Can’t remember the last time this many QBs got hurt on one day. At the time I’m writing this, it’s too early to know their severity. But obviously the fantasy landscape could look a lot different heading into Week 3.
My DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week tanked miserably, and I’ll get more into that below. For now, as always, here’s my take on the most notable fantasy storyline for each Sunday team:
Bears vs. Bengals -- Darnell Mooney has the same number of targets this season as teammate Allen Robinson. While it’s too early to know if this is a sign of things to come, there’s little doubt Mooney is on the flex map. And Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have more targets through two games than rookie Ja’Marr Chase. Despite Joe Burrows’ struggles, clearly all three can be fed in this offense.
Browns vs. Texans – With OBJ out and Jarvis Landry getting hurt early, one would think—on paper—that the backfield would dominate this game. While Nick Chubb got it done late, Kareem Hunt was unstartable. It will be interesting to see if Hunt can produce any RB3-worthy performances if he’s not scoring. And wow, Brandin Cooks. If the almost-always-injured Tyrod Taylor is replaced for the third time in four seasons, Davis Mills appears poised to keep Cooks relevant.
Colts vs. Rams – When Indy signed Carson Wentz, an 0-2 start and an injury would have been the worst-case scenario. On the plus side, Michael Pittman broke out. He was one of my favorite preseason WR bargains. Now the question is whether this is the start of weekly startability, or a fluke. And Darrell Henderson looked good before getting hurt (once again). Sony Michel looked just as good, so the days of Henderson dominating this backfield are almost assuredly over.
Dolphins vs. Bills – We will never know how many points the Fins would have scored had Tua Tagovailoa not gotten injured. But safe to say, they wouldn’t have won. This is a half-decent team disguised as a good team. Myles Gaskin can’t be blamed fantasy-wise, but he is what I said he’d be: a temporary lead back in a future RBBC. And if you’d told me Zack Moss would return from the doghouse, lose a fumble, and still score two touchdowns . . . While Devin Singletary continues to have a leg up, Moss should be rostered in nearly every league.
Jets vs. Patriots – New England’s key to success was to keep the ball out of Corey Davis’s hands. The rest was easy. Davis will see many better days. More interestingly, rookie Michael Carter deserves 15+ touches and is a nice stash for later in the season. And Damien Harris got it done with a great run. J.J. Taylor earned only two carries. This remains Harris’s backfield.
49ers vs. Eagles – I got stuff wrong this week, as always. But my contrarian warning about Eli Mitchell clicked. Most of his next seven games will be against tough defenses. If it’s not too late, trade him to whoever has Trey Sermon and/or JaMycal Hasty and cut your losses. And one week after looking like fantasy gold, Devonta Smith and Jalen Reagor crashed. Buy low on Smith.
Steelers vs. Raiders – My Big Ben prophesy turned out to be lunacy. The old man looked old. So of course I’m questioning whether he can be a semi-regular QB1—which is unfortunate given the extraordinary talent surrounding him (though Diontae Johnson’s injury could be serious). And along with Michael Pittman, Henry Ruggs was one of a handful of uber-undervalued WRs this summer, and he made good. A big-play talent, Ruggs is a better fit in deeper leagues where streaming WR3/4s are not available on waivers. But he should be rostered.
Panthers vs. Saints – Sam Darnold to Carolina is proving to be a win-win, as the former #3 overall pick turns his career around, and the Panthers once again have a healthy and competent QB to feed their stars. In my league I dropped Darnold and kept Ben. Realizing that might have been the wrong call. And last week I “sold high” on Alvin Kamara. After watching New Orleans’ first game, I wasn’t convinced the offense could keep him elite. While Carolina’s D deserves much of the credit, the Saints don’t have enough downfield weapons to keep defenses in check. Perhaps no team is as one-dimensional as this one—despite Jameis Winston’s occasional highs—and Kamara will be the primary focus of every defense going forward.
Jaguars vs. Broncos – If not for garbage time, Trevor Lawrence would be . . . well, he’d be a rookie with a lot still to learn. Despite his deserved hype, the Jags’ fantasy backs and receivers will remain merely speculative streamers until he acclimates. And Javonte Williams outplayed Melvin Gordon for the first of many, many times this season. I urged folks to sell high on Gordon and buy low on Javonte after Week 1. Javonte is still one of my favorite non-starting RBs, period.
