Fantasy Football Updates: Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, David Montgomery shine in preseason debuts

Billy Heyen

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Fantasy Football Updates: Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, David Montgomery shine in preseason debuts image

With everyone excited that the NFL is back, it's easy to read too much into what happens in the first week of the preseason. Especially for rookies, the hype train can get rolling and they can become overdrafted in fantasy football leagues. There are still things to learn from pro debuts for some youngsters, though, including the five below: Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, David Montgomery, Dwayne Haskins and Jakobi Meyers. Some of them will have more relevance on draft day than others. The more Murray and Meyers shine, the less they'll be sleepers and the more they'll fly up your cheat sheets. 

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We'll be here all preseason long providing you with the latest updates, including injury news on some big-name WRs and brittle quarterbacks. For more on NFL rookies, you can read our rookie rankings, and for your preseason listening needs, check out our season preview podcasts.

DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT:  Ultimate 2019 Fantasy Cheat Sheet

Kyler Murray fantasy season outlook

The 2019 top-overall pick made his NFL debut on Thursday night in preseason action for Arizona, competing six-of-seven passes for 44 yards while working with the starting unit. Murray also displayed an ability to avoid sacks, turning one seemingly sure takedown into a completion. 

Murray is currently being drafted as a starter in 12-team leagues, per FantasyPros ADP data. That's due to combined belief in his draft status and in Kliff Kingsbury's offense to put up numbers. At the very least, Murray's preseason debut did nothing to stop the hype around him, though we still see him as a backup given the glut of proven, high-quality fantasy QBs.

2019 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tght End | D/ST | Kicker | Top 200

Will Daniel Jones start in Week 1 for the Giants?

Jones finished his NFL debut perfect, completing all five of his passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. As expected, Jones backed up Eli Manning. 

"The cool thing about Daniel Jones is, he came in there and he didn't seem like a rookie quarterback to me," Giants left guard Will Hernandez told northjersey.com.

Jones shouldn't have fantasy value to begin the season since Manning is widely expected to hold onto his job at least for a little longer. The more Jones looks like he did Thursday, the more he'll generate waiver-wire hype if and when he's named New York's starter during the season.

2019 PPR RANKINGS: 
Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | Top 200

David Montgomery rising up rankings

Montgomery didn't get onto the field with Mitchell Trubisky on Thursday, as Mike Davis got the start and played that first series. But when the rookie from Iowa State entered the game on Chicago's second series, he made his presence felt. Montgomery wowed with multiple catches and an eventual touchdown run during his time in the game, finishing with three carries for 16 yards and three catches for 30 yards.

Montgomery already was on our RB sleepers list . He'll certainly go higher in drafts this weekend than he would've if he had a disappointing debut. But pump the brakes just a bit because this was the first preseason week and done against a lot of Carolina backups.

FANTASY SLEEPERS: 
8 QBs | 14 RBs | 11 WRs | 11 TEs | 6 D/STs | One from each team

Who is Jakobi Meyers?

Meyers has been generating buzz from New England training camp, working with the ones and gaining Tom Brady's early trust. His opportunity has come in part because Julian Edelman has missed time with injury, but Meyers has made the most of it. Catching passes from Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham on Thursday, Meyers finished with six receptions for 69 yards and two scores.

The Patriots picked up Meyers after he went undrafted out of North Carolina State. Meyers is a converted quarterback who plays in the slot, much like Edelman. That'll lead to a ton of buzz the longer he keeps this up, but it could end up warranted if he's a big part of making up for the lack of Rob Gronkowski.

DRAFT STRATEGY AND RANKINGS TIERS: 
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST

Dwayne Haskins struggles

There was some question leading into Thursday night's game about why Haskins was third on the Redskins' QB depth chart. There was less wondering after Haskins threw two interceptions, one overthrown and one underthrown. Haskins completed eigh tof 14 passes, including an on-the-money throw on his first NFL attempt, and rushed twice for 17 yards, so it wasn't all bad.

The QB to own in Washington for Week 1 appears to be Case Keenum (although we wouldn't recommend drafting him except in the deepest of leagues). Haskins is still the quarterbaack of the future for the Redskins, but the future might not come as soon as some had hoped.

Billy Heyen