Colts WR Michael Pittman led the Colts with 11 targets, eight catches, 97 yards, and a score in Sunday's loss to the Colts. Those 11 targets were a big 29.7% of the team total. Pittman's TD came on a 39-yard screen, flashing some impressive speed to beat the angles of a few Jaguars defenders. He's a big fantasy winner of Week 1. Pittman looks like the Colts' clear No. 1 WR -- AND it looks like this passing game will be more aggressive and productive than we initially thought.
Ravens TE Isaiah Likely drew just 1 target in Sunday's win over the Texans, despite TE Mark Andrews being inactive. Likely caught that lone target for 4 yards. TE Charlie Kolar also drew 1 target, which fell incomplete. QB Lamar Jackson attempted just 22 passes. Only WR Zay Flowers (10 targets) drew more than 3 targets. Don't plan to use Likely in Week 2, even if Andrews remains out.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison scored his first career TD in Week 1. Kirk Cousins found the rookie deep for a 39-yard score on 3rd and 11. Addison’s 6 targets matched K.J. Osborn’s total and was predictably behind Justin Jefferson’s tally (12). Still, you have to view Addison’s debut as a success. The 21-year-old should prove useful as a matchup-based WR3 going forward. We expect the Vikings to remain a pass heavy squad in 2023.
Ravens WR Zay Flowers drew 10 targets among QB Lamar Jackson's 22 pass attempts in Sunday's easy victory over the Texans. Flowers caught nine of them for 78 yards (8.7 yards per catch). Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr. garnered 3 targets apiece, tying RB J.K. Dobbins for second on the team (and Dobbins went down in the third quarter). We'll see whether target distribution continues to look similar. Flowers at least looks like the clear top choice among Baltimore wideouts for Week 2 against Cincinnati, though.
Colts RB Deon Jackson tallied 19 opportunities (13 carries, six targets) in Sunday's opener vs. the Jaguars. He turned them into 28 scoreless yards. Jackson mustered just 14 yards on 13 carries and caught five of six targets for 14 yards. He didn't get much help from the Colts' offensive line, but Jackson is simply a replacement-level talent. Indianapolis lost RB Evan Hull to a knee injury in this one, so we'll see if he or RB Zack Moss (forearm) is available for Week 2. Even if they're not, Jackson would be an unexciting RB3 vs. the Texans.
Browns WR Elijah Moore led the team in receiving with 43 yards on 3 catches in Week 1’s win vs. the Bengals. Teammate Amari Cooper logged 3 catches for 37 yards, and TE David Njoku hauled in just 2 of his 3 targets for 24 yards. The rain in Cleveland made for a very run-heavy approach by the Browns’ offense on Sunday, but the target distribution is rather intriguing. Both Moore and Cooper received a team-leading 7 targets apiece in the divisional upset. We identified Moore as one of our big sleepers this offseason, and his Week 1 involvement indeed showed reason to be excited moving forward. We’ll see what QB Deshaun Watson and company can conjure up in Week 2 vs. the Steelers on Monday night primetime.
Ravens RB Justice Hill delivered 2 rushing TDs in Sunday's win over the Texans. His 8 carries tied J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards for the team lead, with 7 of those coming after Dobbins suffered a torn Achilles' tendon. Hill managed just 9 yards on his 8 attempts, splitting work evenly with Edwards after Dobbins went down. Edwards took his 8 carries for 32 yards and added a two-point conversion run. The two appear likely to split the backfield going forward, and we'd bet on the Ravens adding another RB.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson scored once through the air and once on the ground in the Week 1 loss to Jacksonville. He was solid as a passer, completing 24 of 37 attempts (64.9%) for 223 yards (6.0 YPA), 1 TD, and 1 INT. And he was busy as a rusher, carrying 10 times for 40 yards and the TD. About half of those runs were designed, including the 2-yard score. Richardson became the first rookie in NFL history with 200+ passing yards, 40+ rushing yards, one pass TD, and one rush TD in his debut, according to StatMuse. Expect plenty of these types of stat lines from Richardson this season, which would make him a top-10 fantasy QB. He did leave Sunday's game with about a minute left with a lower-body injury, but HC Shane Steichen said afterward that Richardson is fine.
