Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes and More Week 3 NFL Preseason Takeaways

The 2025 NFL preseason has come to a close. Most teams use the finale of the exhibition season as a tool to determine which depth players will fill the final spots on their rosters.

With that in mind, Week 3 of the preseason is a better measuring tool for fantasy football owners in deeper leagues or dynasty formats. But there were also some key takeaway points from players expected to be fantasy relevant in all types of leagues.

Let's take a look at the top takeaways from Week 3 of the NFL preseason.

Bears QB Caleb Williams Struggles

I gave a brief shoutout to the Chicago Bears during my Week 2 takeaways. I knew they deserved more attention but chose to focus on other topics.

Well, we can talk about the Bears offense now. Unfortunately for Chicago, though, the offense didn't look anything like it did in Week 2 during Week 3.

Williams fumbles on the very first play. False starts and sacks plagued the unit. Chicago's first-team offense produced one first down on two drives.

Bears head coach Ben Johnsoon expressed his displeasure with the team's starting offense after the game.

"It is disappointing to me offensively for sure because I thought we kind of worked our way out of that," Johnson said. "I am still learning this group as well. This is our first time on the road, and we were going to find out what kind of road team we were going to be. If the first quarter was any indication, it was not good enough. We have to get better in a hurry.

Not exactly what fantasy managers want to hear two weeks before the regular season begins.

The Bears offense has high expectations for 2025 in large part because Williams is expected to take a significant jump in his second NFL season with Johnson as head coach.

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes in Midseason Form

While the Bears offense struggled on one side in the Chicago-Kansas City preseason matchup, Mahomes looked sharp on the other.

Granted, not all of the Chiefs offense was in midseason form. Mahomes could have had more completions if not for a few drops, including one from tight end Travis Kelce.

But Mahomes was still 8 of 13 for 143 passing yards. His top throw was a 58-yard completion to Tyquan Thornton.

I wouldn't raise Mahomes on my draft board because of this performance alone. But a lot of experts may be underestimating Mahomes' motivation this fall after the Super Bowl disappointment in February.

Wait on drafting the Chiefs quarterback. But don't wait too too long.

Uncertainty Surrounding Houston Texans RB Group

With each Texans preseason game, the team's running back pecking order seems to be growing more confusing.

That's mostly because of an injury to Joe Mixon. Because his lower-leg injury is lingering, Nick Chubb received starter treatment and didn't play in Week 3 of the preseason.

Dameon Pierce, who had a calf injury early in August, returned to gain 17 yards on seven carries Saturday. He ran behind the team's backup offensive line.

The Texans running back room is a group to check in on hours before draft time. Mixon will likely be the starter if healthy, but Chubb may start in place of an injured Mixon to begin the season.

Bengals' Rookie WR Mitchell Tinsley Doesn't Play

Like Chubb, Tinsley didn't play in Week 3 of the preseason. Even though the average fan has never heard of Tinsley, the fact he didn't play is a good thing for the Bengals wideout.

Fantasy managers will get the answer on Tinsley's roster spot by 4 pm ET Tuesday. But based on the fact he received the bubble-wrap treatment in the preseason finale, he's already made the team.

Tinsley had five catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2 of the preseason. Keeping him could make Jermaine Burton expendable for the Bengals.

Lions Rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa Shines Again

I mentioned the Lions rookie receivers in my Week 3 preseason preview. Seventh-round pick Dominic Lovett and undrafted Jackson Meeks didn't have catches in the final preseason game. But third-rounder Isaac TeSlaa didn't disappoint.

TeSlaa led the team with 41 receiving yards on just two catches. One of his grabs was a beautiful 33-yard reception over the shoulder near the pylon for a touchdown.

Fantasy Pros has TeSlaa ranked as the No. 15 rookie receiver in dynasty leagues.