A few observations to week 1 before we turn the page to week 2.
Arizona's offensive line looked bad. Kyler Murray was running for his life all day, and he did it like a damn rock star. This guy has such a Russell Wilson quality about him, for me he is QB3 overall rest of the way and is completely matchup-proof. In fact, I think opponents with a better pass rush are a GOOD matchup for him because he is so good when he gets flushed out of the pocket . You drafted him to start him in season long regardless, but this kid is going to win someone a DFS GPP very soon if the sites don't adjust his pricing to where it should be.
The Chargers offense stinks. Austin Ekeler is an amazing buy low right now. They will be playing every game from behind and switching to Justin Herbert soon which means rookie check-down Charlie. Ekeler's 100 targets and incredible efficiency from last year are in no jeopardy.
The Raiders WR stable is going to be a fantasy headache. Carr was force feeding Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs was targetted or touched the ball on a whopping 31 of 62 offensive plays. Henry Ruggs needs to be used in a Tyreek Hill roll, and Bryan Edwards and Hunter Renfrow aren't going to be the consistent performers I expected, at least early on. This offense is the Jacobs show and Waller is the clear #2 option, everyone else is bench fodder for fantasy purposes.
There was alot of noise in the Twitterverse about Clyde Edwards-Helaire's "failures" in the red zone, converting on zero of his six attempts inside the 5-yard line. If you watch the game and not just the ball, he had no opportunity on any of the attempts, it was a sixfold failure by the offensive line. This will fix itself over time as the threat of Travis Kelce in the red zone and Pat Mahomes success on the run will cause CEH to see less super-stacked boxes in the red zone. Nothing to see here. Darrel Williams is not a wart, he's a small pimple to CEH. The kid is a star. He and Jonathan Taylor will be top 5 picks in your draft next year and stallwarts in my top 12 this year.
It pains me to say it as a Trevor Lawrence fan and Dolphins fan, but he will be taking his golden locks to East Rutherford next year. The Jets are abysmal, Adam Gase has to go....and you can't pass on this talent.
There is an obvious lack of preparedness by young/new coaches this year. Of the five new coaches, only Ron Rivera (the seasoned veteran) was able to get the job done in week 1. Meanwhile it was business as usual for the likes of Bill Belicheck, Mike Tomlin, Jon Harbaugh, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, and Sean Payton. Despite the lack of a preseason and strange offseason landscape, the elite coaches had their team ready and the also-rans did not. This will continue for a few weeks, watch for slow adjustments. Whether its lineup decisions or bets, keep the head coach in mind for rest of September.
Tom Brady has lost on week 1 only four times in his career. The other three he won the Super Bowl. Ronald Jones looked DAMN good and Mike Evans should be healthy going forward. Tampa Bay is going to be just fine for fantasy, zero need to panic.
Here are my early rankings for week 2 for DFS and seasonal lineup decisions, based on matchup, opportunity, and fantasy goodness. Of course if you have start/sit questions you can always hit me on Twitter @Jtrela20 If you are looking for team defense, see @nmimi Waiver Wire article. Let's try not to be too over-reactive this week and take advantage of those who sleep on studs like Scary Terry , Keenan Allen, and TY Hilton who went ghost last week. As always, check back later in the week for updates and keep an eye on twitter. See you at the ticket window!!!
