Bi-Weekly Fantasy Football Recap - Tuesday 9/12
TLDR:
Don’t have time to read the entire newsletter? Check out the bullet points below for a quick recap of everything going on this week.
Player News:
WR Mike Evans Officially Will Not Be Extending His Deal With The Buccaneers
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa And Tyreek Hill Impress In Season Opener
Backup QB Zach Wilson Will Be The Jets Starter The Rest Of The Year
Saints QB Derek Carr Compares WR Michael Thomas To Davante Adams
Team News:
Reddit Recap:
Injury Report:
Steelers’ WR Diontae Johnson Leaves Game Early With Hamstring Injury
RB Austin Ekeler Dealing With Ankle Injury And Might Practice This Week
Community Shout Out:
*Read the full breakdown of everything below!
Player News:
WR Mike Evans Officially Will Not Be Extending His Deal With The Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and WR Mike Evans officially will not be extending his deal and he will now be playing in the last year of his contract. Evans plans to explore his free agent options in 2024. Some fantasy managers believe that Mike Evans will now ball out this season in order to get an even better deal in free agency next year.
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa And Tyreek Hill Impress In Season Opener
In a thrilling victory over the Chargers, both Tua and Hill led their team to success. Tua Tagovailoa went 29/45 for 466 yards and 3 TDs. Tyreek Hill had 11 receptions for 215 yards and 2 TDs. These two are fantasy studs and are a great stack to own. Tyreek Hill is already looking like the favorite to end the season as the top receiver.
Backup QB Zach Wilson Will Be The Jets Starter The Rest Of The Year
With Aaron Rodgers going down with a season ending Achilles injury, backup Zach Wilson is now the Jets starter once again. Wilson threw 14/21 for 140 yards, 1 TD, and 1 Int; he is obviously no Aaron Rodgers. He did have a nice throw to Garrett Wilson in the endzone but besides that he didn’t look fantastic out there. This news is a huge hit to everyone on the Jets offense. Fantasy managers who own Garrett Wilson have to be feeling disappointed about this newest update.
Saints QB Derek Carr Compares WR Michael Thomas To Davante Adams
Derek Carr praised Michael Thomas after their season opener and said how much he loved him and how Thomas is the ultimate competitor. He went on to say how Michael Thomas reminds him of Davante Adams in the way they both approach the game. Thomas had 8 targets and 5 receptions for 61 yards in the Saints’ first game. This is not bad considering how low he went in fantasy drafts this season. If Thomas can stay healthy and keep building his relationship with Carr, expect him to have a good year. His upside is most likely capped at a WR2 since he is now losing touches to the younger and more explosive Chris Olave.
Team News:
Rams Are Placing Star WR Cooper Kupp On Injury Reserved
In surprising yet not surprising news, the Rams are placing star WR Cooper Kupp on IR. He will now be sidelined a minimum of four games which is not ideal for Kupp owners but in the long term this move is better for the receiver.
Eagles Favor RB Kenneth Gainwell In First Game
After trading for D’Andre Swift in the offseason, people thought the Eagles were going to make him their main back. However, that is not the case. In week 1, the Eagles had RB Kenneth Gainwell play in 62% of the snaps and had him run 14 out of the 16 rushing attempts. He also had 4 targets and opportunities in the passing game. Swift on the other hand only played in 28% of snaps and had just 1 carry and 2 targets. He only was able to get 3 total yards on the day and was a total fantasy disappointment. Swift should stay on your fantasy bench until we see him get more chances on the Eagles offense. Don’t be surprised if he gets more work next week as the Eagles love switching their RBs up each week. You never know which one they will favor.
Chris Jones Reaches Agreement With Chiefs
Star defensive tackle Chris Jones finally reaches an agreement with the Chiefs over his contract. He agreed to a 1 year deal with the team and now will join them come week 2. Jones is the leader of the Kansas City defense and anyone who owns them has to feel good about their captain returning to the team.
Rams Backup RB Kyren Williams Outperforms Starter Cam Akers
Rams RB Kyren Williams had 15 carries for 52 yards and 2 TDs. Akers on the other hand had 22 carries for 29 yards and 1 TD so much less effective than Williams. Williams also out touched Akers to start the game and played more snaps than he did until the Rams took the lead. Kyren Williams also ran 30 passing routes (73%) to Akers 4 (10%). It looks like the Rams are going to use Kyren Williams more than originally thought. Williams could be a solid week 1 waiver wire pickup.
Reddit Recap:
Each week we read every Reddit post on r/fantasyfootball and all the comments. We then summarize the most important threads and discussions below.
Week 1 Overreactions
It’s never good to overreact to the first week of the season, however some Redditors couldn’t contain how they were feeling about certain players. Here are some overreactions that people shared on Reddit following week 1:
Zay Flowers is a WR1
Sell Drake London while you can
Kyren Willaims is a top 25 RB
Tua doesn’t like throwing to Jaylen Waddle
Tyrek Hill is going to have over 2,000 receiving yards this season
Bears are the worst team in football
Calvin Ridley made Christian Kirk irrelevant
Lamar Jackson looks a little washed
DJ Moore is irrelevant due to his QB
The Rams’ “demise” was greatly exaggerated
Puka Nacua is the new Cooper Kupp
*Keep in mind these are purely Reddit’s opinions and nothing is factual or should be taken as the full truth.