Cardinals vs. Vikings – What a game. Kyler Murray could become the first 500-point QB (or even the first 425-point QB) in fantasy history. More notably, I poo-poo’d the notion that Rondale Moore would be even semi-consistent in his first year, instead thinking he was an ideal dynasty hold. Very wrong. He’s ready to be a weekly fantasy starter. And for Minnesota, K.J. Osborn now has two great games in a row. This franchise hasn’t had more than two capable wideouts in ages. If Osborn is for real, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen clearly would take a hit.
Bucs vs. Falcons – It didn’t seem likely that Tom Brady and his receivers would account for all five Tampa Bay scores. But there you have it. Even from the 1-yard line, there was no love for the backfield. Apologies to those I urged to stack Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette, thinking they were near-locks to join in the fun. Most notably, as I’ve said many times, there will always be at least one odd man out. Yesterday it was Antonio Brown’s turn. Next week it could be Chris Godwin’s or Gronk’s. And Cordarrelle Patterson unofficially overtook Mike Davis as the higher-floor Atlanta RB.
Chargers vs. Cowboys – Mike Williams is going toe-to-toe with Keenan Allen. Would anyone be surprised if he finished in the top 20? And Tony Pollard outplayed Zeke Elliott. Zeke is likely the 1A, but no longer the 1. And that’s obviously a huge deal.
Seahawks vs. Titans – Tyler Lockett. Incredible. Not surprising given how much I pushed him this summer as a freakishly undervalued WR. But still incredible. And on the flip side, Derrick Henry made me look pretty foolish in one of the greatest RB halves in NFL history. For the first six quarters of the season, he looked like I expected he’d look, and probably worse. But yesterday’s second half was historically good. He also had an insane 41 touches and is on pace for an even more insane 519. So keep that in your back pocket.
Ravens vs. Chiefs – Ty’Son Williams once again led the backfield, once against looked very good, and once again couldn’t get enough touches to get to that next level of fantasy reliability. As long as Latavius Murray—and now Devonta Freeman—keep poaching, Williams will top out as an RB3 most weeks. And Darrel Williams took Kansas City’s goal-line look into the end zone, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire's fumble cost KC the game. CEH has done almost nothing despite his team racking up 68 points in two contests. If he can’t step up against a beatable Chargers run D next week, it will be hard to trust him as anything more than a TD-dependent bellcow--if he keeps the bellcow job.
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My DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week tanked miserably, and I’ll get more into that below. For now, as always, here’s my take on the most notable fantasy storyline for each Sunday team:
Bears vs. Bengals -- Darnell Mooney has the same number of targets this season as teammate Allen Robinson. While it’s too early to know if this is a sign of things to come, there’s little doubt Mooney is on the flex map. And Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have more targets through two games than rookie Ja’Marr Chase. Despite Joe Burrows’ struggles, clearly all three can be fed in this offense.
Browns vs. Texans – With OBJ out and Jarvis Landry getting hurt early, one would think—on paper—that the backfield would dominate this game. While Nick Chubb got it done late, Kareem Hunt was unstartable. It will be interesting to see if Hunt can produce any RB3-worthy performances if he’s not scoring. And wow, Brandin Cooks. If the almost-always-injured Tyrod Taylor is replaced for the third time in four seasons, Davis Mills appears poised to keep Cooks relevant.
Colts vs. Rams – When Indy signed Carson Wentz, an 0-2 start and an injury would have been the worst-case scenario. On the plus side, Michael Pittman broke out. He was one of my favorite preseason WR bargains. Now the question is whether this is the start of weekly startability, or a fluke. And Darrell Henderson looked good before getting hurt (once again). Sony Michel looked just as good, so the days of Henderson dominating this backfield are almost assuredly over.
Dolphins vs. Bills – We will never know how many points the Fins would have scored had Tua Tagovailoa not gotten injured. But safe to say, they wouldn’t have won. This is a half-decent team disguised as a good team. Myles Gaskin can’t be blamed fantasy-wise, but he is what I said he’d be: a temporary lead back in a future RBBC. And if you’d told me Zack Moss would return from the doghouse, lose a fumble, and still score two touchdowns . . . While Devin Singletary continues to have a leg up, Moss should be rostered in nearly every league.
Jets vs. Patriots – New England’s key to success was to keep the ball out of Corey Davis’s hands. The rest was easy. Davis will see many better days. More interestingly, rookie Michael Carter deserves 15+ touches and is a nice stash for later in the season. And Damien Harris got it done with a great run. J.J. Taylor earned only two carries. This remains Harris’s backfield.
