1. Rookie RBs Earn Significant Backup Jobs

Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, and Kenneth Walker are fantasy football superstars, particularly the former two. Because of that, there is no timeshare available on their respective teams, but there is value in who lies directly behind them from a high-end handcuff standpoint.

Enter Seth McGowan, Kaelon Black, and Emmett Johnson, all of whom have likely secured that direct backup job coming out of the preseason.

Black and Johnson both averaged over 5 yards per carry in their final preseason games and over 5 yards per carry for the preseason as a whole. McGowan was not as efficient, but he does appear to have a clear path to touches behind Taylor.

If you draft Taylor, McCaffrey, or Walker in the days to come, these are the three players you need to also draft late.

Mike Washington Jr. is another rookie RB whose stock is up, but he's more than just a handcuff at this point and will thus be noted a little later on.

2. Dynasty Alert: Remember the Name Skyler Bell

Because so few regular-season starters play in Week 3 of the preseason, it's more of a feast week for the dynasty player than the re-drafter.

So, if the former applies to you, listen up.

Skyler Bell is a name to keep in mind for any upcoming dynasty drafts. Buffalo's receiving corps is void of elite talent at the position, and on Thursday night, Bell flashed some fairly elite skills, albeit against muted competition.

Bell took an end-around 28 yards to the house in addition to catching seven passes for 49 yards on 10 targets.

Bell has missed time during training camp due to a groin injury, so the Bills really wanted to get a good look at him in the preseason's final game. The fourth-round pick in April's NFL Draft looked very fast and very elusive.

He is worth a late-round flier in your dynasty draft and could be on the redraft radar by November, with the Bills offering little in-house competition for snaps and touches.

3. Dynasty Alert Part Two: Another Bell to Consider

There's no way to overstate how wide open the competition for WR snaps in Miami is, so any combination of receivers in two weeks is well within the realm of possibility.

Caleb Douglas has gotten some love in August as a possible early-season contributor, but on Friday, it was Chris Bell's turn to see the ball come his way in his first action since an ACL tear at Louisville last December.

Bell would have been drafted much higher -- he was a third-round pick -- if not for the injury, and while he only caught two passes for 22 yards, his ability to even be on the field so soon was noteworthy.

All in all, Bell received five targets over two possessions, and much like Skyler Bell above, he was a player Miami wanted to give plenty of game action to so that his early-season capabilities could be assessed.

He's another second-half-of-the-season player to keep an eye on.

4. Is It Quentin Time?

On his first Thursday night offensive possession, Justin Herbert fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the Rams.

It was a sloppy fumble, and I thought to myself: Is love distracting Herbert at present from the tasks at hand?

It was a fleeting thought, though, as in the next possession, Herbert threw an absolute laser to Quentin Johnston for a 64-yard TD.

It was a good reminder not to get caught up in one preseason snap one way or another.

What stuck with me, though, was how fast Johnston looked on the play as he blew past two defenders on the way to the endzone.

There's no question Ladd McConkey is a better draft pick than Johnston in a PPR league. But if your league is more standard in scoring or emphasizes yardage, Johnston is likely being undervalued.

If taking shots over the top of defenses becomes commonplace this season for Herbert and Mike McDaniel, Johnston has top-15-to-20 potential at the WR position in standard formats.

Don't sleep on him come Draft Day if yours is still out in front of you.

5. The Return of Najee

It's been a rough preseason for Tyrone Tracy Jr., who has seen his ranking among RBs drop steadily over the past couple of weeks.

Tracy missed an important blocking assignment, getting his QB clobbered in the process and lost a fumble as well. In response, Giants coaches have begun to throw out the idea of veteran Najee Harris taking on a bigger-than-expected role this season.

Harris was able to play on Friday night for the first time since his Week 3 injury last season, and while the results weren't eye-popping -- 39 yards on 11 carries -- he's becoming worth a late-round draft pick based on his dependable track record and ability to do the things Tracy has struggled with.

Tracy, to his credit, was sharper this week, gaining 37 yards on only four carries, but did have to be assisted off the field by trainers at one point.

Harris has never been an explosive NFL RB, but he'd likely be a 15-to-20-touch guy if something happened to Cam Skattebo this season.

He's worth acquiring late in your drafts.