Week 1 Under Reactions
Sure it's easy to overreact after week 1, however there are also some storylines that are flying under the radar that need some attention. Here are some week 1 things to make note of:
RB Travis Etienne has lightning quick speed and is even faster than we thought.
WR Michael Thomas had 8 targets and redzone action. This is more than people originally expected out of him.
TE Hunter Henry looked good catching passes from QB Mac Jones. Henry could be worth starting.
The Seahawks offense lost both of their star offensive tackles due to injury and only generated 12 yards in the second half of the game. These injuries might make starting any Seahawk player a little risky.
RB James Conner is still that dude. He got nearly all the RB work and stayed in on most 3rd downs to catch the ball.
QB Brock Purdy is legit. He has never lost a game where he plays start to finish. Even though the rest of his team is stacked, his production cannot be denied.
The Rams offense will be fine without Kupp. Obviously it's not ideal that Kupp is out but they have other players to work with and they are still trying to win while he is out.
Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups
Here is a list of players you should target to pick up off waivers this week:
WR Puka Nacua (Rams) - 2.8% rostered : He had 15 targets and 10 receptions this week and Matt Stafford seemed to favor him. He can be a great fill-in player while Kupp is out.
WR Kendrick Bourne (Patriots) - 2.5% rostered: He had 11 targets and 6 receptions as well as 2 TDs. Bourne looked like the best Patriots receiver out there and their new OC played him in 90% of snaps.
RB Gus Edwards (Ravens) - 21.4% rostered: With JK Dobbins now out all year, expect Edwards to lead the Ravens backfield. After Dobbins went down, Edwards had 8 carries for 32 yards.
TE Jake Ferguson (Cowboys) - 7% rostered: Although he didn’t have a particularly impressive week, he still had 7 targets and Dak Prescott was looking to throw to him fairly often. If the Cowboys weren’t blowing out the Giants and running the clock, he would’ve had way more.
TE Hayden Hurst (Panthers) - 4.9% rostered: Hurst had 7 targets and 5 receptions as well as 1 TD. The Panthers’ QB didn’t favor just one receiver so Hurst will have an opportunity this year to get a nice target share. If you are hurting on tight ends right now he is a solid option.
Week 1 “Sell High” Players?
With week 1 now in the books, some players had great games and others did not. Some of those players who played well will most likely not produce those same numbers the rest of the year so it might be worth shopping them around in trade packages to your leaguemates. Here are the list of players that other Redditors are selling high after just one game:
Tyler Allgeier (Falcons) - 15 carries for 75 yards and 2 TDs & 3 receptions for 19 receiving yards. Why sell? He is the backup to Bijan Robinson who is just getting started and should get more of the workload moving forward.
Michael Pittman Jr (Colts) - 11 targets, 8 receptions for 97 yards and 1 TD. Why sell? The Colts offense is not fully trustworthy yet and QB Anthony Richardson is dealing with a minor knee injury that could cause issues later down the road.
Brian Robinson Jr (Commanders) - 19 carries for 59 yards & 1 reception for 7 yards and 1 TD. Why Sell? He gets a lot of opportunities, he’s just too inefficient. Last year was the same where he got a lot of rushing attempts but didn’t do much with them. He is good for a touchdown here or there but not someone most people would trust starting all year.
Underrated Stacks That Will Surprise This Year
Outside of the obvious QB / WR stacks like Burrow & Chase or Allen & Diggs, Reddit shared who they thought could have a breakout season and be the next big stack. Here is who they believe in:
Jared Goff & Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions): Goff was targeting St. Brown a lot in their first game and it looks like the Lions offense will be pass heavy once again. Goff himself looked pretty good and should get even better as the year goes on. These two make a decent stack if you are looking for consistency.
Trevor Lawrence & Calvin Ridley (Jaguars): All the preseason hype has been about Calvin Ridley’s return. Now that he is back everyone is expecting him and Lawrence to have a big year together. Lawrence is already favoring Ridley and has a strong chemistry with him which is great for fantasy owners.
Aaron Rodgers & Garrett Wilson (Jets): It seems like a lot of people have been writing off Aaron Rodgers this year and are forgetting that he just won two MVPs a couple seasons ago. Now that he is on a new team, don’t be surprised if he has a new spark and plays like he used to. Rodgers and Wilson will be an interesting stack to watch.
Tua Tagovailoa & Tyreek Hill (Dolphins): When Tua was fully healthy last year, him and Tyreek Hill were some of the highest scoring fantasy players on given weeks. If he can stay healthy, expect him and Hill to ball out once again and be a solid stack to own.
