Week 1 of the NFL preseason is in the books, with all 32 teams taking the field over the last few days. And already, the takes are flying: We've been so desperate to watch real, actual football and get a glimpse of new faces in new places that we can't help but form snap judgments on very little evidence.
Some of those takes will likely prove prescient. Some, however ... will not. This was just one game, after all, and a game that didn't even count at that. There's only so much information to be gleaned from exhibition competition against mostly backups in early August. So while hope springs eternal around the league, we're here to highlight six Week 1 takes that figure to die down pretty quickly once the season gets going for real.
Shedeur Sanders deserves to start for the Browns
Sanders was arguably the story from Week 1 of the preseason, looking cool, calm and collected while dicing up the Carolina Panthers to the tune of 138 yards and two scores. And to be perfectly clear: He was impressive, with accuracy and presence that immediately proved he deserved to be drafted far earlier than the fifth round.
But while he passed his first test with flying colors, it's only going to get tougher from here. Yes, Sanders proved that he's a cut above the backups and fellow Day 3 picks he was on the field with, and at this point he should be multiple cuts above Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and others on the Cleveland Browns' crowded depth chart. Being ready to start regular-season games, however, is another matter entirely: Let's see Sanders navigate a starting defense when the lights are brightest before we declare him a long-term starter in the league.
He proved on Saturday that he is who we (well, several NFL teams not included) thought he was: a polished passer with a solid foundation upon which to build. Cleveland won't be trying to rush this, though, and it'll be shocking if Joe Flacco isn't starting in Week 1.
Travis Hunter is ready to play both ways
A day after Sanders made his debut, it was Hunter's turn, taking the field at both wide receiver and cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Heisman Trophy winner led the Jaguars in both catches (two) and targets (three) on their opening series, immediately establishing himself as the No. 2 option for Trevor Lawrence opposite Brian Thomas Jr. He took the next series off, then returned to the field as Jacksonville's left cornerback on its second defensive possession of the game, recording five uneventful snaps before the Steelers were forced to punt.
The Jaguars have been open with everyone about giving Hunter every opportunity to play both ways in much the same manner he did at Colorado, and they lived up to that promise on Sunday. But it does feel notable that he appeared as a wideout before taking a snap on defense: Jacksonville. seems to have more confidence in him stepping in and helping right away on offense, where his natural athleticism can more easily shine, than at cornerback.
Hunter is an athletic freak, and he has every chance to become an unprecedented player once he gets his feet under him. Reading between the lines, though, it seems more likely that he'll start as the WR2 in Jacksonville who occasionally chips in on defense, as the team understandably doesn't want to put too much on his plate too soon. Not because he's physically unable to hold up, but because it's what's best for his development.
Joe Schoen has saved his job with the Giants
Saturday was a cause for optimism the New York Giants arguably haven't had since Daniel Jones' stellar debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all those years ago. (Even Brian Daboll's lone playoff win came with the knowledge that the team had a hard ceiling and was most likely about to get smoked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the next round.) Abdul Carter needed just a handful of snaps to make his star potential obvious, and Jaxson Dart put on a show with both his arms and his legs as New York's previously moribund offense lit up the Buffalo Bills.
I'm not here to rain on that parade. As a preseason opener, it went as well (if not better) than fans could have reasonably expected. Carter might be the most talented player in his draft class, and Dart showed the physical potential that warranted the team moving back into the first round for him. But ... it's still just a preseason opener. Dart was doing this against backups, and the Giants' much-maligned offensive line still didn't look all that impressive against Buffalo's first-team defensive front.
The future is brighter than it has been, and nailing the Carter pick while Dart shows hints of his potential will lengthen Schoen's leash. Have you seen this team's schedule this year, though? It's brutal, and there are still a ton of question marks about this offense given the lack of talent up front and the fact that Russell Wilson remains the starting quarterback. It's not hard to envision a world in which Wilson's checkdowns get old quick and the defense can't stop the run enough to put themselves in a position to get after the QB on passing downs, all while the losses pile up. if that comes to pass, fans are going to get cranky again real quick.
The Steelers offense is fixed
Aaron Rodgers and other key Steelers weren't on the field, but Pittsburgh's offense still sang against the Jags on Saturday night, putting up 31 points while Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph combined for four passing TDs. Unfortunately, both of the names above should be all the evidence you need not to take this performance too seriously.
We know exactly what Thompson and Rudolph are at the NFL level, especially once they have to stop playing backups. One game from players who don't figure to play important roles this season, against a dismal Jacksonville defense no less, shouldn't move you much in one direction or another. Maybe you think that Arthur Smith can get a vintage performance out of Rodgers, and that the concerns about his fit in this offense (and with DK Metcalf as his WR1) are overblown. But it's still way too early to make a determination about a collection of coaches and players that haven't earned the benefit of the doubt lately.
The Bengals' Super Bowl hopes are already cooked
We know that Cincinnati is going to put up enough points to go deep into January (or even beyond). We don't know whether they'll get enough stops, and their preseason opener on Thursday didn't do anything to allay those concerns: Despite playing most of their starters for the first couple of series, the Bengals still gave up 10 points to Tanner McKee and the rest of the Eagles' backups. It's not the first impression new DC Al Golden was hoping for.
Let's not push the panic button just yet, though. The Bengals didn't have their entire first string out there; Trey Hendrickson wasn't out there at all, in fact, and if Cincinnati can finally get a deal done there, it'll go a long way to helping this defense back towards average. Plus, rookie Shemar Stewart looked impressive against both the run and the pass. Golden is still getting to know his personnel, and he understandably kept things extremely vanilla in the team's first taste of game action. It's possible that this defense is exactly as bad as it was last season, but I'm skeptical that Thursday told us too much — they figure to get better as the year goes along.
It's only a matter of time before Jalen Milroe supplants Sam Darnold
It didn't take Milroe long to show Seattle Seahawks fans why the team chose him in April's draft. The athleticism and upside are obvious, and on full display during a 27-yard rush on a zone read in Seattle's preseason opener.
But we already knew that Milroe was a one-of-one athlete at the QB position. The question is everything else, and this weekend offered precious little evidence. Even Milroe's coach, Mike Macdonald, tried to temper expectations.
“I thought Jalen played well. I thought he made good decisions,” Macdonald said in his postgame press conference. “Operation-wise there are some things we want to be a little cleaner on. Throwing the ball accurately, throwing it on time, and then when it wasn’t there, extending plays with his legs, I thought was really cool.”
This is still a long-term project; go back and put on his Alabama film if you want to know just how much work Milroe has to do in terms of reading defenses and making accurate throws under pressure. He'll see the field in specialized packages that utilize his running ability, but he shouldn't be exposed to NFL defenses right now no matter how fun he is to watch.