Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster ran well behind veteran WR Kendrick Bourne and rookie WR Kayshon Boutte in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. Bourne led the WR corps with 73 offensive snaps and 54 routes among 58 Mac Jones dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Boutte ranked second with 55 snaps and 43 routes. Smith-Schuster played just 43 snaps and ran 27 routes, tying rookie WR Demario Douglas in the latter category. ESPN's Mike Reiss says that playing time "reflects him being managed to some degree." Smith-Schuster is dealing with a knee that required a cleanup procedure in the offseason. SI.com's Albert Breer recently said in a radio interview that the knee "is a mess and ... could explode at any point." Smith-Schuster still fared well in target rate. His 7 tied for second on the team, trailing only Bourne. But he turned them into just 33 yards on 4 catches. There's little to like about Smith-Schuster, who is cuttable in some leagues if you're looking for more upside on the waiver wire this week.
Giants TE Darren Waller led the team in receiving with 3 catches on 5 targets for 36 yards in Sunday night’s loss vs. the Cowboys. By halftime, this game was essentially over. There was little that QB Daniel Jones and company could do to kick the offense into gear. WR Darius Slayton matched Waller’s target total throughout the clobbering and tallied 3 catches for 15 yards for himself. There’s not much to draw from this loss. Fantasy managers should have a short memory and hope for a greater showing vs. the Cardinals in Week 2.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley recorded 12 carries for 51 rushing yards and 3 catches for 12 receiving yards in Week 1’s loss vs. the Cowboys. This was an ugly game for New York from the jump, and the contest got out of hand quickly. All things considered, Barkley’s efforts are perhaps the lone bright spot from the divisional blowout. The veteran also unsurprisingly received 80% of the backfield carries, so fantasy managers can rest easy knowing that Week 2 vs. the Cardinals should bring brighter days.
Giants QB Daniel Jones completed 15 of 28 attempts for 104 yards and 2 INTs in a blowout loss vs. the Cowboys. He also added 43 yards on 13 carries in Week 1, though Jones’ efforts were far from enough for the team to avoid an embarrassing divisional loss at home on Sunday night. Rainy weather certainly impacted conditions. However, that didn’t stop their opponent from running up the score to 26-0 by halftime, so there’s not much of an excuse to be made as far as that goes. Jones will have an opportunity to rebound in Week 2 vs. the Cardinals.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb caught all 4 of his targets for 77 yards in Sunday night’s Week 1 win vs. the Giants. No other Dallas offensive player caught more than 2 passes. The Pro Bowl wideout saw a red zone target sail over his head in the second quarter but otherwise didn’t have much involvement in the blowout victory. Fantasy managers hoping for a bigger game from Lamb are assuredly disappointed, but the early blocked FG TD and a 22-yard INT return for a TD in the first half made it so that Dallas didn’t have to push very hard to earn the W. Hopefully, next week’s contest vs. the Jets can be a little bit closer. An intriguing item to remember is that while TE Jake Ferguson had a quiet 2 catches for 11 yards, he led the Cowboys with 7 targets in this contest.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard logged 14 carries for 70 rushing yards and 2 TDs in Week 1’s win against the Giants. He also added a pair of catches on 3 targets for 12 receiving yards. This game got away from the Giants quickly, so fantasy managers should be glad that Pollard got plenty of points before the Cowboys ultimately took their foot off the gas by the fourth quarter. Rookie Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle split backup RB duties, each receiving 6 carries in the victory. Pollard will look to continue his success again in Week 2 vs. the Jets.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed 13 of 24 attempts for 143 passing yards without any TDs or INTs in Sunday night’s win vs. the Giants. The veteran also added another 6 yards as a rusher in Week 1. An early blocked FG TD and a 22-yard INT return for a TD each occurred in primetime action before the end of the first quarter. The fact of the matter is that Prescott didn’t need to have a massive game for Dallas to pull out the victory. Considering how big of a blowout this 40-0 game was before halftime, it isn’t easy to take much away from the contest for fantasy purposes. Prescott and company are set to square off against the Jets in Week 2.
Packers RB Aaron Jones didn't sound concerned about the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday's win over the Bears. Jones told reporters afterward that he felt his hamstring "bite" at the end of his TD catch but that it's nowhere near as bad as previous hamstring pulls he's dealt with, per insider Ryan Wood. Jones added that he could have returned if the game was still in doubt. It sounds like he has a good chance to play vs. the Falcons next Sunday, but we'll keep a close eye on Jones' status throughout the coming week.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams led the backfield in snaps, carries, and targets in Week 1, his first regular-season game since October's multi-ligament knee injury. Williams played 48% of the offensive snaps, carried 13 times for 52 yards, and caught four of six targets for five yards. That's 19 total opportunities to RB Samaje Perine's 12 and RB Jaleel McLaughlin's one. It was encouraging usage for Williams coming off that devastating injury. His volume should only grow going forward.