How The Top Drafted Tight Ends Performed Week 1
Tight ends are always hard to draft and there are very few that perform well fantasy wise each week. With pickings being so slim, a lot of managers tried to draft a reliable TE in the earlier rounds to avoid the TE wasteland of players. This is how the top drafted tight ends looked this week: *(Receptions/Yards/TDs)
Travis Kelce (Chiefs) - Out
Mark Andrews (Ravens) - Out
TJ Hockenson (Vikings) - 8/35/0
Geroge Kittle (49ers) - 3/19/0
Dallas Goedert (Eagles) - 0/0/0
Evan Engram (Jaguars) - 5/49/0
Darren Waller (Giants) - 3/36/0
Kyle Pitts (Falcons) - 2/44/0
David Njoku (Browns) - 2/24/0
Tyler Higbee (Rams) - 3/49/0
Cole Kmet (Bears) - 5/44/0
Pat Freiermuth (Steelers) - 1/3/1
Moral of the story: You can run from the TE wasteland but the TE wasteland will find you.
Reddit Thread
Players With 10+ Targets Week 1
Here is the list of every player who was targeted 10 or more times by their QB in week 1:
Tyreek Hill (Dolphins) - 15 targets
Puka Nacua (Rams) - 15 targets
DeAndre Hopkins (Titans) - 13 targets
Stefon Diggs (Bills) - 13 targets
Justin Jefferson (Vikings) - 12 targets
Calvin Ridley (Jaguars) - 11 targets
Michael Pittman (Colts) - 11 targets
Kendrick Bourne (Patriots) - 11 targets
Nico Collins (Texans) - 11 targets
Chris Olave (Saints) - 10 targets
Mike Evans (Buccaneers) - 10 targets
Zach Ertz (Cardinals) - 10 targets
AJ Brown (Eagles) - 10 targets
Zay Flowers (Ravens) - 10 targets
Jakobi Meyers (Raiders) - 10 targets
Target Shares From Sunday Morning Games
In the morning games on Sunday we saw a lot of players get the ball thrown their way more than others. Here are the players who had the highest target shares Sunday morning:
48% — Zay Flowers (Ravens)
39% — DeAndre Hopkins (Titans)
34% — Calvin Ridley (Jaguars)
33% — Zach Ertz (Arizona)
33% — Bijan Robinson (Falcons)
31% — Mike Evans (Buccaneers)
30% — Chris Olave (Saints)
29% — Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals) & Brandon Aiyuk (49ers)
28% — Michael Pittman (Colts)
27% — Logan Thomas (Commanders) & Justin Jefferson (Vikings)
26% — Nico Collins (Texans) & Tee Higgins (Bengals)
Some of these names were surprising to see such as Zay Flowers and Bijan Robinson. Flowers was expected to get a good amount of shares but no one could have predicted he would have gotten almost half of his entire teams’ targets. As far as Bijan Robinson goes, seeing him get 33% of targets was a little surprising since he is their RB and also due to how little the Falcons’ actual receivers were targeted in the game.
Injury Updates:
Aaron Rodgers Suffers An Achilles Injury Ending His Season
In devastating news, QB Aaron Rodgers went down in the first drive of the Jets game and is believed to have ruptured his Achilles. His season is now over. This is a huge loss to the Jets team who have been hyped all preseason. Backup QB Zach Wilson will lead their offense the rest of the season. This is not what Garrett Wilson owners want to hear, although he did look good in their first game even with Zach Wilson throwing to him. Rodgers’ injury will also impact the rest of the Jets offense (think Breece Hall and Dalvin cook). With Zach Wilson in, expect them to have a harder time getting the ball downfield. The Cowboys defense is going to feast next week when they play the Rodgers-less Jets.
Ravens’ RB J.K. Dobbins Suffers Season Ending Injury
In unfortunate news, RB J.K. Dobbins suffered a season ending injury Sunday when he tore his Achilles. Dobbins has dealt with many lower body injuries over the years and people are speculating this could be the end of his career due to his extensive injury history. With Dobbins being out the rest of the year, backups Gus Edwards and Justice Hill should pick up his workload. Both of them had 8 carries Sunday, but Justice Hill found the endzone twice unlike Edwards.
Steelers’ WR Diontae Johnson Leaves Game Early With Hamstring Injury
During Sunday’s game, Diontae Johnson had to leave early due to a hamstring injury. Prior to his injury he was playing well and had 3 receptions for 48 yards. Hopefully this injury isn’t anything too serious, if he does need to miss any time it shouldn’t be more than a few weeks if anything.
RB Austin Ekeler Dealing With Ankle Injury And Might Practice This Week
Chargers’ head coach Brandon Staley said that RB Austin Ekeler is dealing with an ankle injury that he sustained during Sunday’s game. His status for practice this week is now uncertain. It doesn’t sound too serious thankfully but if Ekeler does miss practice all week and sits in week 2 expect backup RB Joshua Kelley to lead the Chargers backfield.
Community Shout Out:
They Watched Every Game So You Don’t Have To
Shout out to the people over at QB List Fantasy Football. Each week they watch every game and recap all the main takeaways from each game. They discuss who played well, who didn’t, and how the teams looked overall. Check them out for a recap of each game from week 1.
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