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Making a Case to Stay: 10 Stand-Out Performances from NFL Pre-Season Week 1

NFL Football 2018 - Top 10 Players from Pre-Season Week 1

By Michael JamesPublished 6 years ago 9 min read
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Each NFL pre-season is filled with surprise moments from surprise players, players who find themselves sub-planting veterans for roster spots as the teams slowly make their way toward their final 53-man starting rosters for the season.

The following is a collection of 10 of these types of players, players who may have just secured themselves a roster spot, despite the competition at their position or veteran experience in front of them.

Roc Thomas - Minnesota Vikings

Position: Running back

Game Stats: 8 carries - 29 yards / 3 receptions - 102 yards - 2 touchdowns

Roc Thomas started this pre-season as one of six running backs Minnesota had on roster heading into week 1.

Of the six, only starter Dalvin Cook and veteran Latavius Murray are locked-in, leaving four remaining players to compete for what will likely be a singular position left to fill; that of the Slot-Back.

102 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns later, Thomas easily won that job.

He was able to display the break-away speed necessary for the position, reliable receiving skills, an ability to make “big plays,” and maybe most important, the versatility to be used in third-down situations or as a temporary starter, should injuries push him up the depth chart.

All-in-all it was about as perfect a performance as he could have had, given the role that awaits him this season—and one, that is certain to see Roc Thomas locked in as one of the final-53 players on roster for the start of the season.

Chad Kelly - Denver Broncos

Position: Quarterback

Game Stats: 14 of 21 completions - 177 passing yards - 2 touchdowns - 1 interception

Given Elway and the Bronco’s well-known disappointment in former first-round pick Paxton Lynch, there wasn’t too much that needed to happen for Chad Kelly for him to secure a roster spot with Denver this season.

With a 66.6 percent completion rate and a 104.7 QB rating during week 1 of the NFL pre-season, Kelly not only has secured a roster spot as one of the three Quarterbacks Denver will likely retain this season, but he’s also taken a huge step towards sub-planting Paxton Lynch as the primary back-up behind Case Keenum.

Jay Elliott - New Orleans Saints

Position: Linebacker

Game Stats: 5 tackles - 2.5 sacks - 2 forced fumbles

Coming into 2018, Elliott was nothing more than a “journeyman” reserve, the kind of player who typically bounces from team to team, year to year, providing depth in rotation and on special teams, while not posing much threat to the starters on roster.

That may quickly change, if last weekend is any indication of what the Saints have obtained by signing the veteran Linebacker this past off-season.

Five total tackles, two-and-a-half sacks, and two forced fumbles against the Jacksonville Jaguars is a solid showing that should easily secure him a roster spot on the Saints this season.

Given the versatility inherent in a performance like this, the ability to create QB pressure and turn-overs, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Elliott’s stock rise beyond that of a rotational player and into something far more prominent.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling - Green Bay Packers

Position: Receiver

Game Stats: 5 receptions - 101 yards - 1 touchdown

A real lack of depth and talent in the veteran receiving corps has left a door wide-open for Green Bay’s collection of rookie receivers to take advantage of, earning roles as the third and fourth options behind starters Davante Adams and Randall Cobb.

The question then is: of the herd of rookies drafted and those added in the UDFA market after, which will show the strength, talent, speed, and versatility to earn spots in the Packers’ final 53-man roster this season?

This is where Valdes-Scantling and his 100-yard day comes in.

Of the rotation of receivers that saw time during last week’s game, Valdez-Scantling by far and away had the most accomplished performance, with the most yardage and receptions of any receiver, regardless whether they were a veteran or rookie.

It was a performance solid enough to place him into the list of five to six receivers Green Bay will retain for the season, and perhaps even give him a “leg-up” on the rest of the corps, all of which are competing for the coveted third-receiver spot alongside Adams and Cobb.

Cap Capi - Arizona Cardinals

Position: Defensive End

Game Stats: 3 tackles - 3 sacks - 1 forced fumbles

Like Jay Elliott, Capi is another young “journeyman” type player who hasn’t quite found a home in the league as of yet.

With a “hat-trick” of sacks under his belt, and a turn-over on-top, that may change quickly.

Arizona is desperate for depth at Linebacker, and has been for some time; so, there is a particular premium associated with a performance like this, that will place Capi in much higher regards than what might seem appropriate, after only week 1 of pre-season action.

Don’t be shocked to see this second-year player finally find his home in the desert this season, seeing substantial time of special teams and even some rotational duties on defense as a Linebacker and pass-rush specialist.

Ryan Smith - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Position: Cornerback

Game Stats: 7 tackles - 1 interception - 1 forced fumble

With former first-round draft pick Vernon Hargreaves looking more like a bust than a stud; Tampa has become desperate to find quality talent for its defensive backfield, going so far as to attain six rookie Defensive-Backs this past off-season.

It was a move certain to find them some talent and depth for the future, but as for finding starting quality talent that can sub-plant Hargreaves at Cornerback, the answer may have already been on roster.

His name is Ryan Smith.

