start (which everyone seemed to have tonight), Thompson further cemented his status as a preseason stud. He consistently used his legs to extend plays and find somewhere to throw. Thompson will put serious pressure on Dolphins brass to go with him over the more expensive Mike White.

Notes

Escapes disaster by recovering his own fumble on 2nd play.
Consistently struggling with pressure and accuracy early.
Good sideline throw to Wilson to net a 1st down.
Fooled defense and camera crew on an RPO for a nominal gain.
Makes unbelievable jumping throw to Ahmed with pocket collapsed.
Recovered from near intentional grounding to make good on Ahmed’s 65 yard run connecting with Berrios for a TD
Aided by a great effort from Achane, did a great job of extending a play where he had a defender in his face instantly and at the point of throw
Took a beating behind the backups.

Missed Opportunities

Cedrick Wilson couldn’t haul in a massive and clean deep bomb with a bit of a tug from the defender on Skylar’s 1st play entering the game.

Running Back

Devon Achane: 6 Carries, 27 Yards

Solid outing for the rookie RB that will be forgotten about due to injury. Leaves the game on cart with what is being described as a shoulder issue. Devon looked to compete for the RB1 if healthy.

Notes

Was hard to bring down in open space.
Left in 3rd quarter with shoulder injury.

Missed Opportunities

Crucial reps lost due to this injury.

Raheem Mostert: 6 Carries, 30 Yards, TD

Looks explosive in small sample. Every carry seemed effortless. Mostert stands to be a potential RB1 in fantasy if the Achane injury leads to missed regular season time.

Notes

Left for dead by Tua after high snap inside own 5 yard line.
Great job of getting all of the yards back plus two on next snap.
Looks spry and valuable in the passing game
Ripped 17 yard run on 2nd drive with ease

Salvon Ahmed: 12 Carries, 99 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 32 Yards, TD

What started as the Raheem Mostert show ended as the Salvon Ahmed marathon. Ahmed repeatedly broke off big gains and was involved in all 3 facets (Rushing, Receiving, Blocking). With no Jeff Wilson it will be interesting to see if Ahmed can make his way into a meaningful role while Achane is on the shelf.

Notes

Looked a step faster than the defense early and often.
Strong 2nd quarter.
Caps off long Dolphins drive full of touches and targets with a short TD reception.
Next touch is a 65 yard jog that sets up a Berrios TD

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Tyreek Hill: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 13 Yards

Notes

Only catch is a nice little turn and burn 1st down.

Cedrick Wilson Jr.:3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 31 Yards

Missed Opportunities

Failed to haul in Skylar Thompson deep ball early in 2nd quarter.

Durham Smythe:2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards

Notes

Makes good jump ball catch to bail out Tua on 2nd drive.

Braxton Berrios : 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 33 Yards, TD

Notes

Scored easy TD to end 1st half.

Missed Opportunities

Had a walk-in touchdown lost due to a stumble.
Dropped a tight window but accurate throw from Thompson.

Robbie Chosen: 1 Target

Notes

I wish I could’ve chosen to ignore his existence

Julian Hill: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 31 Yards

Erik Ezukanma: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards

River Cracraft: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 21 Yards

Cracraft earned this mention for not being Robbie Chosen, and for making a great catch on his lone target.

Chris Brooks: 11 Carries, 47 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 18 Yards, TD

Great showing by the UDFA out of BYU. More outings like this and he will find himself making the Dolphins roster.

Houston Texans

| Preseason Week 1 |

Quarterback

C.J. Stroud:7/12, 60 Yards | 1 Carry, -1 Yards

An ugly start rang through social media with chants of bust after his debut against the Patriots and his first drive here tonight. Stroud managed to settle in and uncork a series of accurate and in some cases unbelievable throws. The Texans offense is always a concern but if Stroud can be the accurate thrower that picked apart the defense, come regular season there will be fantasy relevance.

Notes

Takes delay of game on 3rd and goal from the 1 on 1st drive.
Inaccurately underthrows Andrew Beck on 3rd down.
Sails 4th down throw.
Like Tua, looking stronger in 2nd drive with beautiful placement on a PA sideline throw to Noah Brown.
Great double clutch throw that was released just fast enough to avoid the sack and just long enough for Schultz to be able to catch.

Missed Opportunities

Delay of game and two terrible throws lead to zero points on drive that started inside the Dolphins 10 yard line.
Phenomenal 2nd drive ends in just 3 points.
3rd drive never got going.
4th drive derailed despite perfect throw to Noah Brown on a broken play.

Davis Mills: 10/22, 94 Yards

Uneventful night for Mills. He made some throws, he missed some throws. Will need a trade or Stroud implosion to get back on the field in the regular season.

Running Back

Dameon Pierce: 6 Carries, 15 Yards

Pierce broke numerous tackles in his abbreviated appearance, although he was unable to turn those broken tackles into much offense. The most notable part of his time tonight is that he worked clear ahead of Singletary and not in tandem.

Notes

Couldn’t break line of scrimmage on 1st play after Tua int
Followed up by driving through the line of scrimmage on play 2 down to 1 yard line
Breaking tackles with ease early on.
Ridiculous cut back that netted positive yards

Devon Singletary: 2 Carries, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards

Notes