Fantasy Football Preseason Duds: Tua Tagovailoa Underwhelms for Falcons
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Results in the NFL preseason aren’t always a sign of what to expect in the regular season, but there are some perfomances to take note of for fantasy football purposes.
With the 2026 NFL preseason in the rearview mirror, which players could be classified as duds due to their lack of production or concerning metrics?
All stats used in this article are from Sumer Sports unless stated otherwise.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Along with moving on from head coach Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins elected to end the Tua Tagovailoa era at the quarterback position following the 2025 campaign. After departing the Dolphins, Tagovailoa signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, joining head coach Kevin Stefanski in hopes of rejuvenating his career.
Whenever Tagovailoa joined the Falcons, the expectation was for him to be the Week 1 starter, giving Michael Penix Jr. more time to recover from a torn ACL he suffered last season. However, as training camp and preseason have progressed, it remains to be seen who starts between Tagovailoa or Penix when the Falcons kick off their 2026 schedule.
While Tagovailoa completed 10 of his 13 pass attempts in the preseason, he fumbled multiple snaps, and he was reluctant to push the ball down the field. Among QBs with 250-plus snaps in 2025, Tagovailoa had the ninth-worst EPA/play (-0.05), sixth-lowest aDOT (6.9), and second-most interceptions (15).
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Las Vegas Raiders
When the Las Vegas Raiders took Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the idea was for him to sit behind veteran Kirk Cousins until he was ready to start. Head coach Klint Kubiak made it clear that the Raiders want to take a patient approach with the young signal-caller, but there was a chance Mendoza could’ve pushed to start with a strong showing in the preseason.
However, Mendoza completed only 25 of his 45 attempts for 240 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in the preseason. Mendoza’s strengths entering the NFL were his decision-making, leadership, and his ability to throw with precision, so it was slightly concerning to see him struggle in the preseason.
Fernando Mendoza gets picked off on his second pass of the game vs. the 49ers 😬 pic.twitter.com/UlAXXNNCur
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 28, 2026
Ahead of the Raiders’ season opener against the Miami Dolphins, they’re expected to officially name Cousins as the Week 1 starter. Mendoza is expected to start at some point this season, and he could succeed when that happens, but his outings in the preseason prove he isn’t quite ready.
Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans
In recent years, we’ve seen numerous first-round receivers immediately become stars in fantasy football. So, when Carnell Tate was taken with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, there was some hype surrounding his fantasy football outlook in 2026.
Throughout his first preseason with the Tennessee Titans, Tate failed to record a single reception on six targets. Even though it’s not entirely Tate’s fault that he had a lack of production in the preseason, there weren’t many positives to come out of his outings.
For Tate to be a fantasy-relevant option this season, he’ll need Cam Ward and the Titans’ offense to take a step forward under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. There’s undoubtedly a chance Tate has notable performances in his rookie season, but expectations may need to be tempered in fantasy football – at least to begin the year.
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Skyler Carlin is an experienced sports writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, college football, college basketball, and soccer for FanDuel Research and USA Today. Outside of writing, he enjoys cooking, watching movies, and playing video games.
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