Fantasy Football Week 2 preseason losers: Is Zamir White losing ground in the Raiders offense?

who are some of the biggest losers coming out of week two of the NFL preseason we'll break it all down on today's episode of the lock on Dynasty football podcast you are locked on Dynasty football part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day here are your hosts Marcus Mosher and Kate maduk welcome back to the locked on Dynasty football podcast part of the locked on podcast Network we'd like to thank you for making locked on Dynasty your first listen every day today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a thre week free trial of the NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV visit fanduel.com locked on to get started my name is Kate Mauk when I'm not doing this I work as an editor and analyst with Yahoo fantasy joining me today is Matt Williamson my awesome co-host who's filling in for uh Marcus moer who's doing it up on vacay uh this beautiful Tuesday you're gonna get back-to-back shows with Matt Williamson and me uh today we're going to be talking about week two preseason winners uh then on Wednesday we've got the mailbag coming up so lots of exciting content uh be sure to give him a follow on X Williamson NFL and check out his YouTube channel it was a busy week two of the NFL preseason Matt we got a lot more insight you know into the makings of these NFL offenses that we're going to be watching all season long and there were some interesting shakeups so I want to just start by talking about a couple of running backs that I don't know that anybody was particularly excited for heading into 2024 but there was an thought that zamir white Ezekiel Elliott might not be the most efficient running backs or flashiest but that they could hold voluminous roles and I think both of them came out of week to as preseason losers yeah I tend to agree and I will say this isn't as easy of an exercise as it is most years because no nobody's playing their good players and the preseason become less entertaining to me than ever and less telling than ever so it's not like good players are out there playing poorly you know what I mean and so we have to go off of usage which is really important and I urge people to I think we talked about this last week they urg people to when the starting quarterback's in if he's in who's out there with them you know and I think that's a big deal and to I think talking about white here is important because if he was truly lined up for a Bellow role to get a ton of touches would he have been playing as deep into this game as he did you know I mean I think that is concerning they already knew who the starting quarterback was you know well basically I think at that point so I guess the counterargument though is if not zamir white in Vegas then who it doesn't leave much and that's kind of the interesting point I was pretty surprised at how much we saw Alexander Madison work into this game because in part my concern was that zamir white might end up being like 2023 is version of Alexander Madison so to see him cutting into zamir white for clod like that that was kind of surprising for me now from a d Dynasty standpoint zamir white 24 years old obviously doesn't have a ton of carries um was a fourth round pick coming out of the 2022 draft and he was a guy that had a lot of juice a lot of you know speed but had some health concerns has a a bit of a knee history there that I think made him probably fall a little bit in the the draft despite having you know a little bit of upside based on that athleticism so you know when you look at that fact when you look at the fact that yeah I I think zamir white played far too long into the just overall trajectory of this game um got his final snaps in the like you know mid third quarter or so um but again just continually working in with Samir or with Alexander Madison I didn't think he looked particularly good um we know this is an offense that wants to run the ball it's just like what's the play volume G there's so many questions here so if you're looking at Z zamir White and the thought was already that he's going to be maybe a one contract player because of his you know health history overall doesn't have highend draft Capital like what do you do with Samir white and Dynasty because I think I'm officially kind of panicking and I know I don't want to overreact to the preseason but it doesn't feel like the cards are spelling good things for zamir white in his future long term yeah and I know we're going to talk a little bit Zeke Elliott I want to bring up kendre Miller as well and I think it's not going out on a very weak limb to say the Raiders Cowboys and Saints 2025 starting running back is probably in college or not on the team you know so that's not great you know I mean I think white is a guy you use up this year or trade him after week one or two if he's getting a heavy workload today is not the day to trade him though yeah uh definitely going to be trading low if you smash that button maybe wait until uh you know a high volume game for zamir white in the regular season but I do think long term I'm out let's talk about Ezekiel Elliott who's one of your biggest losers coming out a week too yeah I I just think that it's a rebuild offensive line I it's going to be a luminous passing attack I think we know that and he might get some gift you know plunge touchdowns because of who he is and the owner loves him and the city loves him just everything I've read about him though is looks more sluggish than ever looks washed up juice isn't there and he exceeded my expectations in New England last year but it wasn't like he was great he exceeded expectations but when you're averaging three .5 yards per carry and that's exceeding expectations doesn't necessarily speak expectations right yeah and know he's 29 years old we know there's a a running back Cliff um and you look at his overall carry volume you