2023 Season Preview – Part 4

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August 2, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

This is the last part of my review of the upcoming season. The preseason is fun to watch and speculate about which young players may or may not have a career in the NFL. This post will take a look at five players you should keep an eye on when you are watching the preseason games.

Five Players Who May Surprise

WR Kazmeir Allen

Allen played running back for four seasons and wide receiver for one season at UCLA. He played in 36 games, with 68 rushes for 550 yards with 4 touchdowns, plus 80 receptions for 762 yards and 7 touchdowns. Allen was also a kick returner with 39 returns for 1,054 yards and one touchdown. The Commanders are in need of a return specialist who brings some dynamic potential to the game. Dax Milne doesn’t have that quality, so this preseason will be Allen’s time to win the job. The biggest concern is that Allen did not return punts in college and that is a very different skill from kickoff returns.

LB Milo Eifler

Eifler is now in his second season with the team and is a member of the weakest position group on the team. Jamin Davis and Cody Barton figure to be the starters and play most of the snaps, but a third linebacker is needed to play in 4-3-4 schemes. Khaleke Hudson and De’Jon Harris are the other players competing for that role. Eifler played mostly on special teams last season, seeing only 6 snaps on defense. He will get a good look from the coaching staff in the preseason.

CB Tariq Castro-Fields

The Commanders claimed Fields off of waivers from the 49ers last season after eyeing him during the draft. He only played 6 snaps on defense and 13 on special teams before going on injured reserve. The secondary position group has gotten more crowded this season with the drafting of Emmanuel Forbes and Jartavius Martin. Castro-Fields will really have to standout in training camp and the preseason games to have a shot at making the roster. He was a fundamentally sound player at Penn State, so he has the tools to make it work.

OL Mason Brooks

The Commanders made it a priority to sign undrafted free agent Brooks. They gave him one of the largest bonuses given to undrafted players, $35,000, for him to sign with the team. Brooks has good size at 6’6” and 315 lbs.; plus, he played both tackle and guard in college at Western Kentucky. Being able to play multiple positions along the offensive line is a trait the Commanders look for in offensive linemen. It will be interesting to see if the Commanders put him on the roster when the cut down happens since so many other teams were interested in him.

WR Mitchell Tinsley

With the wide receiver group being so stacked it is hard to see a path for undrafted free agent Tinsley to make the final roster. Tinsley basically took Jahan Dotson’s position at Penn State where he transferred to, from Western Kentucky. He caught 51 passes for 577 yards and five touchdowns in his one year there. Tinsley has excellent hands and runs good routes, but lacks the elite speed needed to be a top-flite receiver in the NFL. His role will be more of possession receiver out of the slot. I think his best shot is the practice squad this season. I’ll look forward to seeing how many opportunities he gets in the preseason.

Well, those are my five players to watch in the preseason – how about yours? Feel free to post them in the comments section.