Keenan Allen lands in Indianapolis, Breece Hall gives Jets fans a scare, preseason Week 2 is loaded with fantasy clues, and the defending AFC champs get their Super Bowl rematch in 22 days.Twenty-two.
Twenty-two freaking days.
That's all that's standing between us and the return of real NFL football.
And as a Jets fan, fantasy football degenerate, DFS player and professional overthinker of football games, I can tell you exactly what that means:
It's time to stop pretending preseason football doesn't matter.
Because it absolutely matters.
Not for the final score. Nobody is putting a 24-17 preseason masterpiece in their scrapbook.
It matters because we're looking for roles, snap counts, targets, injuries, quarterback chemistry, offensive line combinations, red-zone usage and those beautiful little nuggets that turn into fantasy gold three weeks later.
And this week already gave us one of the biggest fantasy-relevant moves of the summer.
KEENAN ALLEN IS A COLT — AND THAT CHANGES THE INDIANAPOLIS RECEIVER ROOM
The Colts just added Keenan Allen on a one-year deal worth up to $8.32 million.
And yes, he's 34.
And yes, this isn't 2018 Keenan Allen.
But let's not act like the guy forgot how to play football.
Allen enters Indianapolis with 1,055 career receptions, 12,051 receiving yards and 70 touchdowns, along with six Pro Bowl selections.
More importantly, the Colts have a very specific reason for making this move.
They traded Michael Pittman Jr. to Pittsburgh earlier this offseason, while Alec Pierce is recovering from ankle surgery and his availability for the start of the season has been a concern.
So Indianapolis basically looked around the room and said:
"You know what we're missing? A veteran receiver who knows how to get open."
Enter Keenan.
The fantasy angle
This isn't necessarily a signal to draft Allen as your WR2.
Relax.
We're not going completely insane.
But Allen suddenly becomes extremely interesting in PPR leagues, especially if Indianapolis uses him as the possession receiver underneath while Pierce handles more vertical work and Josh Downs operates in his familiar role.
Allen's 2025 season wasn't spectacular — his yards-per-reception number fell to 9.6 — but that also tells us something about what his potential role could look like in Indianapolis.
Targets.
Short-area targets.
Third-down targets.
Red-zone opportunities.
Those boring little catches that fantasy managers love when they're sitting there staring at a PPR scoring screen on Sunday afternoon.
And here's the part I really like:
If Pierce isn't 100 percent, Allen's early-season target opportunity could be significantly larger than his current fantasy perception suggests.
That makes him one of the veterans I'm watching closely during the final two weeks of preseason.
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AND THEN THERE'S MY JETS
Because apparently being a Jets fan wasn't stressful enough.
Breece Hall left practice Monday with a groin injury.
He went down without contact after making a catch, which is exactly the kind of sentence that makes every Jets fan immediately start Googling orthopedic surgeons.
The good news is that the early reporting indicates the injury is considered minor, and head coach Aaron Glenn said he didn't believe it was serious.
Still...
Don't mess with it.
This is preseason.
There is absolutely no reason to risk Breece Hall because somebody wants to see him run 11 carries against the Steelers in August.
Hall is coming off a 1,065-yard rushing season and recently signed a three-year extension worth roughly $45 million.
The fantasy implications are obvious.
Breece Hall
Fantasy: Still a major early-round asset if the injury proves minor.
DFS: Not particularly relevant until the regular season, but his status matters enormously for the Jets' backfield hierarchy.
Handcuff watch: Braelon Allen.
And Allen suddenly becomes much more interesting if Hall misses meaningful time.
The Jets are already dealing with depth questions behind Hall, so this is a situation fantasy managers need to monitor rather than panic over.
That's an important distinction.
Monitor. Don't panic.
I'm a Jets fan.
I am physically incapable of following my own advice.
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PRESEASON WEEK 2: HERE COMES THE GOOD STUFF
Preseason Week 2 runs from Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 23, with all 32 teams playing their second preseason game.
Here's the schedule.
