| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Josh Allen | 232-39 | 4 |
| Baker Mayfield | 289-21 | 4 |
| Jayden Daniels | 184-88 | 2 |
| Anthony Richardson | 212-56 | 3 |
| Lamar Jackson | 273-122 | 1 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| Saquon Barkley | 109 2-23 |
3 |
| Joe Mixon | 159 3-19 |
1 |
| De’Von Achane | 24 7-76 |
1 |
| J.K. Dobbins | 135 3-4 |
1 |
| Alvin Kamara | 83 5-27 |
1 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Jayden Reed | 4-138 1-33 |
2 |
| Tyreek Hill | 7-130 | 1 |
| Mike Evans | 5-61 | 2 |
| A.J. Brown | 5-119 | 1 |
| Cooper Kupp | 14-110 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Isaiah Likely | 9-111 | 1 |
| Foster Moreau | 4-43 | 1 |
| Brock Bowers | 6-58 | 0 |
| Kyle Pitts | 3-26 | 1 |
| Juwan Johnson | 2-26 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Chris Boswell | 0 | 6 |
| Blake Grupe | 5 | 4 |
| Brandon Aubrey | 3 | 4 |
| Ka’imi Fairbairn | 2 | 3 |
| Chase McLaughlin | 4 | 3 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Vikings | 5-2 | 1 |
| Bears | 3-3 | 2 |
| Cowboys | 6-2 | 0 |
| Saints | 4-3 | 0 |
| Chargers | 3-3 | 0 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Jordan Love (GB) – MCL
WR Jordan Addison (MIN) – Ankle
WR Puka Nacua – Knee
TE David Njoku (CLE) – Ankle
TE Jake Ferguson (DAL) – Knee
RB Kenneth Walker III – Abdomen
This feels very light for a group of players that are just now playing games that matter.
Chasing Ambulances
QB Jordan Love (GB) – He suffered a Grade 2 sprain to his MCL, which is expected to sideline him for around three weeks. That puts newly-signed Malik Willis into the starting role. Willis was just acquired, so he has no real experience in the scheme or with the receivers. Downgrades for all Packer fantasy options until Love gets healthy.
WR Puka Nacua (LAR) – He was injured this summer and once again is having problems with his knee. We’ll know more soon, but it is a bad sign that he was ruled out of the game and was visibly limping. Should Nacua miss any time, he’ll be replaced by Tyler Johnson and Demarcus Robinson would see an uptick, but as was shown on the Sunday night game, it ends up to be mostly Cooper Kupp shouldering a giant share of the targets.
WR Jordan Addison (MIN) – Sprained his ankle and it was not the same ankle he injured this summer. Addison was not on crutches when he left the stadium, but he also did not speak with anyone. Brandon Powell is his backup if needed, but the Vikes didn’t pass much in Week 1. The Vikes host the 49ers this week and will need more than just Justin Jefferson to stay in the game. But there are no fantasy options here that warrant a pickup.
RB Kenneth Walker III (SEA) – The Seattle back left the game with what was described as an abdominal injury but he said that he was “good” after the game and it does not appear to be an issue going into this week’s game at the Patriots.
TE Jake Ferguson (DAL) – The tight end went down with a knee injury that appeared to be potentially serious. Early speculation is that he may have missed an ACL tear, but he’ll get an MRI on Monday to determine the prognosis and treatment.
TE David Njoku (CLE) – He is speculated to have a nigh-ankle sprain which could last weeks depending on the severity. Jordan Akins would take his place but his receptions would more likely end up with other wideouts or running backs.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
Week 1: Reality check – What says fantasy football more than Week 1 when your best players flop and mediocre players blow up. Here’s a quick reminder of the best players from Week 1 of last season.
QB Mac Jones – 316 yards, 3 TD
RB Tyler Allgeier – 94 yards, 2 TD
RB Joshua Kelley – 91 yards, TD
RB Miles Sanders – 98 yards
RB Justice Hill – 9 yards, 2 TD
WR Kendrick Bourne – 64 yards, 2 TD
WR Romeo Doubs – 26 yards, 2 TD
WR TuTu Atwell – 112 yards
And some of the worst from Week 1, 2023:
QB Dak Prescott – 143 yards
QB Lamar Jackson – 169 yards
QB Jalen Hurts – 170 yards, TD
RB Rachaad White – 49 yards
TE Trey McBride – 23 yards
WR Ja’Marr Chase – 39 yards
WR Amari Cooper – 37 yards
Week 1 is usually very different from the rest. Never make any decisions based off just Week 1.
RB Najee Harris (PIT) – It is just one game and Justin Fields was the quarterback but the first week of the new offense under OC Arthur Smith and there wasn’t any committee backfield. Harris gained 70 yards on 20 carries, and caught one pass for nine yards. Jaylen Warren was held to only two runs for seven yards (he had been banged up, though) and the dreaded Cordarrelle Patterson only ran four times for 13 yards.
TE Kyle Pitts (ATL) – The Steelers defense did a great job on the Falcons, but it was still encouraging to see Kyle Pitts score a touchdown on his three catches for 26 yards in his first game with Kirk Cousins. Drake London (2-15) had a bad debut, but at least this offense noticed Pitts.
Rookie Wide Receivers – So, how well did those rookie wideouts repay your optimism?
Marvin Harrison (1-3)
Malik Nabers (5-66)
Rome Odunze (1-11)
Brian Thomas Jr. (4-47, TD)
Xavier Worthy (2-47 catch, 1-21 rush, 2 TD)
Keon Coleman – (4-51)
A few scores, but not much yardage. Welcome to the NFL!