Coming off a solid season where he started 10 of 15 games played, Smith needed to show that the numbers he put up during the 2017 campaign (62 tackles, five passes defensed, and two forced fumbles) weren’t an aberration, but a telling of things to come.

In most cases, a seasonal performance such as this wouldn’t be up for such debate, but in this case, there was such a drastic difference by comparison to his rookie season (fourteen games played, only one tackle), that Smith’s roster spot could not safely be considered a guarantee until he was able to show some constancy in play, from last year to now.

Seven tackles and two turn-overs in just this first game of pre-season, it appears Smith is picking-up directly where he left-off last year, giving the Buccaneers all the confirmation they could have hoped for, to know they have a starting-caliber player on roster for the 2018 season.

Look for Smith and veteran Brent Grimes to kick-off the year as the dominant starting tandem at Cornerback, as the plethora of rookies behind them rotate and develop.

Ryan Nall - Chicago Bears

Position: Runningback

Game Stats: 9 carries - 95 yards / 1 reception - 9 yards

With Taquan Mizzell, Tarik Cohen, and Benny Cunningham competing for the Slot-Back role, rookie Ryan Nall finds himself in almost the exact opposite situation as fellow rookie Roc Thomas of Minnesota, as Nall will have to earn his spot providing usage as a goal-line or short-yardage ‘Back.

Fortunately, though Nall didn’t have much success in the Hall of Fame game that kicked off the pre-season, he was able to rack-up more than 100 offensive scrimmage yards in week 1, of which 95 were on-the-ground.

A solid showing to say the least, as his carry and reception averages displayed top-level consistency, putting up approximately 10 yards per reception/carry.

If this is any indication of what’s to come, then the Bears have found themselves a solid player to take on short-yardage duties, and perhaps someone who can function as the primary back-up behind starter Jordan Howard.

Geremy Davis - Los Angeles Chargers

Position: Receiver

Game Stats: 4 reception - 88 yards - 1 touchdown

The Chargers are in a bit of an odd position regarding their receiving corps this season.

With Tight End Hunter Henry done for the year, Los Angeles doesn’t really have a “next-man-up” at the position—someone who can take on the same receiving responsibilities that Henry was expected to be accounted for this season.

In opposition, the Chargers have one of the deepest, most complete wide-receiver groups in the league, sporting up to four guys who are already locked into place for the 53-man roster (Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams, and Travis Benjamin).

The situation then becomes one where replacement of what was lost at Tight End, might have to be found in the depth of talent at Receiver, as the Chargers incorporate more four and five receiver formations this season.

This is where Geremy Davis can find a home on roster for the 2018 season.

After three years of unproductive obscurity in the league, Davis must have a huge pre-season, full of successes, in order to retain a depth spot at receiver this season.

With a solid performance in week 1; if nothing else, he’s heading in the right direction, quickly earning recognition as the top contender for LA’s fifth-receiver spot.

Antonio Callaway - Cleveland Browns

Position: Receiver

Game Stats: 3 receptions - 87 yards - 1 touchdown

Callaway was unquestionably one of the oddest stories of the weekend, as the team left him on-field for an unheard of 54 pre-season snaps (accounting for about 78 percent of all offensive plays).

It was an intentional move, done as punishment by Hue Jackson for Callaway’s traffic-stop citation.

What makes this so unheard of is the fact that often, coaches will resort to the exact reverse idea for punishment; go against team or league rules, and you see no field time.

Zero. Zip. Nada.

The idea in doing things a little differently was to put both the team and player in a position where they could quickly and unequivocally determine whether this relationship was worth salvaging.

If Callaway, without break or rest, could play with consistency throughout the game—if he could take his punishment “like a man,” choke it down, and learn from it—then perhaps there’s something there the Browns can work with, some talent and accountability they can build upon.

With over 80-yards and a score on the day, Callaway did exactly what he needed to to remain on roster.

A little less off-field issues, and a lot more on-field productivity—the young player out of Florida might just have a shot at seeing some substantial playing time through the season, as a Slot-Receiver and as Landry’s primary back-up.

Damontae Kazee - Atlanta Falcons

Position: Defensiveback

Game Stats: 11 tackles

Of all defenders that saw field-time for Atlanta in this blow-out loss to the Jets, no combination of any three Falcons players equated to as strong a performance as what Kazee showed, constantly making tackles to slow New York’s opposing offense.

After a showing like that, it almost doesn’t matter what little room there might be in the Falcons’ roster this season—you have to make a space for a guy like this.

Expect that Atlanta will do just that.

Tags

#nfl #nflpreseason #preseason #football #fantasyfootball #nflfootball #arizona #cardinals #atlanta #falcons #minnesota #vikings #greenbay #packers #cleveland #browns #denver #broncos #neworleans #saints #chicago #bears #tampabay #buccaneers #losangeles #chargers #nflrosters #nflpredictions #footballrosters #footballpredictions

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About the Creator

Michael James

Analyst, fantasy enthusiast, and handicapper of the NFL and NCAA for over 20 years. Primary contributor for The Pre-Snap Read (formerly Bet Less Make More). Horror fanatic, retired drinker, and proud deviant.

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