Thursday, August 20
Raiders at Texans — 8:00 PM ET, ESPN
49ers at Chargers — 10:00 PM ET, NFL Network
The Raiders-Texans game is particularly interesting from a DFS standpoint because we're getting another opportunity to evaluate quarterback rotations and which offensive players are actually being treated like starters.
Then comes the late-night 49ers-Chargers game.
And if you're anything like me, you're watching it at 10 p.m. saying:
"I'll just watch the first quarter."
Three hours later you're still awake arguing with yourself about the Chargers' WR3.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
Jets at Steelers — 7:00 PM ET, NFL Network
Panthers at Jaguars — 7:30 PM ET
Packers at Broncos — 9:00 PM ET, NFL Network
And obviously I'm watching the Jets.
Because suffering is apparently a family tradition.
The big question is what happens with Breece Hall after the groin injury.
If Hall sits, watch Braelon Allen closely.
Not because preseason statistics automatically translate into regular-season fantasy production.
They don't.
But because we're trying to identify who is getting the valuable touches.
And that's what matters.
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 22
This is where the schedule gets ridiculous.
Commanders at Lions — 12:00 PM ET
Bills at Browns — 1:00 PM ET, NFL Network
Falcons at Colts — 1:00 PM ET
Ravens at Vikings — 1:00 PM ET
Saints at Rams — 4:00 PM ET
Giants at Dolphins — 4:00 PM ET, NFL Network
Bears at Bengals — 7:00 PM ET
Eagles at Patriots — 7:00 PM ET, NFL Network
Chiefs at Buccaneers — 7:30 PM ET
Cowboys at Cardinals — 10:00 PM ET, NFL Network
That's basically Christmas morning for fantasy football nerds.
Colts vs. Falcons
This is one I'm watching closely because Keenan Allen is now part of the Indianapolis offense.
Don't automatically expect him to play a bunch of preseason snaps. The Colts have plenty of reasons to be cautious with a veteran who was just signed.
But even if Allen doesn't play, we're watching the distribution around him.
Josh Downs.
Alec Pierce's recovery.
The quarterback situation.
Red-zone usage.
Target concentration.
Those are the things that matter.
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Ravens at Vikings
This could be another interesting fantasy laboratory.
Minnesota's quarterback situation has been one of the more fascinating developments of camp, with Kyler Murray emerging as the starter over J.J. McCarthy according to recent reporting.
Murray's presence has obvious fantasy implications for:
Justin Jefferson.
Aaron Jones.
Jordan Mason.
And the Vikings' overall offensive ceiling.
Murray's mobility can also create additional red-zone rushing opportunities, which matters when you're projecting touchdown distribution.
Translation:
If you're drafting Jefferson, you're not just drafting Jefferson.
You're drafting the quarterback situation attached to him.
And that situation has changed.
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THE PATRIOTS ARE STILL PISSED OFF
Now we get to my favorite part.
The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl LX to Seattle 29-13.
Drake Maye threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions in the loss.
And now?
Twenty-two days from today, those same two teams are playing again.
Except this time it's in Seattle.
Except this time it's the first game of the NFL regular season.
Except this time Seattle gets to raise the championship banner.
And New England gets to stand there and watch it.
Oh, that's going to be fun.
The Patriots and Seahawks kick off the 2026 season on Wednesday, September 9 at 8:20 PM ET on NBC, making it the first Wednesday NFL season opener since 2012.
And yes, I think New England wins.
I know.
I'm not supposed to say that.
Seattle is the defending champion.
They're home.
They're raising the Lombardi Trophy banner.
They're getting all the fireworks.
All the confetti.
All the emotional speeches.
And I'm sitting here thinking:
New England wins.
Maybe I'm crazy.
Maybe I'm still remembering the Super Bowl.
Maybe I just like the idea of the Patriots ruining Seattle's championship party.
But I think New England comes out angry.
They're a game too late.
But they're still winning.
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MY OPENING-NIGHT FANTASY AND DFS WATCH LIST
I'm going to be watching this game completely differently than the average fan.
I'm looking for:
Drake Maye
This is the obvious one.
