I tend to be more of a data-driven analyst by nature, but there’s so much context to be gained from sitting down and watching all the games.Many years ago, I did the NFL Red Zone thing, and naturally filled in some blanks by compiling the perspectives of others. When I started watching every game, every week, I realized how freeing it was to interpret all the sport’s storylines through my own paradigm.My conviction strengthened, because I could see in real time how narratives would take shape around a single highlight that didn’t represent a larger body of work. I started to enjoy fantasy more because football is quite simply an incredibly fun sport to watch and analyze.In the preseason, I watch every snap for the starters, and at least the first drive for every team, even if they’ve sat their key guys. Typically I watch much more, as I’m trying to get a feel for rookies and other young players and how they fit in their offenses.At my newsletter, Stealing Signals, I like to break my conclusions down into what I deem to be “signal” and what I deem to be “noise.” With the small samples of preseason, there’s a lot of noise. Most of what’s actionable comes from the signal that might be poking through.Here are some of the most notable things I saw in Week 2 of the preseason.Young wide receivers fitting inIt goes against the rules of the 2026 preseason to refrain from mentioning De’Zhaun Stribling, but I’m starting with a Year 2 guy, Matthew Golden. Packers starters only played one series, and Jayden Reed was out, but for the second-straight week, Golden was in the X role as a clear first-team weapon.On the stat sheet, Golden only had one catch, but it was a good play on a slightly underthrown ball for a big fourth-down conversion — good for 19 yards.A few plays later, after a holding penalty, the Packers were in a first-and-19 situation; Golden beat a clear hold on a slant for a 9-yard catch. Green Bay opted to accept the penalty, which granted them an automatic first down.Reportedly, Golden is having a great camp, and the Packers cleared the decks for him to play in two-WR sets this offseason as they moved on from Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. A couple preseason catches isn’t everything, but Golden was already a strong bet at a depressed ADP, and making some in-game plays is a real positive.Now, since we’re talking about young wide receivers making in-game plays, we have to get to Stribling. The San Francisco rookie caught four more balls, though his one incomplete target was an unfortunate drop on a deep pass that nearly went for a touchdown. Well, unfortunate unless you’re still hoping to get him somewhat cheap in fantasy.The word of caution on Stribling is, while he’s been targeted an absurd 13 times on 22 preseason routes (for an otherworldly 59% targets per route run), he’s been running his routes alongside mostly backups.The majority of Stribling’s looks this past week were first-read targets. Deebo Samuel was out there, and Stribling was the go-to guy over the veteran early, but when Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans and George Kittle are also occupying the field, those first-read outcomes will look a little different.That doesn’t mean what Stribling’s done this preseason is noise. He’s been fantastic, and his ADP is deservedly rising. I only want to be somewhat cautious with expectations, though the caveat is San Francisco has the most fragile skill position group in the entire league. It’ll be objectively surprising if there isn’t some missed time among the skill-position guys ahead of Stribling.Running back air yards can provide real valueLast year, McCaffrey totaled more air yards than any running back in a season since David Johnson in 2016, which means CMC ran vertical routes beyond the line of scrimmage, emulating a wide receiver.As we move toward heavier sets with defenses doing everything they can to prevent offenses from beating them over the top, one of the best matchups in football right now is a running back getting vertical in the passing game.