know he leads all active running backs in the NFL right now with uh 2,65 carries like we know that he is is very much headed for the cliff is he holding on to or is he a guy that you are trying to like maybe nobody's trading for Ezekiel just say that is he a guy that maybe you can sneak into another trade like you're trying to get a deal done and maybe you just flash that that idea that you know maybe Ezekiel Elliott like he's totally washed but he just dominates goal line touches on this offense that is probably going to be around the goal line pretty often like I think that's probably the best way to to capitalize on Ezekiel Elliott right now if you're not planning on on keeping him on your roster if you're like a a contender I guess um I think you have to sneak him into another trade package just to get a little bit of return on the investment my only suggestion was maybe the Rico Rico Dao owner would give you a little more than others would or most likely hypothetical it's week two there's two running back injuries already in the league and Elliot scored that week and on Monday you can dump them you know what I mean you get 60 yards rushing and a two- yard touchdown and somebody's desperate then you get a third round pick for them or whatever you know not much yeah not much any other running backs you want to mention you mentioned kendre Miller yeah kendre millery we like we like I was super excited about him I was investing like crazy in him just a month ago and I was dumping Kamar left and right thinking and he looked done and I it doesn't even matter if he looks done I think he's going to catch a ton of passes that offensive line is bad in New Orleans I'm excited about the coordinator change but the head coach has nothing good to say about kendre Miller and he doesn't have good things to say about pretty much anybody well that's a good point not a real bright and cheery fella you know no uh Dennis Allen not among my favorite people here uh in the head coaching Universe true Kendry Miller is probably one of these interesting names because he's a player that like in my evaluation of him really liked him he's being valued right now being drafted as RB 59 and the most recent Dynasty startup batch he's only 22 years old he has third round draft Capital like Kendry Miller is somebody that is still appealing to me but I do think the the point that Dennis Allen makes is like if he wants to contribute he has to be available to the team to contribute and he has to be healthy so like all of those are good points but at age of 22 I still think I can buy those RB 59 prices but like it's not good and I will say the one Wasing for a lot of good bu and just didn't get any of that yeah and but I will say I keep going back to the fact that who do I think is the first coach who will probably be fired here in the 2024 NFL season I think right now I would put my money on Dennis Allen and maybe that change of scenery is a good thing for Kendra Miller we know the Saints are as they are every year backed up against the wall in terms of cap space so like cimera a big problem in terms of figuring out that cap space like I still can't sell myself away from Kendra Miller but definitely not a preseason winner I'll say that uh not not fantastic but yeah we we can I yeah I don't know no not not good not good next up that's good point but what I was hoping for was Miller's taken the World by storm and Kamar in Dallas or Vegas or something like that and none of that happened no it didn't happen don't crushing my dreams Matt next up we'll talk about some wide receiver losers next you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel America's number one sports book well today we're offering something a little bit different for you now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3 week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV then with a YouTube TV base plan you can watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of Market game all you need is a Google account and a current form of payment you can cancel anytime personally right now over on FanDuel I'm eyeing some of those season long stat total props um I don't know Matt how about maybe TJ watt plus 500 to lead the NFL in Sachs I don't know jenely yeah like I I think pretty easy SM Jaden Daniels plus 600 for offensive Rookie of the Year like there's so much to choose from just visit fanduel.com lockon to download America's number one Sportsbook thank you for making lockdown Dynasty your first listen today for your second listen go enjoy the lock on fantasy football podcast get daily insights to the best fantasy football draft strategies from Michelle Mauk and analyst Vinnie a so you can win your League this season part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Matt we've got to talk about some wide receivers who again maybe from like a hype perspective you can get on board with but things from a usage standpoint aren't necessarily looking up in the pre season let's talk about Buffalo Bills wide receiver khil Shakir first who a guy had a you know very prolific end of the the second half of the Season here uh in the 2023 season earned some trust I think from Josh Allen um you know can I think dominate the slot rle but the question is like what is available to him outside of three wide receiver sets I don't know at this point yeah that's the thing is after two games and I was at Bill Steelers and the only time he came on the field is when they had three receivers on the field and Curtis Samuel was inactive for this game even so I thought he would definitely align they play a lot of 12 Personnel first of all those two tight ends so they don't play a ton of three receivers so even in game one he only came out in three receiver sets game two he only came out in three receiver sets and M Holland was ahead of them in when there was only two receivers on the field so I think they only look at him as a slot and they need