Divine Deablo opened the third and final preseason week as the clear answer at linebacker, wearing the green dot and taking the first defensive series as expected. But the next job beside him never settled, and that matters now because fantasy managers are about to get updated Depth Charts, Rankings, and Projections for Week 1.
That is why the Fantasy Pros rankings conversation has narrowed so sharply around one defense. Deablo should remain the green dot, while the LB2 role looks like a rotating job that could swing the value of Harold Perkins Jr., Kendal Daniels, and Christian Harris from one week to the next. For IDP managers, that kind of usage is the difference between a stable starter and a bench stash.
The snap counts told the story. Perkins Jr. got the first snap next to Deablo, Daniels replaced him on the very next snap, and Perkins then played the two consecutive third-down plays to close out that first drive. Daniels took the first two snaps of the second drive before the rotation restarted, and Deablo was done by the third defensive series. Daniels then took over the green dot again, a sign that he is at least in the conversation if the assignment ever changes hands.
That rotation did not suddenly make the group more certain. Perkins and Christian Harris shared the second spot for three more defensive series, and then both Daniels and Perkins were done for the day. The clean read is that Deablo is the steady piece and the LB2 spot is still moving, which leaves Daniels and Perkins as deep-league targets only. Daniels has more upside if he is the next man up to wear the green dot, but heading into Week 1 he still sits just outside the top-50 IDP linebackers.
The rest of the preseason picture points the same way. Mack Wilson, Jack Gibbens, and Cody Simon did not play, while Wilson and Gibbens remain the expected starters there, with Gibbens likely to rotate off in obvious passing downs. Owen Pappoe and Karson Sharar started at linebacker, Josh Sweat, Zaven Collins, Baron Browning, Walter Nolen, and the rest of the expected DL starters sat out, and Budda Baker, Andrew Wingard, and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson did not play either. The biggest takeaway is that preseason is over, but the rankings work is not; the next update will have to weigh a secure green dot against a linebacker room still searching for a second consistent role.
