2023 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Quentin Johnston headlines biggest losers from Preseason Week 3

Six players who look less appealing for Fantasy managers now

When the Chargers drafted Quentin Johnston with their first-round pick in this year's NFL Draft, I just kind of penciled him in as one of their starting wide receivers, and I think most Fantasy analysts did. He wasn't going to usurp Keenan Allen or Mike Williams, at least not right away. But Josh Palmer? That shouldn't be much of an obstacle, right?

Well, it was Palmer joining Allen and Williams on the sidelines for Preseason Week 3, while Johnston worked in with the backups. That's in line with what we've heard out of Chargers camp, so it really looks like Johnston is going to open the season fourth on the WR depth chart. So you should probably be avoiding him in drafts, right?

One thing I always try to stress when it comes to rookie wide receivers is the need to remain patient. I learned that the hard way during Odell Beckham's rookie season, when I stashed him while he missed the first four weeks of the season with an injury, only to "sell-high" on him after he had three touchdowns in his first three games – he ended up scoring nine more in the next nine.

That's not to say Johnston is the next Odell Beckham. It's just to say that, you need to constantly remind yourself that the best Fantasy teams aren't drafted with Week 1 in mind, and that should be your mindset, too. Johnston looks like he's going to be the No. 4 WR for the Chargers, and that might scare you off drafting him, but rookie wide receivers are the exact kind of players you need to be patient with the most. Johnston may never be useful for Fantasy this season, but just because he's a role player in Week 1 doesn't mean he can never get there, either. 

You've got bench spots for a reason, so even though Johnston doesn't seem to have the role we were hoping for in Week 1, doesn't mean he can't still be a high-upside Fantasy option worth drafting. 

Here's who else might have the arrow pointing down coming out of the final week of the preseason: 

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seahawks

It was always unlikely that Charbonnet was going to immediately usurp KEnneth Walker as the Seahawks starting running back, but part of the case for drafting him was that he wouldn't just be a handcuff – he would also have value with Walker active as a pass-catching option. However, in the preseason, with Walker sitting out while recovering from a groin injury, Charbonnet's been used more like an early-down option, with holdover DeeJay Dallas has handled most of the obvious passing situations. That doesn't mean it'll be like that forever, but with Walker expected to be back for Week 1 (he returned to practice this week), it looks like Charbonnet will open the season as more or less a true backup. He's still worth drafting, but as a bench piece. 

Zamir White, RB, Raiders

Whereas, I'm not even sure White is worth drafting as a bench piece. Even before Josh Jacobs signed a contract for 2023, ending his holdout, I was souring on White, who looks like an early-downs plodder and a pray-for-a-touchdown guy even if Jacobs isn't around. Now? I just don't see very much upside in stashing White, who'll need a Jacobs injury to even have a chance at, what, Isiah Pacheco upside? I'm aiming higher than that with my late-round picks. 

Tank Dell, WR, Texans

After the first preseason game, it looked like Dell might be playing his way into a starting role as a rookie, but Sunday's game put a damper on that. While he still made a nice play on a punt return to show that the skills are worth getting excited about, he also didn't play a snap with presumed starting QB CJ Stroud – Robert Woods, Nico Collins, and Noah Brown played ahead of him. As with Johnston, that doesn't mean Dell won't matter for Fantasy this season; he just probably won't matter in Week 1. I still think he's a viable late-round target, but he's less of a priority now than he appeared to be a few weeks back. 

D'Onta Foreman, RB, Bears

At the start of camp, the Bears backfield looked pretty ambiguous, but I think the roles have started to solidify since, and not to Foreman's benefit. Foreman actually played six snaps with Justin Fields to lead the team's running backs, but that kind of buries the lead, which is that he didn't play until the third drive of the game, as Khalil Herbert continues to look like the starter here. Rookie Roschon Johnson started to play some third downs in the third preseason game, so he might be the passing down's option here – Johnson has received notable praise for his pass-blocking in camp. That leaves Foreman as the smaller part of an early-down committee, which means he's very unlikely to make much of an impact for Fantasy to start the season. An injury to Herbert could change that, and Foreman could still outplay Herbert when the games count, so I'm not saying he should be off draft boards. But he's clearly just a bench play, and potentially a pretty low-ceiling one if there's little pass-catching potential. 

Rashee Rice, WR, Chiefs

The Chiefs have, more or less, held an open competition for their wide receiver hierarchy this preseason, but it looks like Rice might be on the outside looking in. Even with Marquez Valdes-Scantling joining Patrick Mahomes on the sideline this week, Rice was the fifth wide receiver to see the field for the Chiefs – and it's even worse if you remember Kadarius Toney is also out but could be back early in the season. This isn't a surprise. After all, Skyy Moore was largely buried on the depth chart as a rookie. However, Rice was seeing time with the starters in the first two playoff games, and even impressed with eight catches for 96 yards in Week 2, so we thought he might be on a different trajectory than Moore's rookie season. Instead, it looks like he'll open the season as just a bit player, and is a fringe bench option in 12-team leagues.