three receivers on the field for him to even battle out Coleman and Samuel who might even be better players than him anyways or at least in the same tier you know yeah I think the biggest takeaway for me when I'm looking at this Buffalo Bills team is that everything that we kind of thought about this being really a bit of a hodgepodge in terms of Target share which wide receivers are playing they're still trying to figure out all of the pieces of the puzzle I think and that doesn't make it any easier for us fantasy managers but while khil Shakir is a loser like I I think maybe the other takeaway is the fact that like Dalton concade huge winner and yeah oh yeah he's been dominating practices so like I'm GNA try to flip this into a positive and say that my guy Dalton conc tight end six right now in Dynasty startup ADP I'm going to say that like for as disappointed I am that khil Shakir might not have an every down role with this offense I do think generally speaking he's a guy that has the trust of Josh Allen especially when a play breaks down it seems like khil Shakir is a guy that he wants to go to when those plays do break down um but I'm just going to take away the positive which is khil Shakir I still think is in line for a breakout season and could very well be a top two Dynasty tight end next year like okay would it be surprised would it would it surprise you at all if D concade was Dynasty tight end 2 in 2025 no it it wouldn't blow me away if he was tight end two in 2024 I think he could be he's in line to be a top five guy a touchdown or two more could make you a tight end two and I think there's an obvious you know slight bump at least for Coleman and Samuel as well you know if they're going to be the the guys out there every snap with Josh Allen though that's fruitful yeah anybody attached to Josh Allen generally a good thing let's talk about Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin so I want to talk to the NFL scout uh about the the former NFL scout about what he saw from Troy Franklin because he was a guy that from like in fantasy circles got so much hype uh so much excitement then he fell and then he fell and then he fell and finally the Broncos nabbed him in the fourth round which I think is a maybe a good long-term pick especially considering you know his quarterback uh college quarterback is presumably winning the qb1 job what are your takeaways from Troy Franklin who's like honestly not even really been a factor here in the preseason like yeah I I have real concerns that like Troy Franklin isn't going to be running many routes even this year let alone being FOC point of the offense so just watching his tape at Oregon the physicality of the NFL worried me he's skinnier and he can get pushed around he can get bumped off his routes he could have a hard time getting off press now I don't know this but he had day two tape and maybe even round two tape but didn't go on day two so that's an immediate red flag and the things we never know about unless you're in the league is injuries and the severity of them and off the- field stuff character stuff or any of those type of things or isn't a good learner you know things like that that that Oregon offense wasn't real complex my hunch is he's just not taking it from the board to the practice field I mean that's just a hunch I'm not saying the guy's dumb he might be I don't know I I mean I'm just saying that he's not you know we don't know I mean that that's the point is is we don't know and then now we have two red flags on the guy that he fell at least a round further than he should have red flag now and even preseason when he should be out there a ton I mean you would think this is maybe you don't trust him for the regular season but preseason he'd be out there a lot he's not doing anything so I assume the coaching staff just doesn't trust them yeah that is the biggest concern I mean you mentioned the offense that they were executing at Oregon it just wasn't a very complex one troy Franklin this one is I mean sea pton is going to be a stickler and is going to be really complex on offense yeah and I don't think he's going to um he's not an overly gracious coach I think everybody that sees the field needs to earn every single rep and Troy Franklin I mean just generally speaking like from an analytic standpoint from based on all of his Advanced metrics PFF stable metrics like he looked like an elite wide receiver on paper but I think when you looked at some of the concerns about like um it almost reminded me of for example a Jaylen hayatt who came out of Tennessee that offense didn't really look like an NFL offense it wasn't you know it wasn't orchestrated in a way that like gives you a refined NFL receiver you know you might have the physical tools in the toolbox Troy Franklin even a guy that like yes he has size but doesn't really have that NFL frame to like box out opposing wide receivers so like or opposing quarterback so like if he doesn't win with his speed he's not necessarily a great route Runner either uh it doesn't have a a varied route Trace so like he can pretty much win in one way at this point in his career and if he's not doing that then I honestly think like Troy Franklin is a guy that we're probably not even going to be able to to flex in our lineups no unless things change in a big way throughout the season despite the fact like Dynasty I flex a lot of players that I don't I don't want to flex on on really any re you know redraft rosters like you have to dig a lot deeper in Dynasty and even then I'm not feeling good it's so early in the process it could change people are allowed to get better but he screams as a guy that sits on the bottom of your roster for the entire year and just clogs up the roster you can't quite cut um nobody's going to trade for him if he's not playing in week one or you know shortly after and you just kind of hope he gets it next year and that's a tough way to live