Rookie Quarterbacks
Caleb Williams (14-29-93 pass, 5-15 rush)
Jayden Daniels (17-24-184 pass, 16-88 2 TD rush)
Bo Nix (26-42-138 pass, 5-35 TD rush)
Rough start for passing yardage, but those passing touchdowns are coming. Soon. We hope.
RB Tony Pollard (TEN) – Another team where the committee backfield never appeared. Pollard ran for 82 yards on 16 carries and scored, while Tyjae Spears was limited to four runs for 21 yards. They split the work as receivers with three or four short catches each. They both averaged over five yards per carry against the Bears, but Pollard was the clear primary.
QB Baker Mayfield (TB) – Granted, he played the Commanders and their terrible defense from last year, but it was still impressive when he passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns.
RB J.K. Dobbins (LAC) – The dangerous runner has always been an injury waiting to happen, and that may hold true again with the Chargers. But for Week 1, Dobbins was back to rookie form when he ran for 135 yards and a score on ten carries versus the Raiders. He added three receptions for four yards while Gus Edwards plodded his way to 26 yards on 11 rushes. Get him while he is still healthy…
RB Jamaal Williams (NO) – Kendre Miller is on injured reserve for at least four weeks and Williams was effective rushing for 38 yards and a score on 11 carries, plus caught a 13-yard pass. Granted – it was against the woeful Panthers but Williams let Kamara rest in the second half.
RB Bucky Irving (TB) – The Buccaneers added Irving in the draft since Rashaad White was far from effective last year, despite his heavy workload. White only gained 31 yards on 15 carries against the Commanders while the rookie gained 62 yards on nine rushes. White also caught six passes for 75 yards and was always a weapon as a receiver. Irving is doing everything he can to become the lead rusher.
RB Tank Bigsby (JAC) – The second-year running back impressed coaches this summer as a player who finally “got it.” Travis Etienne was one of the heavier-used backs last year and Bigsby was brought on to help last year. Bigsby ran for 73 yards on 12 carries (6.1 YPC) with the same amount of carries as Etienne, who was limited to only 44 yards on his twelve runs. Bigsby doesn’t yet have stand-alone fantasy value, but he is impacting what Etienne did.
WR Alec Pierce (IND) – He scored and almost had two touchdowns. He gained 125 yards on three catches that included the 70-yard score. The third-year wideout has been locked into sub-600-yard and two touchdown seasons. Michael Pittman and the rookie Adonai Mitchell are still more attractive fantasy options.
WR Devaughn Vele (DEN) – I’m sorry, who? The Broncos seventh-round pick is a 6-4, 203-pound ex-Utah wideout who is a 26-year-old rookie because he was on a Mormon mission. Unbeknownst to all but his closest friends and family, he caught eight passes in the preseason as the Broncos weeded through their crop of rookies and free agents. Oh, and he also tied Chris Godwin with eight catches on Sunday, more than any other NFL receiver not named Kupp . Not Troy Franklin, their fourth-round pick. Vele was the preferred target for Bo Nix and while he only gained 39 yards, he became a pass sponge for a team that needs to throw a lot.
Different and NOT good – NFL teams use the summer to determine their eventual final roster, and each Week 1 ushers in lower production from teams that are still getting into synch and mostly trying to avoid summer injuries. That’s translated into mostly lower scores and, even worse, lower production from our fantasy players.
Last year, there were five 300-yard passers in Week 1. Five years ago, there were 13 300-yard quarterbacks in Week 1. For this season? Just two. Tua Tagovailoa and Matt Stafford, and both passed for just one score.
Last year, there were eight 100-yard receivers. Five years back, there were 18 in Week 1. This week there were just seven. Only 11 wideouts gained more than 75 yards. There were 15 last season and 26 in 2019. Fantasy scoring is down.
Let’s talk tight ends. Isiah Likely was the only tight end with more than 60 yards. Only four gained more than 40 yards and just five caught a score. It was a fantasy point drought to kick off 2024.
The good news – it will be turning up starting next week.
Huddle player of the week
Saquon Barkley (PHI) – The Giants were long-limited to only Barkley as their only offensive weapon. Without him, they could do nothing in their loss to the Vikings and chances are every fan and front-office type regrets letting him go. But in his first game as an Eagle, he looked like the missing piece that can propel the Eagles to the Big game. He ran for 109 yards on 24 carries with two scores, plus caught two passes for 23 yards and a third touchdown.
He won’t get 33.2 fantasy points every week, I mean, probably not, right?
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Baker Mayfield | 289 3-21 |
4 | QB | Joe Burrow | 164 | 0 |
| RB | J.K. Dobbins | 135 4-3 |
1 | RB | Javonte Williams | 23 | 0 |
| RB | Alexander Mattison | 19 4-43 |
1 | RB | Derrick Henry | 46 | 0 |
| WR | Jayden Reed | 171 | 2 | WR | Marvin Harrison | 1-4 | 0 |
| WR | Alec Pierce | 3-125 | 1 | WR | Chris Olave | 2-11 | 0 |
| WR | Xavier Worthy | 2-47 1-21 |
2 | WR | Drake London | 2-15 | 0 |
| TE | Isaiah Likely | 9-111 | 1 | TE | Evan Engram | 1-5 | 0 |
| PK | Chris Boswell | 6 FG | PK | Younghoe Koo | 1 XP 1 FG | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 196 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 27 | ||||||
Now get back to work…