Packers WR Christian Watson (hamstring) told reporters on Monday that he's not sure he'll be ready for Week 2. He at least said that he doesn't believe a trip to IR is necessary. He added that the hamstring injury is to the same right leg as last year but added, “they’re all a little different” and it’s “not the same thing, not in the same spot," per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. We'll track Watson's progress throughout the week.
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler came away from Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with an ankle injury, NFL Network's Bridget Condon reports. HC Brandon Staley said Monday the RB's status is uncertain for Wednesday's practice. We'll obviously be tracking the situation closely throughout the week. RB Joshua Kelley ran even with Ekeler in carries against Miami. He'd likely land inside our top 24 if Ekeler can't go, though the Tennessee matchup was negative for rushers all last season and in Week 1 of this year. (Saints RB Jamaal Williams gained just 45 yards on 18 carries.) The team would also likely activate RB Isaiah Spiller, a healthy scratch in the opener.
The Chiefs and DT Chris Jones have agreed to terms, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Jones, of course, held out through training camp and Thursday night's home loss to the Lions. Bet on Jones immediately reclaiming his role. We'll see this week, though, if he's ready to get right back to his normal playing time. Jones typically played 80%+ of K.C.'s defensive snaps last season. He and the Chiefs visit Jacksonville this Sunday. The Jaguars limited Jones to just 1 solo tackle and 1 QB hit in their playoff meeting, but Jones went for 1.5 sacks in Kansas City's Week 10 victory over them.
Steelers DL Cameron Heyward is expected to land on IR for the groin injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, NFL Network reports. it's not yet clear how long Heyward will be out, and surgery remains an option. We'll watch for further updates, but you shouldn't plan to have Heyward available to your IDP lineup for the foreseeable future. We're not taking the veteran completely out of our rest-of-season rankings just yet. But he'll likely be droppable in most IDP formats. And you shouldn't look to the Steelers depth chart for a replacement. No Pittsburgh interior lineman played more than 63% of the snaps in the opener, with Larry Ogunjobi the leader.
Update: Heyward will have surgery and is expected to miss up to eight weeks, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Colts HC Shane Steichen said Monday that rookie RB Evan Hull "could miss some time" with the knee injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. That obviously doesn't tell us much. But it sounds like the kind of thing a coach says when he doesn't expect a player back soon. Hull's absence leaves Deon Jackson in charge of the backfield, which he led with 18 touches for a meager 28 total yards in Week 1. Jake Funk looks like the No. 2 for now. Zack Moss should be back soon, though. And, of course, Jonathan Taylor is eligible to return in Week 5. The Colts also have Jason Huntley on the practice squad. Unless you play in a deep league, Hull looks droppable for help from the waiver wire this week.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Monday that S Marcus Williams will "be out for a while" with the pectoral injury he suffered Sunday, according to multiple reports. Harbaugh said Williams is considering surgery and that the injury doesn't necessarily end his season. That it even could, though, makes Williams droppable in nearly all IDP leagues. We've already removed him from our rest-of-season rankings. Geno Stone filled in for Williams against the Texans and figures to start next to Kyle Hamilton going forward. Stone has spent most of his time at deep safety -- likely Williams -- which limits his fantasy upside. Hamilton remains the more intriguing IDP because of his higher snap count "in the box." A trailing Houston offense went pass-heavy in the opener, sending tackle opportunities further downfield. Brandon Stephens, who you might see listed as a safety, started at CB for Baltimore in the opener. He can also be an IDP option if you lost Williams.
Raiders HC Josh McDaniels confirmed on Monday that WR Jakobi Meyers is in the concussion protocol. That leaves him no better than 50/50 for Week 2. Meyers was awesome before sustaining that head injury in the win over Denver, hauling in nine of 10 targets for 81 yards and two TDs. Even though he might not be available this coming week, Meyers should be scooped off the waiver wire in fantasy leagues of 10+ teams.
Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins will undergo surgery on September 15 to repair his torn Achilles, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Dobbins is "aiming" for a return in six months, per Pelissero, which would put him back on the field in March. That'd be a big win for Dobbins, who will turn 25 in December and hit free agency in March. We'll track his rehab, but Dobbins' dynasty value has taken a major hit. There's no guarantee that he returns to pre-injury form.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean is expected to miss "multiple weeks" with the right foot injury that knocked him out of Sunday's win over the Patriots, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler each call Dean a candidate for short-term IR, which would cost the second-year LB at least four games. If Philly doesn't place Dean on IR this week, he might be back sooner. Zach Cunningham led LB playing time for the Eagles in Week 1, but LB Christian Elliss took over the green helmet dot and play-calling duties in relief of Dean. We'll have to see who stays on the field more between them while Dean is out. Both look like low-level IDP options against the Vikings and Buccaneers the next two weeks. Dean is OK to drop in most IDP leagues. But you can consider stashing him -- at least for now -- in deeper formats.
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.
Search
