Efton Chism III brings trouble to Russell Wilson: NFL pre-season storylines actually matter | NFL

mThe pre-season ost is noise. The entry-level person sits. The team does not plan for the game. The coach launched a bland plan to evaluate his own roster instead of attacking the opposition. However, there are always some threads that have real real situations in the regular season. Here are five storylines that look to be important in 2025.

Jaxson Dart

The Giants entered the year with a reasonable quarterback plan. They will use 36-year-old Russell Wilson as a bridge starter until first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart is ready, probably mid-season. OK, it seems to be ready Now. New show Completed 14 passes with 16 goals and 137 yards In his second preseason game, passing touchdowns and rushing scores against the Jets in his second game, outstanding in his debut.

Brian Daboll did what a good coach should do: he met a dart halfway through. Rather than drowning his rookie in a complex system, Daboll has been ported on Dart’s big chunk of college scripts. This is the Ole Miss concept of Pro Gloss, designed to make Dart feel comfortable.

Early returns have been promising. The darts really look comfortable. He has a good speed in the game. For rookie starters, these are the first two boxes to check. By making his own dart-friendly, Daboll provides a platform for quarterbacks to shine their talents. Dart didn’t make too many “wow” throws on his second outing, but he showed a stronger grasp of the Giants’ offense.

Meanwhile, Wilson is fine. Good sprint. But he is the ancient Russ we’ve seen in Pittsburgh: able to hit beautiful strikes in the fields, but limited in terms of shorter attacks and middle positions.

With DART in the lineup, the Giants could threaten every area of the field. Even if he poses danger to himself at times, he is a fearless deep ball thrower and a real rush threat. The offense also plays a different pace than the rookies in the lineup. In the center of Wilson, the Giants looked mechanical and laborious. When the DART takes over, the operation becomes smoother and Daboll trickles to lift the rhythm. Running so slim, rhythmic systems aren’t enough to navigate the whole season, but that’s enough to get the rookie in until he can use a wider script.

Daboll insists on no competition. “Las is our starter. We will continue to develop Jaxson,” Daboll said this week. That’s understandable; Daboll wants to relieve the pressure on the first-year player and have a ready-made veterinarian who can beat several victories until Dart can adopt a more complex plan. But DART showed in the preseason that he should be eliminated into the depths of Week 1. The only reason for the chaos with Wilson was trying to get a few wins so that the coaching staff and the front desk could keep the job.

Patriots rookie lesson

No, your eyes are not lying to you. Yes, Patriots also have another variable slot receiver.

Efton Chism III has always been a pre-season darling. The undrafted rookie from East Washington is almost a New England slot meme: tough, too small in size, a irritating spinner in and out, always open.

With Josh McDaniels’ offense, Chiss is the lock that became the Patriots’ roster. New England sneaks on the catcher: Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte bring a blend of veteran knowledge, toughness and explosiveness. Third-round draft pick Kyle Williams will be an immediate threat to the end, and Chiss does damage the threat below. This is a solid collection of talents.

Chism may put the team ahead of Ja’lynn Polk (second round) and Javon Baker (fourth round), two draft picks a year ago. Baker is a possible trade candidate, and the Patriots are expected to hide Polk in an injured reserve game in the league’s first year nightmare.

The injection of weapons is good news for Drake Maye, who was forced to throw himself into the weakest receiver in the league as a rookie.

This is not just a receiving army. If we present the pre-season MVP award, the rookie runs back to Treveyon Henderson will be close to No. 1. Henderson was initially selected as the third expert. He is a prolific receiver at Ohio State and the best pass protection in the rookie course. But Henderson and Add some juice to the pass attack.

The Patriots needed their draft class to hit after last season’s collapse, ending season 4-13 that season. So far, this time is really good.

Bill National Defense

Buffalo strengthened their defensive line during the offseason. But the preseason exposed the problems in the defensive backend. The Bears baked Bill’s backup in the second week of the preseason, with three-pointers totaling 357 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the same thing that Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson ignited. Crushed by Tyson Bagent and Austin Reed should spark five alarm fires.

Throughout the league, the team looks like they are around the corner. The Eagles, Chiefs and other top contenders are searching around for minor beginners or backups. But the bill has three concerns: Who will start opposite Christian Benford from cornerback? What is the ideal safe tandem? Do they have enough depth?