6. Tampa's Troubles on Offense Remain Evident

When a team gets shut out in the preseason and gains only 87 yards from scrimmage the entire game, it's not necessarily a concern. Oftentimes, nearly every projected starter for the team is sitting and the playbook is not really being opened up.

That said, that was Tampa's reality this past weekend and a reminder of what their offense has been like since Liam Coen left for Jacksonville.

With Coen at the controls, the Bucs ranked fourth in scoring offense in the NFL in 2024 and set several franchise records on that side of the ball. Last year, the offense dipped to 18th, and there is concern given how lost the unit looked at times last year.

The shutout loss this weekend to Jacksonville may not be something to latch onto strongly… but it didn't help matters any.

This is an offense I am generally staying away from, as I think Coen elevated them in 2024 the way he impacted Jacksonville last season.

Buyers beware.

7. A Couple of Kickers Might Be on the Brink

I remember saying to myself last year when Tyler Loop missed the kick that would have sent the Ravens to the playoffs that failures like that can linger for a while.

Well, Loop missed a couple of field-goal attempts in a blowout Ravens win over Washington, and you could hear the distrust and unease in the crowd when he did.

Granted, both kicks were 50 yards or more, and Loop has all the tangibles in terms of leg strength and such. But if I were looking to draft a kicker right now, I would look elsewhere.

In the grand scheme of things, drafting the right kicker is probably low on the priority list for most re-drafters. But if you're in a league in which you can't make free-agent changes until after Week 1, understand that Loop's job as of today is on thin ice.

So, too, is Jason Sanders for the Jets after two missed kicks this weekend, including an extra point. But I doubt many were looking to him as a roster option given that he plays for… well, the Jets.

Carry on.

8. Lemon or Lemonade?

It's been a frustrating August for two of this year's NFL Draft darlings at the WR position.

Jordyn Tyson in New Orleans looks like he'll be sidelined with a hamstring injury until at least October, and Makai Lemon has missed a ton of time with a hamstring injury of his own.

Lemon was able to get on the field Friday night and caught three passes. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the yards gained from those passes was only three as well, and Lemon botched a fairly straightforward catch that led to an interception.

Nothing in what I just shared should discourage you from drafting Lemon. He was highly regarded ahead of this year's draft for a reason.

But the performance did serve as a reminder that he's behind in his development as an NFL player and may take some time to get up to speed.

Then again, there was discouragement about Ja'Marr Chase's drops as a rookie, too, and then he immediately found another gear in the regular season. Here's hoping Lemon can do the same.

9. After Years of Overvaluing Him…

Are we now at the point of undervaluing Kyle Pitts?

I really thought Pitts would go elsewhere this offseason, but he and the Falcons didn't break up, choosing instead to intensify the relationship with a new contract.

Pitts has obviously been a polarizing fantasy figure over the years, with occasional glimpses of brilliance followed by long, quiet periods of production.

But something seemed to click late last season, especially during his career game in the fantasy playoffs. And in this final preseason game against Miami two days ago, Pitts charged out of the gates with force, hauling in three passes for 59 yards in a brief appearance.

No longer shackled by the bust label given the Falcons' commitment to him long term, Pitts looks like a top-five TE to me, especially with viable WR options lacking in Atlanta outside of Drake London.

Erratic QB play could still be a hindrance, but Pitts looked like a guy this weekend ready to begin 2026 in a big way.

Dare I say he's being undervalued?

10. Final Reminders for the First-Time Readers

If this is the first preseason review you've read this month, there are a few players whose stock has been rising and continues to rise based on what they accomplished during this final preseason weekend.

Exhibits A and B in that regard are Mike Washington Jr. and Kyle Williams, who play for Las Vegas and New England, respectively.

If you have read all three reviews this month, you know that mentioning both in this article is nothing new.

In Preseason Week 3, Washington ran for 49 yards on eight carries, bringing him to 23 carries for 168 yards in the three preseason games combined.

Meanwhile, Kyle Williams scored yet another long TD as a receiver, his third in as many weeks.

Washington and Williams need to be selected in redrafts and dynasty drafts alike, even if it's during the last two or three rounds.

Washington will go first based on position, but both could have valuable roles to play in 2026.

That's a wrap for the preseason. It's time for the real thing.