{"id":132110,"date":"2025-08-09T16:09:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T16:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/132110\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T16:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T16:09:10","slug":"fantasy-football-preseason-takeaways-caleb-williams-trolls-anthony-richardsons-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/132110\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy football preseason takeaways: Caleb Williams trolls, Anthony Richardson\u2019s injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NFL Preseason.<\/a><\/p>\n

Caleb Williams went viral twice during the opening days of Bears training camp \u2014 once for an interception and later for a series of misfires toward an unmoving net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ideally, the former No. 1 overall pick and franchise cornerstone would generate camp buzz for different reasons. Williams, however, is now trapped inside an unfortunate social media snark-and-doom loop wherein his mistakes are amplified and all highlights are disregarded.<\/p>\n

He clicks, but only when things go wrong.<\/p>\n

Plenty of successful quarterbacks have occupied this terrible internet space, of course, but so have guys like Desmond Ridder and Mitchell Trubisky. It\u2019s dangerous territory.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Chicago is not actually experiencing a disastrous camp. You may have been led to believe that every ball leaving Williams\u2019 hand is snatched by a defender, but that\u2019s not the case<\/a>. Actual reporting on Bears camp isn\u2019t as gloomy as your timeline might suggest.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, head coach Ben Johnson put the team through its hardest-hitting practice in recent memory<\/a>, a session punctuated by a 40-yard touchdown strike from Williams to Rome Odunze. If you felt some fantasy optimism about that duo back in May and June, there\u2019s no reason to feel differently in August. This team\u2019s offense isn\u2019t broken.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s system is simply ponderous and difficult to install, loaded with elements unfamiliar to Williams. He\u2019s now asked to routinely play under center, running play action and pre-snap motion. Playcalls are wordier and more complex than anything he dealt with last year (also more likely to work as intended). Let\u2019s remember that Williams operated under three different offensive coordinators as a rookie, so he may require serious debugging.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be so quick to dismiss the man who made plays like this<\/a> and this<\/a> and this last season:<\/p>\n

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Caleb dropped it right in the bucket for Rome<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa: #CINvsCHI<\/a> on @NFLNetwork<\/a>
\ud83d\udcf1: Stream on #NFLPlus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RuOltD9VC2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s more to Caleb than various social hellsites are letting on.<\/p>\n

Anthony Richardson\u2019s injury<\/strong><\/p>\n

Richardson was dinged on Thursday night<\/a>, but not seriously.<\/p>\n

The Colts quarterback suffered a dislocated finger early in the preseason opener when he was obliterated by an unblocked pass rusher (a sack that was on him more than anyone else).<\/p>\n

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Let me explain why this is 100% on Anthony Richardson & not on the Line or RB. https:\/\/t.co\/LwYA8dbB9f<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/M6u9RXKotF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He was 2-for-3 before the injury occurred, with his first two attempts targeting camp standouts Adonai Mitchell and Tyler Warren. Richardson was replaced by Daniel Jones, who produced his signature stat line (10-for-21, 144 yards, zero scores).<\/p>\n

When asked about the injury following the game, Richardson downplayed the severity. \u201cI\u2019ll be good.\u201d Crisis averted.<\/p>\n

Keenan Allen, back in powder blue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los Angeles was always the overwhelming favorite to sign Allen, so you shouldn\u2019t see dramatic reshuffling in anyone\u2019s fantasy rankings off the news. You don\u2019t need an expert to tell you that Justin Herbert benefits from the addition of a (very) familiar face.<\/p>\n

At 33 years old, the current version of Allen moves like a bubble hockey goalie<\/a>, even when he\u2019s cooking. He\u2019s a little stiff. His hands failed him at times last season (officially six drops). So while we can\u2019t pretend the 2019 edition of Keenan just joined the squad, the Chargers certainly needed a steadying presence in the receiving room, someone to complement Ladd McConkey. Every other receiver on this team is an agent of chaos.<\/p>\n

Travis Hunter playing 80% of the offensive snaps, you say?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be clear, this is not just some fantasy goof speculating on Hunter\u2019s potential workload. Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen said it in a conversation with Rich Eisen<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

