3 Biggest Fantasy Football Takeaways From NFL Preseason Week 1

Preseason usage can be noisy, and it’s hard to know how much stock we should put into anything that we’re seeing.

With that said, we can’t just ignore it altogether, and sometimes there are important clues about roles and playing time that we need to file away ahead of our 2026 fantasy football drafts.

With that in mind, here are three takeaways from Preseason Week 1 to consider for fantasy football before the real Week 1 arrives.

All ADP references come from FantasyPros' half-PPR ADP, and ADP may change after this article is published.

Fantasy Football Preseason Takeaways

The Arrow Is Up on Jonathon Brooks

With the Carolina Panthers letting Rico Dowdle leave in free agency, they were turning their backfield over to Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks and Trevor Etienne. Well, with Hubbard “week to week” due to a hamstring injury, the path is fairly clear for Brooks to have a notable role right away.

Brooks is still an unknown at the NFL level. The 2024 second-round pick has amassed all of three carries due to a pair of ACL injuries. The Panthers’ decision to let Dowdle leave implied that they had faith in Brooks’ ability to be at least a contributor behind Hubbard, but now he has a chance to have a sizable role.

Brooks started the Panthers’ first preseason game, running with the starters, which hints that he’s ahead of Etienne. He stayed on the field in most situations with the exception of third and long. With Hubbard a proven pass-game weapon, Brooks’ best path to fantasy points is likely early-down and goal-line work — which is exactly how things shook out in his 2026 preseason debut.

Of course there’s a chance Hubbard is ready for Week 1 and Brooks spends most of the year as a clear backup to Hubbard. But with Hubbard already on the shelf, Brooks is getting a chance to show what he can do, and maybe he’s able to prove worthy of a big role regardless of Hubbard’s health.

KC Concepcion Looks Good

PFF graded the Cleveland Browns‘ wideouts as the worst group in the league. Cleveland tried to address the position this offseason by adding Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion in the draft. Both are coming into a situation where they should be able to see meaningful snaps right away if they play well.

Concepcion has generated some buzz this summer — although both played with the starters in preseason Week 1 — and he backed it up in Cleveland’s preseason opener as he found the end zone on a jet sweep.

Concepcion looks to already have a firm grip on the Browns’ slot role, and he handled some work in two-receiver sets last week, which is a potentially important sign as it will likely be Boston and Concepcion battling it out to play alongside Jerry Jeudy in two-WR formations.

Giants Backfield Could Be Messy

Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary all return to the New York Giants this season, and while the assumption has been that Skattebo will be the main back once he’s 100% healthy, things may not be that simple.

Head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy are no strangers to shared backfields, and while we need to be careful not to draw too many big conclusions from Big Blue’s backfield usage in preseason Week 1, especially given that Skattebo is coming off an injury, it sure looked like a fantasy nightmare.

Skattebo started and logged two snaps before giving way to Tracy on third down. Tracy then wound up playing the last four plays of the opening drive. On the second drive, all three backs rotated in — Singletary started the drive, Tracy was next and Skattebo came in third. Singletary and Tracy ended up taking all the third-down snaps.

It’ll be important to see how the usage pans out in preseason Week 2, and while I don’t want to get too carried away, the Week 1 usage wasn’t a great sign for Skattebo, who currently has an ADP of RB18 (35th overall). If preseason Week 2 plays out the same way, Skattebo will be a tough sell for me at that ADP.

Get up to $1,000 in Bet Reset Tokens when you bet $5 daily for the next 5 days. You'll receive $200 in Bet Resets every day you qualify! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today's other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.

Looking for the latest NFL odds? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook and check out all of the NFL betting options.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.