The NFL preseason is responsible for some of the biggest overreactions in sports.
Suddenly, certain draft picks are future Hall of Famers, while others are busts.
This roster-bubble kid should be starting, while this reliable veteran should be kicked to the curb.
There are many reasons why analyzing the preseason is meaningless, but one of the biggest is the usage of stats.
Stats in the regular season can be misleading enough. Why should preseason stats mean anything?
Fans will throw around stats from preseason games to back up narratives, whether it’s PFF grades, passing yards, or sacks. But what can we really learn from stats that come from a short preseason appearance against backups, while playing in and against vanilla schemes?
The answer? Almost nothing.
But if we watch the film, we can at least learn something.
Sure, this corner had some pass breakups, but did he have good technique, or was he bailed out by bad throws?
Sure, this tackle had a high PFF grade, but does he actually look smooth getting into his pass sets, or did he just benefit from facing pass rushers who won’t ever play in the NFL?
Sure, this quarterback had a high completion percentage, but did he go through his reads properly? Did he display ideal ball placement?
These questions can be answered by the film. They still cannot tell us whether a player will be a star or a practice squad mainstay, but they at least give us a much better idea of where players are in their development than the stats.
In the latest episode of Blewett’s Blitz, we reveal the real storylines from the Jets’ 2026 preseason opener through an in-depth breakdown of the All-22 film.
