Bears RB Khalil Herbert struggled in Week 1 vs. the Packers, tallying only 27 rushing yards on 9 carries in the divisional loss. He also added 3 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards as a receiver. Despite winning the RB1 job outright in training camp, Herbert fell victim to rookie Roschon Johnson vulturing a goal-line TD in the fourth quarter of play. Johnson also received more targets (7) and only 2 fewer touch opportunities than Herbert in Week 1. The distribution of the RB workloard was so messy that it’ll be tough to trust any Bears back in Week 2 vs. the Buccaneers. However, that shouldn’t stop fantasy managers from checking Johnson’s availability off the waiver wire in deep leagues.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry caught 5 of 6 targets in Sunday's loss to the Eagles, collecting 56 yards and a TD. His 6 targets made up just 11.1% of QB Mac Jones' 54 attempts on a day of abnormally high passing volume. Henry doubled TE Mike Gesicki's target count against the Eagles. Henry will push for fantasy-starter consideration in an upside Week 2 matchup with the Dolphins.
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson managed just 25 yards on 12 carries against the Eagles Sunday. He made up for that (in PPR leagues, at least) with 6 catches for 64 yards on 6 targets. That marked just 11.1% target share among QB Mac Jones' 54 pass attempts. Elliott actually edged Stevenson with 7 targets, catching 5 for 14 yards. We'll see how the distribution looks in lower-volume games. Stevenson did get a solid 60% share of RB carries, with Ezekiel Elliott taking 7 and Ty Montgomery 1. Stevenson and the Patriots get an upside matchup with the Dolphins in Week 2. If Elliott maintains that kind of receiving share, he could be a standalone fantasy option in deeper leagues. But we'd like to see another game before boosting him to that level.
Bears QB Justin Fields posted 24 completions on 37 attempts for 216 passing yards with 1 TD and 1 INT in Sunday’s loss vs. the Packers. The speedster also added 59 yards on 9 carries with a lost fumble in the contest. It’s too early in the season to declare the Bears’ experiment of supporting Fields’ passing a failure, though fantasy managers didn’t see much evidence of a step forward in Week 1. It certainly wasn't for a lack of passing volume, either. Their big offseason acquisition, WR D.J. Moore, recorded just 2 catches for 25 yards. Fields will have a chance to bounce back in Week 2 vs. the Buccaneers, a team that surrendered the second-most passing yards (344) in the NFL on Sunday.
Patriots QB Mac Jones threw for 316 yards and 3 TDs on 35-of-54 passing. He hit WR Kendrick Bourne for a pair of scores and TE Hunter Henry for the other. Jones also took just 2 sacks against a Philly D that racked up 70 last season. Overall, it was an impressive outing for a pass offense that stunk in 2022. Jones looks like at least a solid superflex play for a Week 2 home date with the Dolphins. Weeks 3 and 4 look tougher on the road against the Jets and Cowboys.
Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne led the team with 11 targets in Sunday's loss to the Eagles, catching 6 for 64 yards and 2 TDs. It helped that WR DeVante Parker was inactive, and that QB Mac Jones attempted 54 passes in the game. Five other Patriots drew 6 or 7 targets. Rookie Demario Douglas tied for second on the team with 7 targets, catching 4 for 40 yards. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster matched him in targets and receptions while tallying 33 yards. We'll see what target and playing-time distribution look like going forward, especially once Parker returns. Bourne gets an upside matchup with the Dolphins in Week 2 before tougher spots against the Jets and Cowboys the following two weeks. Don't be surprised if Bourne remains outside the top 36 in our WR rankings for Week 2, however. The veteran has had other splash weeks in his two Patriots seasons but hasn't been able to sustain production.
Packers WR Romeo Doubs hauled in a pair of receiving TDs in Week 1 vs. the Bears. The second-year wideout only mustered 4 catches on 5 targets for 26 receiving yards in the victory, though fantasy managers aren’t too picky about that when a player finds the end zone twice. We’ll see how Doubs fares once teammate Christian Watson (hamstring) returns to the lineup, though preseason reports early in the summer suggested that Love and Doubs built a solid rapport in OTAs. Will it continue in Week 2 vs. the Falcons? We would be remiss to exclude the efforts of TE Luke Musgrave, a player who caught 3 of 4 targets for 50 yards in his NFL debut. Congrats to the rookie.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert drew just 1 target in Sunday's win over the Patriots and went catchless. Philly's limited receiving production (170 yards) primarily went to WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Brown caught 7 of 10 targets for 79 yards. Smith added a 7-47-1 line on 10 targets. RB Kenneth Gainwell was the only other Eagle to draw more than 2 looks. Goedert and the Eagles face a much softer Vikings defense in Week 2. Expect to see the Eagles TE still among our top 12 for Week 2.
Packers RB Aaron Jones had himself a Sunday, logging 126 total yards on 10 touches vs. the Bears. The veteran recorded 41 rushing yards on 9 carries with 1 TD. The bulk of his damage came through the air, however. Jones finished Week 1’s victory with 2 catches for 86 yards, including a 51-yard TD off a screen pass in the third quarter. Teammate A.J. Dillon fared much worse, tallying a poor 19 yards on 13 carries. It’s unreasonable to expect Jones to be that efficient on his touches moving forward. Even so, he performed considerably better than Dillon on fewer touches and will look to continue these efforts next Sunday against a Falcons defense that surrendered 167 total yards to Panthers’ RBs in Week 1.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for just 170 yards and ran for 37 in Sunday's win over the Patriots. His lone TD came on a 5-yard, first-quarter pass to WR DeVonta Smith. Hurts lost a fumble on a run and took 3 sacks. It was a meek fantasy performance for a top QB, but there's nothing to worry about here. We'd bet on New England's defense ranking among the best in the league this year. Hurts gets a much more favorable matchup at home against the Vikings in Week 2.
Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell controlled the backfield in Sunday's win over the Patriots. He took 14 of the team's 16 RB carries, gaining 54 yards. Gainwell also ranked third on the team with 4 targets, catching all of them for 20 yards. D'Andre Swift contributed just 3 yards on 1 carry and caught 1 of 2 targets for 0 yards. Boston Scott carried once for 3 yards and caught his lone target for 7 yards. Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch. We wouldn't expect the workload distribution to remain quite so divided. But Gainwell obviously heads toward Week 2 as the only usable Eagles RB. His mere 4.1 yards per touch in the opener isn't especially worrisome against a Patriots defense that we expect to rank among the league's best.
Packers QB Jordan Love completed 15 passes on 27 attempts for 245 yards with 3 TDs and no INTs in Sunday’s win vs. the Bears. The new Green Bay starter also added 12 yards rushing on 3 carries in the contest. This is the first start from Love since 2021. Despite not having WR Christian Watson (hamstring) in the lineup, the Packers’ offense looked sharp. Fantasy managers could look to Love for help in Week 2 vs. the Falcons should his full complement of weapons return to the fold. Keep up with practice reports from Green Bay throughout the coming week.
Saints QB Derek Carr went 23-of-33 passing for 305 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in Sunday's narrow victory over the Titans. He took 4 sacks but otherwise fared well against a Tennessee pass defense that looks similarly soft to last year's Carr spread targets among his top three wideouts: Chris Olave (10), Michael Thomas (8), and Rashid Shaheed (6). TE Juwan Johnson (5) was the only other Saint to see more than 2 looks. Carr could be a streaming-level option in Week 2 against a Carolina defense that ranked just behind the Titans as a QB-scoring matchup in 2022. A Week 3 trip to Green Bay looks potentially tougher.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson bruised his left knee in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars but "will be fine," according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. We'll see whether that means Richardson will be ready for a Week 2 visit to Houston. QB Gardner Minshew took over for the final few plays against Jacksonville.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (turf toe) landed just 2 catches on 6 targets for 31 receiving yards in Sunday’s win vs. the Cardinals. Teammate Curtis Samuel led the team in receiving with 54 yards and a perfect 5-for-5 on his targets. McLaurin has dealt with this toe injury dating back to the preseason and practiced in a limited fashion for much of this week. It’s no surprise he got out-targeted by WR Jahan Dotson (5 for 40 yards on 7 targets) in Week 1, though we expect McLaurin’s impact to increase as he becomes further removed from the ailment. An underrated takeaway to consider before their Week 2 matchup vs. the Broncos is that TE Logan Thomas led the Commanders with 8 targets in this game—something to remember for those in deeper leagues.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson recorded 76% of the team’s backfield carries with 19 attempts for 59 rushing yards in Week 1’s victory over the Cardinals. Teammate RB Antonio Gibson saw 3 carries for 9 yards and added a single catch for 10 yards before a costly fumble saw him evaporate from the game. There are few things NFL coaches hate more than fumbles, and he paid dearly for it by being replaced by rookie RB Chris Rodriguez to end the contest. Fantasy managers will have a better idea of what the RB workshare split looks like in Week 2 vs. the Broncos, though it will be tough to bet against Robinson being the favorite Commanders’ back next Sunday.
Saints RB Jamaal Williams racked up 18 carries in Sunday's win over the Titans, ceding just 1 RB carry to Tony Jones. Williams managed just 45 yards, though, against a Tennessee defense that ranked among the league's toughest vs. the run in 2022. Williams added just 7 more yards on 2 catches, among 2 targets. Taysom Hill worked in for 3 carries (and just 4 yards) as well, plus 0 catches on 1 target. Williams gets Carolina in Week 2, which was a more neutral matchup for RBs in 2022. A Week 3 spot at Green Bay looks more favorable as well. Williams' Week 1 touch count will keep him in fantasy-starter consideration the next two weeks, in spite of his lackluster production vs. the Titans.
Giants TE Darren Waller (hamstring) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Cowboys. He was limited in Friday’s practice and listed as questionable with hamstring tightness. That obviously adds risk to Waller’s fantasy profile. But if you waited on him, get him in your starting lineup.
Giants WR Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) is inactive for tonight’s game vs. the Cowboys. He put in three limited practices this week, so he’s seemingly close to his first game action since last November’s torn ACL. Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, and Parris Campbell figure to serve as New York’s top three WRs tonight.
Commanders QB Sam Howell completed 19 passes on 31 attempts for 202 passing yards with 1 TD and 1 INT vs. the Cardinals. The first-year starter also contributed a rushing TD with 11 yards on the ground in Sunday’s win. Other than the INT and a lost fumble, Howell played relatively well. Given his lack of NFL experience, fantasy managers can only hope production goes up from here. The 2022 fifth-round pick with have a chance to improve against the Broncos in Week 2.
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