Welcome to IDP Instant Reactions and Analysis, Hall of Fame Game edition!
Can you all believe it? The wait is over! Football is BACK! Sure it's still the preseason, and many of our favorite stars didn't play, but there was a professional NFL game on TV — and that's all that matters! Before we dive into the action, let's talk about what the IDP Instant Reactions and Analysis article will be about.
Every Monday until the NFL playoffs, we will give instant IDP reactions from the games that occurred that week. We will also analyze players, whether or not they performed as expected, and who surprised us.
From there, we will tell you if you can expect more of the same from those players or if they were merely a flash in the pan. Finally, we will briefly examine next week's matchup for each team, so you know what's coming.
So what are we waiting for? There was a gosh darn NFL game this past week, so some IDP analysis is to be done!
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Las Vegas Raiders
In his first home game as the head coach, Josh McDaniels coached the Raiders to a 27 - 11 victory over the Jaguars.
Jacksonville Analysis
The Stats:
Image Credit: National Football League
Performed as Expected:
With almost all of the regular starters sitting this game out, this was our first long look at many of the Jaguars' rookies. For the most part, they played as we hope they would since we invested a lot of draft capital in them.
- Travon Walker: Number one pick this year, ended the night with one sack and two pressures, a perfectly acceptable NFL debut. Nothing in this performance should scare you away from where he is being drafted in IDP drafts.
- Chad Muma: Excellent in run defense, racking up four combined tackles and having the Jaguars' highest run-defense grade. We knew from his college tape that he projects to be a tackling machine, so it was nice seeing that in action. There are still quite a few people above him on the depth chart to warrant many spots on re-draft teams, but he's an injury away from being relevant.
- Shaquille Quarterman: Put up production expected from a fourth-round pick a couple of years ago, racking up five combined tackles. He has less upside than Muma long-term, but he's another name to keep in your head moving forward.
Surprise Performance:
- Chapelle Russell: Led the stat sheet for the Jaguars' defense with eight combined tackles and one tackle for a loss. A seventh-round pick in 2020, Russell has not made much of his NFL career other than racking up stats in meaningless games. With the influx of new linebackers and his role on the roster being tenuous at best, don't read too much into this performance.
- Arden Key: Surprised us with a nice two-sack outing. According to PFF, he led the team in pass-rush grade. Last year for the 49ers, Key was relegated to a situational pass-rusher role. Based on the depth chart in Jacksonville, we can expect more of the same. Unless there are injuries or you are in a very deep league, Key is not someone you should be rostering.
Other Playing Time/Performance Notes:
- This week's interesting thing is the lack of relevant defensive back performances. Looking at the snap counts, the Jaguars also rotated in a ton of guys, presumably to see what they have in them. While this is good for the team, it does not give us much insight. We will have to monitor the DB situation in Jacksonville more in the coming weeks to learn something.
Looking to Next Week:
Next week, the Jaguars welcome the Cleveland Browns for their first pre-season game. As IDP analysts, all we can hope to see is the continued progression of the rookies on the team and, hopefully, the debut of Devin Lloyd.
Las Vegas Analysis
The Stats:
Image Credit: National Football League
Performed as Expected:
On the defensive side of the ball, the Raiders didn't roll out all of their starters, but a few well-known names played.
- Johnathan Abram and Trevon Moehrig: Both started in the secondary, and each participated in ten plays (15%).
- Jayon Brown and Divine Deablo: Started at linebacker and only participated in 10 each.
- Divine Deablo: Began the game with the green dot.
Surprise Performance:
- Tashawn Bower: Finished the contest with the most pressures (four) for the Las Vegas defense. He was on the field for 45% of snaps in the Hall of Fame game, making him fourth among all Raiders edge rushers in the contest. This year marks Bower’s fourth season, and Las Vegas is the fourth NFL team to give him a shot. He has never surpassed 200 snaps in a single season and is buried in the depth chart on a team that’s invested 11.77% of their 2022 salary on edge rushers.
- Luke Masterson: Co-led the home team in tackles in the Hall of Fame game. He logged 39 total snaps of the defense — 64 total — and was targeted twice in the passing game, allowing 16 yards. Masterson is an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest, where he played weakside and middle linebacker. He is battling for a bench/special teams spot on the Raiders roster. While I love a good underdog story, it doesn't mean much for fantasy rosters.
Other Playing Time/Performance Notes:
- Darien Butler: Co-led the Raiders in tackles and in missed tackles (three).
- Kendal Vickers: Provided the Raiders' lone sack of the game.
- Jayon Brown and Divine Deablo: Started at linebacker and only played in ten snaps.
Looking to Next Week:
On Sunday, August 14, the Vikings travel to “Sin City” in what will be the Raiders' second preseason contest of the 2022 NFL season. Minnesota has a high-powered offense and is a team looking to turn the page defensively, so I am expecting the Vikings to test the secondary. Still, it is the preseason. I wouldn't expect anything over a series or two for the starters participating in the contest.
Players to watch in the Week 1 preseason matchup: Divine Deablo, Neil Farrell Jr., and Gerri Green.
Thank you for reading the first IDP Instant Reactions and Analysis article for 2022! This — and all future editions of this article — was put together by Matt Record (find my IDP Guys author page here) and Mase Riney (find my IDP Guys Author page here). Find Matt on Twitter at @mrecord21 and Mase at @Caliking49er17. Be sure to follow @IDPGuys to keep up with all the latest fantasy news!
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