Titans WR Treylon Burks drew an uneventful 3 targets in Sunday's loss to the Saints, trailing WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and RB Tyjae Spears. But Burks played more offensive snaps than any skill-position player besides QB Ryan Tannehill. His 57 snaps led Hopkins by 8. Burks also ran one more route than Hopkins, despite recently returning from a knee injury. Burks will obviously need to turn the playing-time edge into more targets before we can put him in fantasy lineups. But these numbers make Burks' opener look better than his receiving stats do.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert finished Week 1 with just 228 passing yards and 1 TD. A short-range toss to TE Donald Parham accounted for his only passing score. Herbert added a second score on a QB sneak, but there wasn’t much to speak of otherwise. Keenan Allen led the way with 6 grabs for 76 yards. Mike Williams — who left briefly for a concussion check — tallied just 45 yards on 4 catches. And Round 1 rookie Quentin Johnston mixed in for only 9 yards on 2 receptions. Overall, a slow start isn’t a total surprise given the presence of new OC Kellen Moore (plus a talented Miami defense). Keep expectations high for Sunday’s matchup at Tennessee.
Broncos QB Russell Wilson played OK in his first game under new HC Sean Payton. He was efficient but conservative, completing 79.4% of his passes at only 5.2 yards per attempt. He didn't turn it over and tossed TDs to WRs Courtland Sutton and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Wilson spread the ball around to 10 different pass-catchers, with none of them catching more than five balls. He was playing without WR Jerry Jeudy and lost TE Greg Dulcich in-game to a leg injury. We'll see when those guys return, but don't expect to see Wilson close to the top 12 in our Week 2 Rankings in a matchup vs. the Commanders.
Fantasy owners have no reason to complain about Austin Ekeler’s Week 1. He posted 26.4 PPR points on 20 touches, powered by one score and a sweet 55-yard run up the gut. He could have had even more, though. Justin Herbert scored on the ground from one yard out. Ekeler also watched Josh Kelley score from 2 yards out and handle 16 carries. New OC Kellen Moore seems to favor a rotation, but we’re far from concerned about Ekeler’s season-long outlook. He remains a high-end RB1.
Raiders WR Davante Adams was relatively quiet in Sunday's season-opening win over the Broncos, catching six balls for 66 scoreless yards. He dealt with tough coverage from All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain for much of the contest. The good news is that Adams drew nine targets -- a big 34.6% share on a day when QB Jimmy Garoppolo threw it just 26 times. Adams won't have many tougher matchups than this one going forward. And he'll remain a fantasy WR1 if he continues to see that type of volume.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs did not have a big fantasy day in the Week 1 win over Denver, totaling 71 scoreless yards. But he remained a workhorse, despite re-joining the team just about two weeks ago. Jacobs handled 19 of Vegas' 20 RB carries and three of the five RB targets. His 88% share of his team's backfield opportunities (carries + targets) is the second highest on the week through the Sunday afternoon games. If this type of usage holds -- and we think it will -- Jacobs will have no problem scoring as a RB1. Week 2 brings a tough spot in Buffalo, but Jacobs' volume should keep him in fantasy lineups.
Dolphins TE Durham Smythe led the team with 33 routes run in Week 1. The former Round 4 pick came close to hauling in one TD, but he ultimately wound up with 3 grabs for 44 yards on a 15.5% target share. Not bad for a guy believed to be an afterthought in Miami’s top-heavy offense. We’re not rushing out to grab Smythe in fantasy circles — but he is a name to monitor in deep (or TE premium) formats.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill started hot, snagging 11 balls for 215 yards and 2 TDs in a win over Los Angeles. His yardage marked the third-most in a season-opener in league history, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Hill scored from deep and in close, showcasing his extraordinary burst throughout the game. On the day, Hill saw a 33.3% target share and accounted for 46.1% of Tua Tagovailoa’s 466(!) passing yards. If Tua continues to cook, Hill will retain an overall WR1 upside for the road ahead. The upcoming schedule just isn’t a cakewalk: at New England, vs. Denver, and at Buffalo.
Panthers RB Miles Sanders overcame a fumble to post 98 total yards on 22 touches. He lost out on 9 carries and 2 targets to Chuba Hubbard, who posted the more efficient day (6.7 YPC to 4.0). Still, we’re encouraged by Sanders’ use in the passing game, where he finished 2nd on the team in catches. He’ll need improvement from Bryce Young to boost the scoring outlook. But we expect the top pick to improve as he gains experience. Sanders will face a Saints run D that allowed 5.0 YPC to Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears in the opener.
Panthers TE Hayden Hurst parlayed 7 targets into 5 catches, 41 yards, and 1 TD in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta. A banged-up Carolina WR corps certainly helped shuffle targets to the TE. But recall that he signed a deal with $13 million in guarantees this past offseason. We look for him to continue posting low-end starter lines in the future — especially if the TE position continues to underproduce. Hurst will remain on the streaming radar for a Monday night tilt with New Orleans.
Bears WR D.J. Moore struggled in his debut vs. the Packers, recording only 2 catches on as many targets for 25 yards. Teammate Darnell Mooney led the team with 7 targets, 4 catches, and 53 yards, along with a receiving TD. It’s bizarre that Moore saw such little volume, considering three different Bears (Mooney, TE Cole Kmet, RB Roschon Johnson) saw 7 targets in the Week 1 loss. Moore’s totals are even more puzzling when realizing that his new QB, Justin Fields, attempted 37 passes, two fewer than his career-high of 39 (2021 Week 15). Hopefully, the veteran can regroup in Week 2 vs. a Buccaneers defense that surrendered the second-most passing yards (344) in the NFL on Sunday. We'll chalk this one up to the occasional bad luck game for now.
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