Blame Sean McVay for devaluing the preseason.
The Los Angeles Rams coach was the first to treat preseason games like a nuisance and sit his starters. Other teams followed suit. We’ll see some teams use their starters in the preseason but the list seems to shrink every year.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
There are still plenty of things to watch this preseason. Here are the top 10 storylines as the preseason kicks off Thursday with the annual Hall of Fame Game, with a heavy dose of rookie quarterbacks:
Andy Reid is one of the coaches that still takes the preseason seriously. We’ll see Patrick Mahomes and some of his new teammates, which includes first-round pick Xavier Worthy and free-agent addition Marquise Brown. Worthy has record-breaking speed and should be a fun piece for the Chiefs, but it’s hard for any rookie to get a full snap allotment in Reid’s offense. We’ll see how far along Worthy is, or hopefully at least a highlight or two. Brown might be the better bet to have an immediate impact; he’s a former first-round pick who also brings speed and big-play ability to the offense. The Chiefs will get a look at their new offense as their three-peat attempt starts.
Williams is not going to play in the Hall of Fame game, which will showcase the Chicago Bears vs. the Houston Texans, but he should play in August. But Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Williams should get 45-55 snaps this preseason. That’s fun for Bears fans as they get their first look at Williams, the first pick of the draft and perhaps Chicago’s long-awaited answer at quarterback. We should also get a look at some of the exciting pieces around Williams, who should set him up to be successful right away.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have maintained that Wilson will be their starting QB. Fields can at least make it interesting with a big preseason. Wilson didn’t play well with the Broncos over the past two seasons and the Steelers have almost nothing invested in him. Fields is much younger and had his moments with the Bears. Maybe there’s nothing Fields can do to win the starting job by Week 1, because Mike Tomlin seems set on his decision, but a good preseason could leave an impression for early in the season if Wilson is struggling.
There are eight new head coaches in the NFL (we’re counting Antonio Pierce, who was the Las Vegas Raiders‘ interim coach last season). Jim Harbaugh with the Los Angeles Chargers will get the most attention. But keep an eye on Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks. Macdonald is getting a great reputation as a defensive mastermind, and the Seahawks have a lot of talent. Can Seattle pick up his defensive schemes quickly? Macdonald might not show too much in the preseason, but it will be interesting to see if Seattle seems to be energized by its new coach.
The message from the Minnesota Vikings has been clear: Sam Darnold will start the season at QB. But Darnold has never been an effective NFL starter and the Vikings just moved up to the 10th pick of the draft to pick McCarthy. All plans can be changed if a rookie quarterback clearly outplays the veteran (like Russell Wilson over Matt Flynn way back when for the Seattle Seahawks). It’s possible Darnold plays well enough, or McCarthy struggles, and there isn’t a big question over who should start Week 1. But it’s a situation worth watching. The Vikings didn’t invest in McCarthy to have him sit very long.
One of the reasons for the Denver Broncos to draft Bo Nix 12th overall is he should be ready to start right away as a rookie. He started an NCAA-record 61 games between Auburn and Oregon. And it’s not like the Broncos have anyone else to get excited about at quarterback. Still, he has to earn the job in preseason. The Broncos have Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson if Nix fails in the preseason and Sean Payton can’t justify making him the Week 1 starter. Nix seems to be the likely choice but that will be determined in August.
Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn hasn’t said much about the preseason plan for Jayden Daniels, or even if he’ll begin the season as the starter. Let’s assume the No. 2 overall pick will be Washington’s Week 1 starter and we’ll also see him some in preseason games. Last season’s Heisman Trophy winner was electrifying at LSU and could transform the Commanders franchise. It’ll be fun to see how his game translates in the NFL.
The Cincinnati Bengals seem set to give Burrow some preseason snaps, which they have rarely done in Burrow’s career mostly due to injuries. Burrow is coming off wrist surgery and it will be interesting to see how he looks. All indications are that Burrow looks healthy. But another reason the Bengals are planning to use their starting offense in the preseason is to avoid a slow start to the season, which has been an issue. Last season the Bengals started 1-3 including a 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the opener.
“We’ll see [if it prevents a slow start],” Burrow said according to the team’s site. “That’s a question that’s to be determined. I think we’re thinking about it the right way. I think we’re trying new things to try to help those slow starts and getting off to faster starts, putting us in a better position at the midway point of the season. I do think that it will help, but we’ll see.”
It seems like Maye, the third overall pick, will begin the New England Patriots‘ season behind veteran Jacoby Brissett. It makes sense for Maye to sit a while. The Patriots aren’t in any shape to win right away and they don’t want to set Maye back as he plays with a bad supporting cast. But a good preseason could influence the decision on when Maye does get his shot, and perhaps even if he can win the starting job for Week 1. Maye has the talent to do it; there’s a reason the Patriots passed on trade offers for that third overall pick. Either way, the first looks at Maye should be exciting for New England fans.
If everything goes right for the Atlanta Falcons, we’ll see Penix in August and rarely after that, at least until next August. The Falcons made one of the more debated picks in NFL Draft history, picking Penix No. 8 overall a little more than a month after signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million deal. Cousins indicated he has been told he won’t play this preseason, as he comes of an Achilles injury. That presumably means plenty of Penix. Take a long look because you might not see Penix play very often this regular season, or next one either.