Sean McDermott is one of the best coaches when working with middle school. He can find names and turn them into influential starters. when McDermott Start griefing with a group, you know you’re in trouble. Throughout the preseason, the coach took sporadic shots in his safety room. These include 2024 second-round draft pick Cole Bishop, who is planned to be the starter this season. “Cole missed a lot of time…and it remains to be seen what he really did for us.” “Our time is getting shorter.”

The cornerback also has concerns. Rookie first-round draft pick Maxwell Hairston is dealing with the injury, pushing the returned Tre’davious White into the starting lineup. Behind White, this is the slim choice. In a safe location, bills rely on Bishop or Damar Hamlin to be consistent starters.

For most teams, a secondary shortage will be a problem. For bills, its existence exists.

Depth is important. Last season, the bill played the least fastball in the basic defense (three defenders) and led them to use coin defense (six defensive backs). That’s McDermott’s vision for defense. To achieve these rates, the bill requires seven or eight reliable players given the potential for injury and suspension. Now, they have one: Benfu.

Few teams are as pressing as Buffalo. The peak of each year with Josh Allen is in the Super Bowl or bust. Last season, they were evacuated by a fire pass. They tried to solve this problem in the offseason, but now it looks short in middle school.

Isaac Tesla’s breakthrough

Lions general manager Brad Holmes did it again. The Lions traded in the third round of the draft to grab Arkansas catcher Isaac Tesla before bringing him to 98 seats Reliable standard indicators.

Holmes and the Lions do things their own way, usually choosing a round or two before the consensus committee stuffs them. Of many options, Sherlock Holmes was proven to be correct. However, in the recent draft, he has a high supply of himself, abandoning two future third-round picks to improve 32 positions to pick Tesla.

It was just a preseason, but early signals suggest that Holmes was right again.

It’s hard not to get caught up in Tesla hype. The long, degree-on-degree receiver is a splash game waiting to happen. How he cuts down the entire field almost makes a lazy feeling. But when he exploded, he left. Teslaa offers Jared Goff a big goal to play on the edge and jump out of the clouds. Tesla’s characteristics have been translated into preseason. He has grabbed 8 of 11 goals, scored 2 times, with an average score of 13.1 yards.

In college, Tesla is not the first choice target. He is still primitive and inconsistent. But the Lion doesn’t need him to be a roller. Along with Amon-Ra St Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam Laporta, Detroit has a lot of reliable weapons. Tesla will add extra pop music to the already explosive units. At this point, it is almost unfair.

Indy’s quarterback game

Nothing can remove energy from a fan base like Daniel Jones’ quarterback game. The only thing Fewer What’s inspiring is that Jones won one.

Jones has been Named the Colts’ starter on Anthony Richardson Despite the preseason performance. The Colts have provided the same number of drives and representatives for both QBs through plans to decide who will be the team’s starter. Richardson’s plan was to take up most of the snapshots in the first week, with Jones receiving a majority in the second week. The idea went away when Richardson was injured in Game 1 of the preseason and Jones got into the roster.

Shane Steichen reset in Week 2, flipped his approach and gave Richardson the game time to be accepted during the opening week. But this shows that Jones, who had a few snapshots, still gained more representation in the Colts’ starting offense.

Quick snapshot, there are almost no separation between the two. Richardson remains all the strengths and volatility, while Jones is stable. Is there anything screaming Daniel Jones bigger than the 11-game, 77-yard drive that ended with a goal? Does anyone say Anthony Richardson likes preseason (called flags) after deducting protection checks before slaughtering two steals and blowing up two times?

In a sense, Jones is a quarterback being portrayed as a stable force, which is interesting. He ended the Giants with 42 interceptions and 50 turnovers, one of the highest turnover rates in the league. Like Richardson, Jones is a volatile quarterback, despite wearing grooved and bumpy clothes. Choose between the two trust.

“That’s everything,” Steichen said of choosing a starter. “It’s operation, messy communication, inspection, consistency.”

Richardson was unable to coordinate the game before the game and stick to the rhythm of the system to continue his progress – His agent said Tuesday He is not sure about the long-term future of clients and teams. Richardson can also provide all the hissing of an offense – the Colts won him at the fourth pick two years ago – still struggling with the basic mechanisms of operating and handling professional crimes, and he hasn’t proven himself to stay healthy. There is no right call for Stephen to do it. Two quarterbacks may see game time this season. In some driving with the Colts, Jones still looks like a responsibility, but his offense is more budget-oriented. With this alone, he got the first crack.