you know he just sits there on your bench does nothing that is a very tough way to live next up we should talk about some players that might be on the roster Bubbles and maybe that's a good thing for a couple of these guys uh some fresh situations we'll talk about some of the biggest roster bubble losers here in week two the preseason next all right Matt we have to talk about some of like the biggest biggest losers and uh you know not to call these guys losers but this is the time where NFL players are fighting for their jobs and there are some players that I think we might be seeing move on uh in you know the the coming weeks maybe they don't make their team's final 53 man roster first I want to talk about Damen Pierce who I'm going to be honest I loved him as a rookie I thought pretty underrated he was one of my favorite sleeper running backs in his draft class just because of the fact that like when he saw the field at Florida was Uber efficient yards after contact contact balance like checked all these marks that you really loved but it isn't translated to the field now we've heard like the story of of the Redemption season for Damen Pierce he wasn't healthy last year and I still think he just looks out of place in this Texans offense yeah and I had hopes for him to rebound this year because I don't think mixon's close to the player he used to be and you know he's getting up in age and a lot of wear and tear I thought Pierce could get an opportunity but last year he was basically relegated to just a kickoff returner and I don't even think he's built to be a kickoff returner I think he's more of an everyday pounder every down pounder early down pounder and I'm with you I love them coming out of Florida I drafted him in a lot of rookie drafts and was really excited about him after his rookie year this coaching staff just doesn't agree with us I mean getting cut might be good for him maybe he he ends up in Dallas and gets another crack at things uh if he ends up in Dallas what are like how much would that rebound your overall opinion on Pierce because obviously like you liked the talent he's already 69 right now in Dynasty startup drafts he's being drafted behind Isaac gendo AJ Dylan like there are a lot of interesting names he's being drafted behind and I do think he has maybe some higher upside than like an AJ Dylan I think I do I I think you know a change of scenery might be really good for him if he doesn't make the final 53 man roster I have to imagine that the Dallas Cowboys are going to be all over that and boom you might suddenly be looking at a top 40 uh top you know rb3 rb4 Fringe uh that I think you know in Dynasty he'd be that low but like on a weekly basis if he's you know the lead running back for the Dallas Cowboys like what is his ceiling week to week I think it's probably yeah rb1 I think what you want the best case scenario as a pierce owner would be seventh round picks in the NFL aren't worth what they used to be and maybe Dallas or one of these teams doesn't want to fight the waiver wire situation throws them a pick at the cutdown date and shows that they're interested you know and then it's probably a couple weeks before he's starting but if he could be the one in a situation like that then he's a border then he's probably a zamir white starting fantasy back but that's a long way away you you know I mean right now he's fighting for his life in Houston and who knows if anybody in the league likes him maybe we're hoping Houston just doesn't like him and the rest of the themes do we might be wrong that's kind of the hope and like you said there's a lot behind closed doors that maybe we don't necessarily know uh just in terms of like they studying Habits Like We don't know all that so um definitely something interesting there how about cadarius Tony uh who I'm done with this guy I mean he screams that again I'm not calling the guy dumb but he screams like he doesn't understand the game he really doesn't even run routes he just kind of runs around out there that depth chart is so loaded I'm sure with the new kickoff rules somebody will want him and Gadget it up but I don't see him being a fantasy asset at all unfortunately here's the thing if if like Andy Reid can't Gadget cadarius Tony into relevance which for example I mean just yesterday on uh week two preseason winners we're were talking about the Chiefs and just in general this offense is winning it's good for Patrick momes the wide receivers look really good and yet what there was like a cadarius Tony continues with kind of the boneheaded plays Kadarius Tony there was one play over the weekend where cadarius Tony had two penalties on the same play illegal formation and offensive holding all in the same crack like for a guy that lined up off sides as a wide receiver big yikes and honestly like the the most unfortunate Dynasty situations like because you know that there's there's a lot of Talent with cadarius Tony but he's not even being drafted in Dynasty startup drafts right now I get it and it's unfortunate because he is a rare talent What's that droppable yeah is he droppable in dinosaur I think so I think so oh how the Mighty Fall man first round pick that that is very tough um it makes me sad but I'm not GNA not going to weep too long sometimes even the the most skillful players like you need all these other components not it's not just about the physical tools that you have to get the job done it's about making the most of of the resources around you it's so much about the mental aspect of this game Absolut which is such an underrated aspect of the game and you know unfortunately just not not going to be cadarius Tony's bag that is it for today's show tomorrow Matt and I will be back for another mailbag Wednesday episode answering your burning Dynasty questions so be sure to get those in um to us on Twitter you can follow me Kate Kate moduk follow Matt Williamson NFL and we will see you guys tomorrow