Week 1: Game Recap

Sep 15

Week 1 is in the books! Every Tuesday I’ll compile game notes and quick fantasy developments for you to consider as we head into our next slough of games. Hope everyone is off to a better start than me!!!

Chiefs vs. Texans, 34-20

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is here to stay - props to you if you rolled the dice.
Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson should strike fear into fantasy opponents and Chicago Bears fans alike.
All eyes on Will Fuller who caught 8 of 10 targets for 115 yards. His durability shouldn’t be relied upon, but my god that’s one hell of a start for a player who was likely selected in the 7th round in most fantasy drafts.
Welcome back, David Johnson! He looked healthy, and he was heavily involved from the start.

Raiders vs. Panthers, 34-30

CMC is still a fantasy king, getting it done on the ground and through the air.
Josh Jacobs looks like he may have been an absolute ADP steal at the Round 1/2 turn.
Henry Ruggs left the contest early, but HC John Gruden made a clear and conscious effort to get the ball in his hands early.
Teddy “Two Gloves” Bridgewater and Derek Carr both had nice outings, evidencing themselves as viable streaming options with young athletic receivers.

Seahawks vs. Falcons, 38-25

Chris Carson was an absolute baller with 2 receiving touchdowns, but we have to look out for Carlos Hyde’s involvement.
Russel Wilson might just be the best quarterback in football, and he’s certainly a top three fantasy option at the position.
Julio is still Julio, and Calvin Ridley would be a WR1 on most any other team.
Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf both showed up with 8 targets apiece.
Todd Gurley III looked like his old self with a heavy workload, we can only hope the arthritic knee holds up.

Packers vs. Vikings, 43-34

Davante Adams was my WR1 heading into the year, and his dominance on Sunday was nothing short of spectacular. The Vikings secondary was outmatched.
Aaron Rodgers looked like a man on a mission. Sup, Jordan Love?
Dalvin Cook’s day was saved by 2 TD’s, as the Vikings looked disheveled for most of the afternoon.
Adam Thielen benefited heavily from a negative gamescript, but to no surprise, he’s still very much Kirk Cousins’ number one target.

Jaguars vs. Colts, 27-20

We shouldn’t be sleeping on Gardner Minshew - the Jacksonville defense is bad, and he’ll likely benefit from negative game scripts quite a bit.
James Robinson looks like the early favorite for lead back duties in Duvall. 100% of team RB carries.
Marlon Mack is done for the year, which means it’s Jonathan Taylor time.
Philip Rivers played well and distributed the football, with a heavy dosage of dump offs to Nyheim Hines and Jonathan Taylor.

Bills vs. Jets, 27-17

Josh Allen exploded onto the scene with 2 rushing TDs and a career high in passing yards.
Le’Veon bell tweaked a hammy, and missed the near entirety of the second half. Adam Gase has already projected that he’ll miss a few weeks.
Stefon Diggs and John Brown will always remain high upside WRs, but Sunday’s heavy dosage of targets is certainly promising for their fantasy floors.
Jamison Crowder’s big day with 7 snags for 115 yards is his ceiling, but he’ll always be one of the most underappreciated players in fantasy football.

Cardinals vs. 49ers, 24-20

DeAndre Hopkins is clearly Kyler Murray’s favorite target, and by a wide margin.
Kyler Murray looked sharp against a stout 49ers’ defense, and his 13 rushes for 91 yards on the ground should excite fantasy owners.
George Kittle was banged up early and though he remained in the game, he was kept in check by an impressive Arizona defense. Kittle will benefit greatly from the return of Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
Raheem Mostert was involved early and often, and looks like a legit RB2 behind Kyle Shanahan’s creative offensive attack.

Chargers vs. Bengals, 16-13

All things considered, Joe Burrow looked solid in his debut. The Chargers offer an elite pass rush and the porous Bengals OL struggled to keep up.
A.J. Green was one questionable OPI call away from a nice fantasy performance. In deeper leagues, I don’t know how you can keep him out of your starting lineup.
Joe Mixon also struggled behind a dysfunctional offensive line, but volume alone indicates better days are ahead.
Tyrod Taylor was “eh” in his Chargers debut, and so were his counterparts in Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry, and Mike Williams.
Austin Ekeler saw 19 carries on the ground, but only one reception. For a RB who was drafted for his receiving ability, his usage is a bit puzzling.

