Last night was a perfect close to a fascinating (or frustrating, or amazing, depending on your perspective) opening week of football. For starters, last year's Super Bowl MVP picked up where he left off on a new team, posting overall RB2 numbers and leading the former dynastic Chiefs to an easy victory against their supposedly toughest divisional competition.
To put this 26-touch performance in perspective, entering yesterday, six of Walker's eight highest-touch games occurred during his rookie campaign. It's been nearly two years since he last had 26+ touches. Additionally, in his first four seasons, he's been fantasy's RB17, RB20, RB12, and (last year) RB29 in points per game. Yes, moving to Kansas City's seemingly higher-powered offense was supposed to help elevate him. But he just ran over a defense that was among the best against the run last season.
'
His backup Emmett Johnson had a healthy 10 touches and looked good through the air. Ignore his 3.0 YPC. Much of that came during garbage time when Denver's defense was expecting running plays. Johnston solidified his standing as a must-roster RB in 12-team leagues.
Patrick Mahomes made a statement on the opening drive, scampering through traffic for 15 yards and a score. His injury recovery is in the rearview mirror. One of my favorite preseason bargains (QB13 ADP) looks ready to deliver weekly fantasy startability.
Somehow he cleared 20 points despite connecting only five times with his wide receivers and five times with his tight ends. The high-priced Rashee Rice salvaged a mostly forgettable outing with a touchdown, while Xavier Worthy had only 4.8 points despite co-leading the team with six targets. The good news is that no other KC wideout had a catch. Rice should be fine. Worthy remains a wait-and-see stash.
Meanwhile, Travis Kelce moved up to the #2 in career TE receiving yards after a catch-and-run for 59 yards that almost reached the end zone. His weekly touchdown potential remains appealing. His floor remains solid. And yet he's a longshot to finish in the top six, putting him in the same boat as many other weekly TE streamers.
For Denver, not much went right after the first quarter. This is where we as managers need to keep things in perspective. A tough road game on national television to start the season won't be the norm. September could be tough with the Jags and Rams on deck. But then things open up. Beginning in Week 7, they'll face the Cardinals, will get a home rematch with the Chiefs, and then will play the Panthers, Raiders, Steelers, Dolphins, Jets, Raiders, and Bills before closing out the year against the Patriots and Chargers. That's a *lot* of favorable matchups.
Along with Mahomes, Bo Nix was one of my favorite preseason QB bargains. He's had back-to-back top-8 QB fantasy seasons and has a more experienced and capable receiving corps. He was shaky in a tough situation. So were his teammates. Things will balance out by the end.
His receivers are harder to figure out. This summer I was neutral on Jaylen Waddle, way down on Courtland Sutton, and fairly high on Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin. (Didn't know what to make of 32-year-old Evan Engram, so if you started him, congrats.) Bryant led the team with six targets, followed by Sutton's five. Waddle essentially did nothing. Let's see how things shake out next week. For now, we shouldn't assume that Waddle or anyone else is the official #1.
Finally, Denver's backfield featured J.K. Dobbins out of the gate, though he had only three touches in the first half. On their first possession of the third quarter, Dobbins ran it three consecutive times. RJ Harvey was the only Broncos RB to earn targets, which is how he more than doubled Dobbins' dismal output. Jonah Coleman didn't get a touch, which is particularly good news for those who drafted the arguably more dynamic (and less injury-prone) Harvey.
A final word on the Chiefs: we need to remember that Mahomes was the overall QB1 by midseason last year, and he did that largely without Rice. His overall-110 ADP was below Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jordan Addison, and two DSTs. It was even below Matthew Stafford, Michael Pittman, Brandon Aubrey, Kelce, and Marshawn Lloyd. If this team remains healthy, Mahomes will be one of the biggest draft-day steals.
---
* Today's FF4W podcast, episode 253: "The Fantasy Relevance and Irrelevance of Week 1" -- podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-for-winners/id1800490745
* Sign up for Text Anytime ($30/month):
(1) Venmo -- venmo.com/u/ff4winners
(2) Cash App -- cash.app/$ff4winners
(3) PayPal -- paypal.me/bjrudell