Can he bounce back immediately after the Super Bowl?
He's entering Year 3, finished second in MVP voting last season, and now gets the chance to start the season against the team that ended New England's championship dream.
That's narrative.
That's motivation.
And sometimes narrative actually meets football reality.
Seattle's receivers
If New England is going to win this game, Seattle's passing game has to be slowed down.
That means watching target distribution and whether Seattle comes out aggressively.
Patriots running game
I'm watching how New England attacks Seattle's front.
If the Patriots can establish the run, it changes the entire DFS and betting picture.
Red-zone usage
This is the one everyone ignores.
Don't just watch yards.
Watch who gets the ball when the field shrinks.
That's where fantasy touchdowns live.
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YES, I'M USING THE FANTASYDAILIES AI PARLAY GENERATOR
And this is where the fantasy football guy in me meets the degenerate gambler hiding somewhere underneath him.
I'm going to fire up the FantasyDailies AI Parlay Generator and see what it comes up with for the opener.
"FantasyDailies" (https://reference-url-citation.invalid/12)
I'm thinking six legs.
Not because six legs is magically smarter than five.
Not because an AI knows the future.
And certainly not because I have any idea what I'm doing.
It's football.
We're all guessing.
The difference is I'm going to make the AI do some of the homework before I make my guesses.
And if the numbers line up with what I'm seeing, I'm looking at a same-game parlay built around:
New England winning.
Drake Maye production.
Patriots offensive production.
A couple of player receiving/rushing props.
And one or two spots where the matchup data gives us something better than simply throwing six random players into a ticket and praying to the football gods.
That's the whole point of using a tool.
Find correlation.
If I think New England wins, I don't want six independent legs that have nothing to do with one another.
I want the legs to tell the same story.
If Maye has a strong game, that can help Patriots receivers.
If New England moves the ball, that can help the Patriots' scoring total.
If Seattle falls behind, that can increase passing volume.
Now we're building a narrative around the game instead of throwing darts blindfolded.
And yes...
I'm still probably going to throw a dart.
I'm a Jets fan.
It's basically in my blood.
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THE BIGGEST FANTASY LESSON OF THE NEXT 22 DAYS
Preseason isn't about finding the guy who scores three touchdowns against third-stringers.
It's about finding role changes before everyone else notices them.
That's what happened when injuries changed depth charts.
That's what happened when veterans changed teams.
That's what happens when rookies start getting first-team reps.
And that's exactly what we're watching right now.
Keenan Allen to Indianapolis? Watch the targets.
Breece Hall's groin? Watch the Jets backfield.
Kyler Murray in Minnesota? Watch Jefferson and the entire Vikings passing game.
Drake Maye after the Super Bowl? Watch New England's offense.
Seattle defending its title? Watch the target distribution and offensive aggressiveness.
And then there's the DFS angle.
Because preseason gives us information.
Training camp gives us information.
Beat reporters give us information.
Coaches give us information.
Snap counts give us information.
And eventually all that information becomes fantasy football decisions.
That's what I'm looking for.
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TWENTY-TWO DAYS
Twenty-two days until the games count.
Twenty-two days until somebody is yelling at their television because their running back got vultured at the goal line.
Twenty-two days until somebody loses a fantasy matchup by 0.14 points.
Twenty-two days until somebody says, "I knew this guy was going to break out."
No, you didn't.
You absolutely did not.
You drafted him in Round 11 because you saw one preseason highlight at 1:17 in the morning.
And that's exactly why I love this time of year.
The information is finally starting to matter.
The preseason games are giving us clues.
The depth charts are taking shape.
The injuries are changing everything.
And fantasy drafts are right around the corner.
As for opening night?
I'm taking the Patriots.
They're a game too late.
Seattle gets the banner.
Seattle gets the celebration.
Seattle gets the home crowd.
But I think New England gets the win.
And if the FantasyDailies AI Parlay Generator agrees with me?
Well...
that's when things get interesting.
Just don't ask me to explain the six-leg ticket when it loses.
I was never here.