Cardinals @ Broncos
Final Score: Broncos 27, Cardinals 7
Writer: Geoff Ulrich @thefantasygrind (X.com)
These were two teams that are taking a completely opposite approach to preseason, and also two teams with vastly different depth charts. The Cardinals played zero starters. They didn’t even really play their backups, with the exception of Jacoby Brissett, who is likely going to back up Kyler Murray this season. There are few to no fantasy takeaways from the Cardinals from this game, so their player summaries will be very brief.
The Broncos played their seconds, and a couple of players who will be featured in starting roles, like RJ Harvey and Evan Engram, but the big difference here is that their seconds are good enough to be starters on most teams. This is a very deep Broncos team, and it really showed in this game. I think the Broncos have what it takes to really challenge the Chiefs this season, and we could see some big fantasy seasons from their starters in the process.
Three Up
- Pat Bryant – Marvin Mims Jr. and Courtland Sutton sat, but he certainly looked the part of a Michael Thomas clone
- Troy Franklin – Had two big downfield catches, and looks ready to be a factor in year two
- RJ Harvey – JK Dobbins didn’t play (reportedly because he lost his helmet lol). Harvey took full advantage and had a great red zone run for a TD.
One Down
- Audric Estime– Was very inefficient and got outplayed by Jaleel McLaughlin, with whom he is battling for third-string duties. Didn’t get targeted once in the pass game.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett: 6-8, 57 yards, 1 carry, 2 yards
Brissett started this game for the Cardinals. Despite playing with zero starters against a tougher Broncos defense (albeit playing against backups), he led the Cardinals on a scoring drive. Brissett’s value was on full display in this game as he converted a fourth-and-short with a QB sneak in the red zone, and then followed with a nice strike to Semi Fehoka for a TD.
He’s a little limited as a passer, but the Cardinals’ skill players wouldn’t take a huge hit if he had to take over for a week or two. He won the backup job tonight with this drive, his only of the game.
Running Back
Michael Carter: 8 carries, 10 yards, 5 rec, 19 yards
Carter was the feature back for the Cardinals late last year when both James Conner and Trey Benson went down with injury. He’s a very capable passing-down back, which was on display again in this game as he caught five passes, none of which went for big yardage, but he did convert all five targets into catches. He has some burst and could get mixed in a bit this season on passing downs to spell Conner.
Everyone will be in on Benson as the Conner handcuff, and that is the correct play, but Carter may offer a little PPR value if Conner goes down, just something to keep in mind.
Emari Demercado: 6 carries, 15 yards
Didn’t contribute in the passing game like Carter and was pretty limited as a rusher. To be fair, the Cardinals could not run the ball at all in this game, regardless of who was in the backfield, which perhaps says something about their O-Line depth.
Regardless, I view Demercado as RB4 on this team and not a very interesting prospect. He’d likely need three catastrophic injuries to become fantasy relevant.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Semi Fehoka: 2 rec, 21 yards, TD
The Cardinals sat all four of their top WRs in this game. Fehoka was the only interesting name of a very vanilla group and played with “the starters” on drive one. He’s a big body and caught a nice pass from Bissett to score the only TD of the game. Fehoka will likely make the Cardinals’ roster as they are thin at the position and could potentially use Fehoka on four-WR sets if Michael Thomas or Zay Jones goes down.
Fehoka is an NFL-level talent as he showed in this game, but he’d likely only be a TD-dependent play for fantasy even if he started getting work in three-WR sets.
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Jarrett Stidham: 16-23, 240 yards, 2 TDs
Stidham looked very controlled and in command of this Sean Payton offense. He hit Bryant for multiple big plays after Bryant got wide open against the Cardinals’ backups and hit Troy Franklin for two TDs, the second of which was a very well-placed back shoulder throw. It’s encouraging if you are drafting a lot of Broncos this season (I am) because if Bo Nix ever goes down, Stidham is at least capable of distributing the ball, even if there might be a slight dropoff on explosive plays.
Again, I want to reiterate how bad the Cardinals’ backups were, but Stidham was pushing the ball downfield all game and looked good doing it, averaging over 10 yards per completion. The Broncos are going to be an aggressive team this season and clearly view Stidham as a very capable backup.