RUNNING BACK
1 A. Kamara @LV No MT means heavy usage
2 C. McCaffrey @TB "Only" 112 total yards and 2 TD in 2 games against TB last year
3 E. Elliott vs ATL
4 D. Henry vs JAX
5 J. Jacobs @NO monster 50% usage rate
6 C. Edwards-Helaire @LAC
7 A. Ekeler vs KC blowout garbage time special
8 A. Jones vs DET
9 S. Barkley @CHC need to see SOMETHING from offensive line before I move him back up
10 J. Taylor vs MIN Coronation ceremony
11 D. Cook @IND
12 J. Mixon @CLE (Thurs) Gio Bernard might just be the lead pass catching back
13 R. Mostert @NYJ
14 K Hunt vs CIN (Thurs) was on field for 9 first downs vs. Chubb 7
15 C. Carson vs NE 2 REC TD carried a rather pedestrian effort last week
16 D. Johnson vs BAL
17 D. Montgomery vs NYG
18 N. Hines vs MIN will be game script dependent weekly. Rivers does pepper his RBs
19 K. Drake vs WAS
20 N. Chubb vs CIN(Thurs)
21 T. Gurley @DAL
22 M. Brown @PHI not sure if he stays in top 24 but he earns this spot 1 more time at least
23 M Gordon @PIT
24 J Conner DEN likely to play, but workload will be a concern
25 J Robinson @TEN
26 JK Dobbins @HOU
27 M. Sanders vs LAR show me something first, on my bench 1 more week
28 R. Jones vs CAR
29 Z. Moss @MIA
30 M. Ingram @HOU
31 D. Swift @GB Patricia has to go back to him for the confidence builder TD.
32 A. Gibson @AZ coach speak about expanding role, let's watch first.
33 D. Singletary @MIA
34 A. Peterson @GB
35 T. Cohen vs NYG
36 J. Kelley vs KC
WIDE RECEIVER
1 D. Adams DET Here until he isn't
2 J. Jones @DAL
3 D. Hopkins WAS
4 A. Thielen @IND Porous defense=always in a shoot out
5 T. Hill @LAC
6 A. Robinson NYG It's a smash spot and he's pissed off.
7 J. Smith-Schuster DEN
8 C. Godwin CAR likely out with concussion
9 C. Ridley @DAL
10 C. Kupp @PHI
11 S. Diggs @MIA
12 K. Allen KC
13 R. Woods @PHI
14 T. Lockett NE
15 M. Evans CAR
16 T.Y. Hilton MIN The Vikings secondary is trash, I'd have TY top 10 if not for Rivers
17 T. McLaurin @AZ
18 J. Landry CIN(Thurs)
19 J. Edelman @SEA
20 W. Fuller BAL Watson was focused on him, going to be a shootout
21 AJ Brown JAX ruled out as of Friday.
22 O. Beckham CIN(Thurs) He'll always be a #2
23 C. Lamb ATL
24 M. Brown @HOU
25 M. Gallup ATL
26 D. Chark @TEN
27 J. Crowder SF ruled out on Friday
28 D. Metcalf NE
29 D. Slayton @CHI
30 AJ Green @CLE(Thurs)
31 M. Jones @GB assuming no Golladay
32 DJ. Moore @TB
33 E Sanders @LV I'm not going crazy and putting him top 12 like some are.
34 A. Lazard DET
35 P. Williams @BUF assuming no Parker
36 T. Boyd @CLE(Thurs)
37 H. Ruggs NO looks questionable at best to play
38 C. Sutton @PIT ditto
39 D. Johnson DEN Juju put up the stats, but Ben was confident in Dionte late
40 M. Williams KC umm, he looks healthy to me
41 P. Campbell MIN may skyrocket up this list
42 S. Miller CAR No Godwin, showed great chemistry with Brady
43 A. Miller NYG
44 T. Smith @LV no MT bump
45 J. Brown @MIA
46 J. Jeudy @PIT
47 L. Shenault @TEN
48 S. Watkins @LAC last week on this list
TIGHT END
1 T. Kelce @LAC
2 M. Andrews @HOU
3 D. Waller NO Carr was LOCKED on him
4 E. Engram @CHI drops will be fixed
5 G. Kittle @NYJ ruled OUT on Friday
6 J Cook @LV he works the middle of the field. Big target boost w/ no MT
7 H Henry shootout
8 TJ Hockenson @GB move down if Golladay plays
9 D Goedert LAR
10 L Thomas @AZ Cards trash vs TE
11 Z Ertz LAR
12 N Fant @PIT top 12 every week for rest of career???
13 OJ Howard CAR might be the real winner with Godwin out
14 C. Herndon SF
15 T. Higbee @PHI big bump if Everett sits
16 J. Smith JAX should benefit some targets with no AJ Brown
17 H. Hurst ATL
18 J. Doyle MIN
19 M. Gesecki BUF
20 E. Ebron DEN TD dependent
21 R. Gronkowski CAR yawn
22 G. Olsen NE
23 A. Hooper CIN(Thurs)
24 D. Schultz ATL
QUARTERBACK
1 P. Mahomes @LA top 3 will not change for me often
2 L. Jackson @HOU
3 K. Murray WAS
4 D. Prescott ATL
5 A. Rodgers @DET elite within the division.
6 J. Allen @MIA
7 M. Ryan @DAL
8 R. Wilson NE tough matchup, but always a top 12 for me
9 D. Watson BAL garbage time special
10 C. Newton SEA Daniels could do it with Tebow, so......
11 M. Stafford @GB
12 D. Brees @LV is he the same without MT???
13 J. Goff @PHI
14 D. Carr NO
15 C. Wentz LAR don't start him any time soon
16 B. Roethlisberger DEN less conservative this week
17 J. Burrow @CLE(Thurs) I didn't see the cigar smoking poise I'm used to
18 K. Cousins @IND
19 G. Minshew @TEN
20 R. Tannehill JAX
21 J. Garoppolo @NYJ
22 B. Mayfield CIN(Thurs) more commercials than TDs
23 P. Rivers MIN
24 T. Taylor KC