Browns RB Nick Chubb recorded 18 attempts for 106 rushing yards in Week 1's win vs. the Bengals. He also caught all 4 targets and 21 receiving yards through the air. This is yet another classic Chubb performance. Fantasy managers who drafted the veteran early got precisely what they paid for. Due to the poor weather in Cleveland, the Browns ran the ball a collective 40 times. One item to watch moving forward is the involvement of teammate Jerome Ford, a player who saw 15 carries and 36 rushing yards of his own on Sunday. We don't mention this to suggest we're concerned about Chubb's workload. But does the heavy RB2 involvement have more to do with the rainy conditions, or is this foreshadowing? We'll find out next week as the Browns travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Monday night primetime.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison out-carried Ty Chandler 11-3 in Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay. Mattison didn’t find much room to run, but he salvaged his day with an excellent individual effort on a goal-line receiving TD. Mattison also ran 22 routes to only 7 for Chandler, so there’s no concern over the passing-game role. Week 2 brings a tough matchup with Philly, but Mattison will remain an RB2. Keep Chandler stashed as a high-value handcuff.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson completed 16 passes on 29 attempts for 154 passing yards with one TD and INT apiece. He also added 45 rushing yards and a TD on the ground on 5 carries. Aside from a bone-headed third-quarter INT to Bengals S Dax Hill, Watson played reasonably well in the rainy Cleveland weather. We’re still too early in the season to say that Watson is officially “back to form,” though he’ll have a solid opportunity to further prove himself next week against the Steelers on Monday night primetime. The Pittsburgh defense allowed the highest total offensive yards (391) of any team in the early slate of Week 1 vs. the 49ers.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence threw 32 times for 241 yards and two TDs in Sunday's win over the Colts. WR Christian Kirk saw just three targets (9.4% share), catching one for nine yards. WR Calvin Ridley, WR Zay Jones, TE Evan Engram, and RB Travis Etienne tallied more targets. There will be better days ahead for Kirk. But Ridley certainly looks like the top dog in this passing game -- and Kirk might not be significantly ahead of Jones and Engram. Consider him a WR3 going forward.
Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley had a big opener in every way. He posted big numbers: 8 catches, 101 yards, and a score. And he saw big volume: 11 targets for a 34.4% share. Ridley got open at will against a shaky Colts secondary and looked explosive after the catch. He's in for a big fantasy season and gets plus matchups the next three weeks vs. the Chiefs, Texans, and Falcons.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase logged 5 catches on 9 targets for 39 receiving yards in Sunday’s 24-3 loss vs. the Browns. His teammate Tee Higgins recorded zero catches on 8 targets in Week 1. HC Zac Taylor spoke optimistically following the contest, saying, “This isn’t the team that we are going to be. We all understand that,” per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. Fantasy managers looking to get more in Week 2 vs. the Ravens sure hope so. Chase came close to double-digit PPR points, but Higgins being completely shut out is the biggest concern. We’ll hold off on getting too worried, however. QB Joe Burrow struggled to hold onto the football due to wet conditions and eventually had to wear a glove on his hand. There are assuredly brighter days ahead for the Cincinnati offense.
Steelers DL Cameron Heyward left Sunday's loss to the 49ers with a groin injury. He tried to return but left again shortly thereafter and missed the rest of the game. We'll see about the severity heading into Week 2.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon recorded 13 attempts for 56 rushing yards in Week 1’s loss to the Browns. He also added 3 catches on 5 targets for 17 receiving yards as a receiver. The Bengals’ offense as a whole experienced a hard time getting anything going in the crummy Cleveland weather. Fortunately, there’s some hope to hold onto moving forward. Mixon dominated the RB workload, receiving 13 of the team’s 15 carries (86.6%). No other Bengals’ back saw more than 2 attempts. Managers looking ahead to Week 2’s matchup vs. the Ravens can feel good about the workhorse-like share from Mixon.
In a surprising turn of events, Bengals QB Joe Burrow was pulled from Week 1’s contest vs. the Browns in the fourth quarter. He completed 14 passes on 31 attempts for a career-low 82 passing yards with no TDs or INTs in the blowout 24-3 loss. While the rainy weather in Cleveland played a factor in this contest, it’s still a letdown to see the newly minted richest QB in the NFL post such poor numbers. It’s worthy of mention that Burrow struggled to grip the football and had to put on a glove midway through the game. Fantasy managers looking ahead should see far greater results from Burrow and the Bengals as they host the Ravens in Week 2.
Jaguars RB Tank Bigsby popped in a one-yard TD in Sunday's season-opening win over the Colts. The rookie got both of Jacksonville's carries from the 5-yard line and in. But he was out-carried overall by RB Travis Etienne 18 to 7. Bigsby also saw just one target -- and dropped it, resulting in an INT. We'll see how this backfield evolves over the course of the season. But, in the short term, Bigsby looks like a TD-or-bust fantasy play.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne racked up 104 total yards and a TD in the Week 1 win over the Colts. The score was a 26-yard burst in the fourth quarter to put the game away. More importantly, Etienne out-carried RB Tank Bigsby 18 to seven and out-targeted him five to one. Bigsby did vulture a one-yard TD and might continue to be favored at the goal line. But if Etienne continues to get this type of volume, he'll deliver as a top-15 fantasy RB. Etienne will find himself in a likely shootout vs. the Chiefs in Week 2 and then gets favorable matchups against the Texans and Falcons in Weeks 3 and 4.
Ravens S Marcus Williams injured his left shoulder in Sunday's game against the Texans and was ruled out shortly thereafter. We'll see about the severity. Williams lost seven games to a dislocated wrist last year, his first with Baltimore.
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