Saints vs. Buccaneers, 34-23

Michael Thomas suffered a high ankle injury, which he’s already indicated he intends to play through.
Mike Evans was battling a hamstring injury heading into the game, which clearly hindered his effectiveness. Just 1 catch for 2 yards, which happened to go for a TD. Marshon Lattimore has total ownage over Evans.
Alvin Kamara was largely ineffective on the ground, but two red zone TDs and a nice day through the air will make fantasy owners happy.
Gronkowski looks like he may have been fantasy fools gold with 2 catches for 11 yards.
Leonard Fournette should be left on the bench until further notice, this is still very much Ronald Jones’ job.

Patriots vs. Dolphins. 21-11

Josh McDaniel’s offense looked like a different machine under Cam Newton. His 15 carries for 75 yards and 2 TD’s tells us two things; Cam is a legit fantasy QB with a decent floor, and the Patriots are going to be running the ball as much as they can.
Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry are the only wideouts worth rostering in New England.
A reaggravated hamstring injury sidelined DeVante Parker in the second half. If he’s out in Week 2, Preston Williams becomes the clear next man up, but he’ll be shadowed by Tre’Davious White.
Jordan Howard saved his day with a TD, but the Miami backfield looked less than sexy against a depleted New England defense.

Bears vs. Lions, 27-23

With Kenny Golladay out, Matthew Stafford distributed the ball evenly between Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, and T.J. Hockensen.
All offseason we were talking about the D’Andre Swift vs. Kerryon Johnson battle, but the freshly signed Adrian ‘All Day’ Peterson headlined the Detroit rushing attack.
Allen Robinson remains the Bears’ WR1, but Anthony Miller offers exciting FLEX appeal at an inexpensive cost.
Jimmy Graham and Javon Wims sniped two goal line TD’s from David Montgomery.

Washington vs. Eagles, 27-17

With Miles Sanders out, the Eagles struggled mightily on the ground as the Washington DL looked like a force to be reckoned with.
To everyone’s dismay, Peyton Barber owns the lead back role in Washington. Antonio Gibson managed 9 carries to Barber’s 17, and Bryce Love didn’t record a touch.
Dallas Goedert outshined Zach Ertz with 8 grabs for 101 yards and 1 TD. The Ertz situation in Philly is getting weird, so I’d buy Dallas Goedert wherever you can.

Ravens vs. Browns, 38-6

OBJ was targeted 10 times, but came down with just 3 receptions for 22 yards. Yuck.
The Browns had to abandon the run early so Nick Chubb was completely forgotten behind the more versatile Kareem Hunt. That’ll be a timeshare worth monitoring in Week 2.
Mark Andrews is a red zone monster.
Marquise Brown was living up to the preseason hype in the first half before the Ravens ran away with the ball game.

Rams vs. Cowboys, 20-17

Robert Woods is another grossly unappreciated fantasy contributor who’ll draw an automatic 7-10 targets per game all year long. You can also bank on him for one or two end-around rushes as well.
The WR trio of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup is going to be productive and completely unpredictable all year long. Bodes well for Dak though.
Perennial Gurley-backup Malcolm Brown was a stud on Sunday night. But the workload was split pretty evenly between he and Cam Akers.

Steelers vs Giants, 26-16

Labeled as a huge bounceback candidate, James Conner went out and sprained his ankle after just 6 carries. Benny Snell Jr. stepped up and shined in his absence.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, another huge bounceback candidate, shined with 6 grabs for 69 yards and 2 TDs. Looks like someone’s happy that Big Ben is back.
The NYG OL was overpowered all night against a superior front seven. Saquon had no room to work with, managing just 6 yards on 15 carries.
Evan Engram looked rough out there.
Darius Slayton looks like he’ll remain Danny Dimes’ favorite target in year two. Sterling Shephard was involved, but Golden Tate’s eventual return will divvy up the targets even more.

Titans vs Broncos, 16-14

Melvin Gordon outcarried Philip Lindsay 15-7. I was expecting a more even split, so this should come as good news to Gordon owners.
Both Noah Fant and Jonnu Smith looked like legit fantasy TEs. Props to those who targeted them towards the back of this year’s draft.
Derrick Henry is a beast, and his 3 receptions are an exciting development as well.
After a worrisome first half, A.J. Brown stepped it up and pieced together a modest performance. More concerning though is Corey Davis’ heavy involvement in an already rush-heavy offense.

Tom Howell