Running Back
RJ Harvey: 3 carries, 18 yards, TD; 1 rec, 2 yards
RJ Harvey getting the start and first-team snaps because JK Dobbins lost his helmet??? Lmao pic.twitter.com/MCJOyCNo0H
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) August 11, 2025
I guess Harvey only got the start because Dobbins was on the sideline and having an equipment issue; regardless, the rookie took full advantage. He showed off his versatility by taking in his only target and then broke off a great 8-yard run in the red zone, where he slithered through a tiny hole and then broke the goal line after contact.
Harvey is doing exactly what he needs to do to gain the confidence of his coach, who demands a lot from his rookies. I see him as being involved from Day 1, BUT, I do expect Sean Payton to rotate three backs. Harvey should share the main carries to start with Dobbins, who we have yet to see rush the ball in this offense.
There are still some guessing games going on here, but if Dobbins starts the season slowly or just isn’t as advertised, a full Harvey takeover is possible at some point.
Jaleel McLaughlin: 3 carries, 48 yards
McLaughlin was the second back in and had a nice 35-yard run where he bounced it outside. He’s not someone I would worry about for fantasy, but he will take the odd snap away and COULD end up being a bigger factor if Harvey or Dobbins isn’t performing well.
McLaughlin proved again that he makes plays when up against softer defenses, but with the Broncos revamping their RB depth chart, I don’t see his performance mattering much, except for solidifying his role as the third RB.
Audric Estime: 9 carries, 20 yards
The Broncos have very good depth at the RB position, so Estime’s slow night here won’t do him much favor. He rushed for 20 yards on nine carries, and had one nice seven-yard rush, but was stymied after that. He didn’t get targeted in the passing game either, and doesn’t have the passing down ability that Harvey does, or even McLaughlin, and is now firmly behind Dobbins for early down work.
Estime didn’t do much in this game, but at the same time, he’s a player who could step right in and take some early down work if Dobbins gets injured.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Pat Bryant: 4 rec, 70 yards, 5 targets
Bryant looked every bit the part of a top prospect in this game and a player who maybe should have gone much higher than the third round. He took a 29-yard reception in on the first drive, where he got wide open against the Cardinals’ DBs, and then made a nice juke move on the sideline for extra yardage. It was a very “veteran” looking WR play, even if it was against backups. His work in the middle of the field allowed him to go for 4-70 on the day, although he did cede all the big plays and red zone receptions to Franklin.
Bryant doesn’t have the explosiveness of Mims or Franklin, but his reliability and separation in the middle of the field look excellent. I expect you’ll see him potentially pass Devaughn Vele this year on the depth chart. The Broncos have a dearth of talent at this position all of a sudden.
Troy Franklin: 4 rec, 67 yards, 2 TDs, 5 targets
Franklin got wide open on a semi-broken play against the Cardinals’ secondary on his first TD and was smartly targeted by Stidham. On the second TD, he beat the corner to the sideline and used his size to come down with a nicely thrown pass. You can see Franklin’s size and speed on these downfield throws being a factor, and it’s where he can potentially make a difference for the Broncos this season, as he offers more explosiveness than Sutton/Engram/Bryant.
This game was against backups and third stringers, so I would say not to get too excited just yet, but Franklin does project as someone who the Broncos will look to get more involved early, especially on big plays downfield and in the red zone. Any kind of injury to Sutton or Mims could expedite him to fantasy relevance.
Evan Engram: 1 rec, 58 yards, 1 target
Engram got limited work, getting just one target before he was given the rest of the night off. You get the feeling Sean Payton is just trying to get Engram acclimatized to this offense by getting him a catch, but the catch itself was eye-opening.
On the first play of the game, Engram took a designed play-action crossing route, where he was the lone primary target, and turned the ball upfield for a 58-yard gain. He was playing against backups, but Engram showed he still has decent burst, and the fact that the play was designed for him to get involved is very encouraging. Sutton, Mims, and Engram seemed locked in as the top three receivers, with Franklin and Bryant sprinkling in.
This is a lethal receiving core for Denver.