Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving dominate in NFL Preseason Week 2 action
Week 1 of the preseason gave us great looks at guys like Traeshon Holden, Bo Nix, Jamaree Caldwell, and Noah Sewell. In Week 2, some more famous Ducks got a chance to produce and get in on the action, with the likes of Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Tez Johnson, and Derrick Harmon dominating in their respective games.
It also gave us our first look at quarterback Dillon Gabriel in a Cleveland Browns uniform, where he looked solid in his preseason debut.
Whether it was an established player who received minimal reps or a young gun fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster, the former Ducks provided a lot to look at this weekend. Here's a glance at some of the standout performances.
Troy Franklin — Denver Broncos
Troy Franklin has been having an incredible training camp in Denver, and he showed that on Saturday night with four catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It left head coach Sean Payton declaring that Franklin's breakout season is underway, and he has high expectations for the former Duck going into 2025.
More: Sean Payton on Troy Franklin's breakout season with Denver Broncos: 'It's happening'
Bucky Irving — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We saw a year ago what Bucky Irving could do as a running back in the NFL, but he showed everyone on Saturday night that he can be pretty great as a wide receiver too, splitting out wide and bringing down this impressive TD catch on a dime from Teddy Bridgewater.
Derrick Harmon — Pittsburgh Steelers
As a first-round pick, there are high expectations for Derrick Harmon going into his rookie season on a dominant Pittsburgh defensive line, and he's proving himself early on, especially wit this bull rush through the Tamba Bay offense, getting home for a sack.
Tez Johnson — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tez Johnson has received a lot of positive buzz from his teammates throughout training camp, and he showed how dynamic he can be on the field, even with the special teams unit, as a punt returner on Saturday against the Steelers. Johnson also finished the day with four catches for 24 yards in the game.
Dillon Gabriel — Cleveland Browns
Dillon Gabriel had some highs and a couple of lows in his preseason debut with the Browns. His first drive was nearly perfect, with a lot of strikes over the middle and conversions on third downs, leading to a touchdown. However, he later threw a pick-six on a play where his receivers didn't help him out, and was credited with a fumble. Ultimately, he looked solid in the game, but he still has competition to win the starting spot.
More: Social media reacts to Dillon Gabriel's NFL preseason debut with Cleveland Browns
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Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's the player we're fading at every position going into drafts in 2025
In preparation for your fantasy football draft, you're going to want to compile a list of players you want to target and players to avoid. It always feels tough figuring out which players you want to fade because there's always a chance you make the wrong decision. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Fortunately, the Yahoo fantasy football staff has you covered. We're joined by Scott Pianowski, Ray Garvin, Justin Boone and Matt Harmon, who will provide a player at each position that they think you should be fading in your fantasy football draft this season. Quarterback Scott: Baker Mayfield just had the season of his life, setting new personal marks in a slew of key categories. But the architect of that breakout, Liam Coen, has departed to Jacksonville. We try to be careful when a career season arrives late — Mayfield played his age-29 campaign last year — and he might not have Chris Godwin for a while. 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