- Jaylen Warren starts over Rico Dowdle:The incumbent Pittsburgh Steelers running back received the start, but both backs were in a rotation throughout the first half.
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PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2026.
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Omar Cooper Jr. starts for the Jets: Cooper only played with the second team last week, suggesting he has moved up the depth chart.
The Jets drafted Cooper in the first round, but it has taken him some time to move up the depth chart. Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell appear set as the top two wide receivers, with Wilson playing Z and Mitchell playing X. Wilson has played every snap with the starters, while Mitchell has only missed two snaps, and only after making two nice catches.
Isaiah Williams has been ahead of Cooper in the slot. Last week, Williams played all of the 11 personnel snaps with the starters, and left the game at the same time as Wilson and Mitchell. Cooper entered after the starters left, and continued playing over the rest of the first half. This week, it was Cooper who played with the starters instead of Williams. Later in the drive, when Mitchell took two plays off, Cooper received one snap in 12 personnel, while Williams garnered one snap in 11 personnel.
The Jets switched to backups on the second drive and Cooper wasn’t on the field, but Cooper returned for the third possession to play more on the outside. While it could have been nice to see him leave at the same time as the rest of the starters, it’s better to see him getting snaps on the outside, which he did on and off throughout the rest of the first half.
If Cooper only plays in 11 personnel in the slot this season, it will be difficult for him to be fantasy-relevant, particularly when the Jets could use a lot of 12 personnel after drafting Kenyon Sadiq. His clearest path to being valuable in fantasy is also taking snaps on the outside in 12 personnel.
While it doesn’t appear like Cooper is close to consistently taking snaps from Mitchell, this game was still a nice step in the right direction for the rookie. He is a fine late-round dart throw.
A quieter day for Germie Bernard: While Bernard started, he was held without a catch and played more on the outside.
Both starting wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. missed last week’s preseason game, leading Bernard and Roman Wilson to be the Steelers' starting wide receivers. The two are competing to be the third wide receiver in three-receiver sets. Last week, Bernard was typically the wideout lined up in the slot, which was a big deal because Metcalf and Pittman traditionally play outside, so whoever wins the job will need to play significantly out of the slot. Bernard also caught four passes for 51 yards.
This week, Wilson and Bernard started again, but Bernard was consistently lined up on the outside. Wilson was the primary slot receiver, with Ben Skowronek also seeing some work in the slot. The Steelers had three drives with the starters, and then turned to backups at running back and tight end. The two wide receivers kept playing further into the first half.
This suggests there is no clear favorite for the third spot, and if anything, Wilson has a slight lead given his playing time in the slot this week. The fact that it’s so close could lead to both wide receivers splitting playing time. It’s unlikely one of these wide receivers will be fantasy-relevant only playing in 11 personnel, and it will be impossible if they are splitting work. Unless Metcalf's or Mitchell’s injuries linger on into the regular season, it’s unlikely Wilson or Bernard will see fantasy value anytime soon.
Don’t read much into the Steelers' backfield rotation:Jaylen Warren started over Rico Dowdle, but the rotation in this game is unlikely to be the mix the Steelers use in the regular season.
The Steelers moved on from Kenneth Gainwell and added Dowdle this off-season. Both Warren and Dowdle have experience being early-down backs as well as third-down backs, but neither has experience as an every-situation back, making it very difficult to project how snaps will be distributed between the two.
In this game, Warren took the first drive, and Dowdle handled the second. Warren started the third drive and played five snaps, followed by six by Dowdle, and then Warren closed out the possession. It is common for teams to play a running back for several plays in the preseason with no regard to the situation, but it’s very rare for that kind of rotation to continue once the regular season starts.
The fact that Warren got the start over Dowdle could be a good sign for his fantasy value, but it could also simply be giving preference to the returning player rather than the new player, which is also common in the preseason. This game should not change anyone’s opinion on how this backfield will look in the regular season.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Steelers decided to rest both Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph so they could evaluate their two younger quarterbacks.
- Pittsburgh continued to use a two-man rotation at tight end with the starters, with Darnell Washington playing more on early downs and Pat Freiermuth more in passing situations, but it wasn’t a strict rotation. This is how the tight ends were used last week. This suggests Washington will play more snaps this season, but Freiermuth will run more routes. This is probably a situation to avoid given the split.
- The Jets didn’t have running backs Breece Hall (groin), Isaiah Davis (knee) or rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq (hernia). There is optimism all three will be ready for Week 1.
- Mason Taylor unsurprisingly started with Sadiq’s absence. After the starters left the game on the first drive, including running back Braelon Allen and wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, Taylor kept playing into the second possession. This suggests his role isn’t as secure as other starters.
- Jets undrafted rookie Malik McClain has played with the second team in each preseason game. If New York keeps six wide receivers, he appears to be the favorite for the sixth spot.
Carolina Panthers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Coming soon!
Green Bay Packers @ Denver Broncos
Coming soon!
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.