NFL Preseason Week 1: Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty Headline Top Rookies Thursday Night

NFL Preseason Week 1 is kicking into gear tonight with three games on the slate. Our games to watch are: Colts vs Ravens, Bengals vs Eagles, Raiders vs Seahawks. Each of these teams have vastly different goals coming into their seasons. The Eagles look to repeat as Super Bowl champions while the Raiders, Colts are looking to evaluate their young future items. This preseason slate is going to put a lot of rookies on display and so we look into the Top Rookies To Watch that especially could find fantasy football relevance in some sort of fashion.

Tyler Warren - TE - Indianapolis Colts - 1st Round

The NFL's top tight end prospect makes his season debut tonight. Anthony Richardson is expected to play into the 2nd quarter while Daniel Jones will take the reigns to halftime. As for Warren, he is likely going to play much of the first half, seeing reps with both quarterbacks.

Tyler Warren is being touted as a top tight end sleeper in fantasy football so it will be interesting to see how he looks tonight. Keep an eye on the Colts tonight.

Tyler Warren is going to unlock Anthony Richardson. They didn’t draft him in the 1st round to block.

56.2% of Tyler Warren’s receiving yards came after the catch last season

Tyler Warren > Colston Loveland

(I mean, look at this snag ⬇️)
pic.twitter.com/10rNxVP4Ga
— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) August 1, 2025

LaJohntay Wester - WR - Baltimore Ravens - 6th Round

Wester is looking to complete some woes that the Ravens have had in kick-return. Though that will be his main focus, he does sit as a core backup at WR. If anyone gets hurt, he can step into a role. With Lamar Jackson at the helm, relevance can be found in any skill-piece.

LaJohntay Wester played beside Travis Hunter at Colorado. Wide Receivers Coach, Greg Lewis, had some nice words, "He has great movement skills, great quickness, and able to separate and uncover." "Receivers are about uncovering and separating from different people, and he has a knack for being able to do that. And he's a smart kid." We will keep an eye out to see if Wester pops into a role-player on offense.

Tahj Brooks - RB - Cincinnati Bengals - 6th Round

The Bengals may have found something in rookie running back, Tahj Brooks. He is the 3rd string back behind Samaje Perine and Chase Brown, but that could quickly change. The Bengals rookie is having a very nice camp.

Joe Burrow to rookie Tahj Brooks on the sideline. The sixth-round pick is having a solid training camp so far. Bengals might have found a potential surprise contributor way down in the draft. pic.twitter.com/ZOMb4Zhz6N
— John Breech (@johnbreech) August 5, 2025

One injury and Brooks could find notable playing time with the Burrow-lead offense. I would keep an eye on Tahj Brooks tonight. If he continues to stand out, a role can be in store as a mid-season waiver wire FLEX addition.

Kyle McCord - QB - Philadelphia Eagles - 6th Round

I cannot sit here and tell you that McCord will have any fantasy relevance this year. All he is doing is battling for a QB2 role in this offense. Tonight, he will have the opportunity to begin that journey.

Kyle McCord had much hype in the draft process, but he managed to fall back to the 6th round. Many scouts though that McCord has 1st round potential and so, it will be fun to watch McCord in action tonight. If he manages into the backup QB spot, you must at least have the knowledge about McCord should Hurts go down.

D'Onte Thornton - WR - Las Vegas Raiders - 4th Round

In a shallow receiving core, D'Onte Thornton was named a starter ahead of the teams preseason debut tonight. This will now require much focus to be brought his way. Geno Smith has fed many receivers in his time, and now Thornton may add to that. It will be important to see just how good Thornton truly is.

Thornton is a rookie out of Tennessee and Oregon prior. He only caught 26 balls, but went for 661 yards making him a massive home run threat.

Raiders Rookie WR Dont’e Thornton Jr has officially earned his starting job 😈

3 players in NFL history to be 6’5” and run a 4.3

Calvin Johnson
Randy Moss
Donte Thornton Jr 🤯

All of his highlights thus far👇 pic.twitter.com/CWFv95ckQ5
— ShifftttyyyQB1🏴‍☠️ (@raiders1022) August 5, 2025

Jack Bech - WR - Las Vegas Raiders - 2nd Round

Unlike Thornton, Jack Bech is listed as a second-strong player on this Raiders offense. This comes quite surprising because he was drafted in the second round. You would expect that he would be a starter in this shallow offense. Nonetheless, this core of receivers allow for a lot of opportunity. If Bech thrives in preseason, he quickly will find value in this offense.

Ashton Jeanty - RB - Las Vegas Raiders - 1st Round (6th Overall)

This is your star to watch tonight. Across all players, rookie or veteran, Jeanty is the man to see. He is an all-world running back that will be a top-tier fantasy football asset. He will certainly not bust, so it will be just fun to watch him in NFL action. You are watching a superstar in the making.

Elijah Arroyo - TE - Seattle Seahawks - 2nd Round

Arroyo is a new addition to this Seattle offense that leaves the tight end position wide open for opportunity. It is between Arroyo and AJ Barner. Given the investment in Arroyo, he definitely has the jump going into the season.

Time will tell how good Elijah Arroyo is, but if he stands out, there is no reason he cannot be a startable fantasy tight end. Keep your eyes and ears out for any growing hype on the rookie.