Hunter is a superhuman athletic talent even by the standards of a league full of freakish athletes. No receiver in this year\u2019s draft class possessed his attack-the-ball ability. If Hunter plays 40-plus snaps per game, there simply aren\u2019t 25 receivers in the league likely to outscore him in fantasy.<\/p>\n

Also, absolutely no one wants to hear about Trevor Lawrence\u2019s setup for a monster year, but, well \u2026 he is, in fact, a strong candidate for a supernova season. Not many quarterbacks have a pair of weapons like Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. at their disposal. If we love a team\u2019s receivers in fantasy, by extension, we should probably like the quarterback as well.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s first unofficial depth chart is rookie hazing<\/strong><\/p>\n

When headlines mention RJ Harvey\u2019s placement on the team\u2019s initial depth chart, understand that the Broncos parked all their rookies at the bottom of the positional hierarchies. Kind of a jerk move, honestly.<\/p>\n

Harvey has been running as no worse than the team\u2019s RB2 in practices. He certainly does have a J.K. Dobbins problem, but he does not have an Audric Estime problem. No worries there. Harvey has been plenty impressive.<\/p>\n

If you need further assurances, here\u2019s a camp clip of Harvey cruelly roasting another professional athlete:<\/p>\n

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RJ Harvey is nasty \ud83d\ude2e
pic.twitter.com\/quaCdec6ZR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) August 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tory Horton hype<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s rookie fifth-rounder has been having a noisy camp and pushing for a significant early-season role. His performance in the team\u2019s preseason opener certainly won\u2019t derail the hype train. Horton caught three passes for 31 yards against the Raiders on Thursday night, including a tackle-breaking 10-yard touchdown.<\/p>\n

Horton had a terrific collegiate career at Colorado State \u2014 you might recall his outrageous 16-catch performance against Colorado in 2023 \u2014 but a knee injury in his final season depressed his draft stock. Now healthy and thriving, he\u2019s looking like a filthy steal for the Seahawks.<\/p>\n

Matthew Golden draws praise<\/strong><\/p>\n

We should be open to the possibility that Golden will quickly emerge as Green Bay\u2019s unrivaled No. 1 receiver. He\u2019s been gassed up by every reporter, fan, coach and teammate who watches him work, including Matt Schneidman<\/a>, Kyle Malzhan<\/a> and Ryan Woods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Green Bay had not selected a first-round receiver in a generation before Golden, so draft status seems unusually meaningful in this case.<\/p>\n

Zac Taylor unleashed the varsity offense in preseason opener<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Bengals have been notorious slow-starters in recent seasons \u2014 1-4 last year, 1-3 the season before, 0-2 the prior year \u2014 so they are apparently done resting starters in exhibition play. Joe Burrow was nearly flawless on Thursday night, playing two series against the Eagles and going 9-for-10 with two touchdown passes and 123 yards. Chase Brown delivered 48 scrimmage yards, and Ja\u2019Marr Chase caught four balls for 77 yards and one score.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s great to see a Death Star offense look the part at this early stage.<\/p>\n

Naturally, after the game, Burrow groused about his play<\/a>. He is so ready.<\/p>\n

Tyler Loop impresses in Ravens debut<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jake Ciely has loudly proclaimed<\/a> Loop his breakout kicker of 2025, and, well, wow \u2014 another great kicking call by Jake<\/a>. Nobody knows the specialists like Ciely.<\/p>\n

Loop was a sixth-round pick out of Arizona, drafted to replace the suspended Justin Tucker. He nailed a 52-yarder in the preseason opener and drilled all three extra-point attempts. He also made a very legit tackle on a kick return, prompting a \u201cLOOOOOOP!\u201d cheer from the crowd.<\/p>\n

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Tyler Loop YOU are the Ravens newest starting ILB next to Roquan Smith pic.twitter.com\/IOexYMlZ1c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) August 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You truly have to respect a fanbase that loves its specialists.<\/p>\n

(Photo by Greg Fiume\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n