49ers vs. Eagles – I got stuff wrong this week, as always. But my contrarian warning about Eli Mitchell clicked. Most of his next seven games will be against tough defenses. If it’s not too late, trade him to whoever has Trey Sermon and/or JaMycal Hasty and cut your losses. And one week after looking like fantasy gold, Devonta Smith and Jalen Reagor crashed. Buy low on Smith.
Steelers vs. Raiders – My Big Ben prophesy turned out to be lunacy. The old man looked old. So of course I’m questioning whether he can be a semi-regular QB1—which is unfortunate given the extraordinary talent surrounding him (though Diontae Johnson’s injury could be serious). And along with Michael Pittman, Henry Ruggs was one of a handful of uber-undervalued WRs this summer, and he made good. A big-play talent, Ruggs is a better fit in deeper leagues where streaming WR3/4s are not available on waivers. But he should be rostered.
Panthers vs. Saints – Sam Darnold to Carolina is proving to be a win-win, as the former #3 overall pick turns his career around, and the Panthers once again have a healthy and competent QB to feed their stars. In my league I dropped Darnold and kept Ben. Realizing that might have been the wrong call. And last week I “sold high” on Alvin Kamara. After watching New Orleans’ first game, I wasn’t convinced the offense could keep him elite. While Carolina’s D deserves much of the credit, the Saints don’t have enough downfield weapons to keep defenses in check. Perhaps no team is as one-dimensional as this one—despite Jameis Winston’s occasional highs—and Kamara will be the primary focus of every defense going forward.
Jaguars vs. Broncos – If not for garbage time, Trevor Lawrence would be . . . well, he’d be a rookie with a lot still to learn. Despite his deserved hype, the Jags’ fantasy backs and receivers will remain merely speculative streamers until he acclimates. And Javonte Williams outplayed Melvin Gordon for the first of many, many times this season. I urged folks to sell high on Gordon and buy low on Javonte after Week 1. Javonte is still one of my favorite non-starting RBs, period.
Cardinals vs. Vikings – What a game. Kyler Murray could become the first 500-point QB (or even the first 425-point QB) in fantasy history. More notably, I poo-poo’d the notion that Rondale Moore would be even semi-consistent in his first year, instead thinking he was an ideal dynasty hold. Very wrong. He’s ready to be a weekly fantasy starter. And for Minnesota, K.J. Osborn now has two great games in a row. This franchise hasn’t had more than two capable wideouts in ages. If Osborn is for real, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen clearly would take a hit.
Bucs vs. Falcons – It didn’t seem likely that Tom Brady and his receivers would account for all five Tampa Bay scores. But there you have it. Even from the 1-yard line, there was no love for the backfield. Apologies to those I urged to stack Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette, thinking they were near-locks to join in the fun. Most notably, as I’ve said many times, there will always be at least one odd man out. Yesterday it was Antonio Brown’s turn. Next week it could be Chris Godwin’s or Gronk’s. And Cordarrelle Patterson unofficially overtook Mike Davis as the higher-floor Atlanta RB.
Chargers vs. Cowboys – Mike Williams is going toe-to-toe with Keenan Allen. Would anyone be surprised if he finished in the top 20? And Tony Pollard outplayed Zeke Elliott. Zeke is likely the 1A, but no longer the 1. And that’s obviously a huge deal.
Seahawks vs. Titans – Tyler Lockett. Incredible. Not surprising given how much I pushed him this summer as a freakishly undervalued WR. But still incredible. And on the flip side, Derrick Henry made me look pretty foolish in one of the greatest RB halves in NFL history. For the first six quarters of the season, he looked like I expected he’d look, and probably worse. But yesterday’s second half was historically good. He also had an insane 41 touches and is on pace for an even more insane 519. So keep that in your back pocket.
Ravens vs. Chiefs – Ty’Son Williams once again led the backfield, once against looked very good, and once again couldn’t get enough touches to get to that next level of fantasy reliability. As long as Latavius Murray—and now Devonta Freeman—keep poaching, Williams will top out as an RB3 most weeks. And Darrel Williams took Kansas City’s goal-line look into the end zone, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire's fumble cost KC the game. CEH has done almost nothing despite his team racking up 68 points in two contests. If he can’t step up against a beatable Chargers run D next week, it will be hard to trust him as anything more than a TD-dependent bellcow--if he keeps the bellcow job.
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Personalized Fantasy Advice Sign-up: www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/p/personalized-fantasy-advice.html
Follow on Twitter: @_FF4W