Week 2 Dynasty Fantasy Football Notebook: A Potential Rookie TE Breakout
Sam Wallace shares his dynasty takeaways from Week 1 of the NFL season, including Harold Fannin's role for the Browns.
The first week of the NFL is officially behind us, which means it's time for my first edition of this season's Dynasty Notebook. In this series, you can expect to find my latest takeaways across the dynasty landscape. These could include trade targets, waiver claims, players to keep an eye on, or trends to watch…to name just a few. Let's dive in.
Javonte Williams - The Cheapest RB1…For Now
Much was made about the Dallas Cowboys' backfield this summer because, quite frankly, we had no idea how to approach it. With top-end options at QB, WR, and TE, we assumed it would either be a messy committee or a "ride the hot hand" type of situation.
Then, just a few hours before kickoff on Thursday night, we got our first bit of clarification: Jaydon Blue was a healthy scratch.
That's right, the highly-touted fifth-round selection from this past spring, who was earning first-team reps throughout camp, will have to wait at least one more week before playing in his first regular-season game.
A quick glance across the Fantasy Life website will show you just how high we've been on Blue as a staff over the last few weeks and months. Even so, this is something to monitor.
Blue's absence meant Javonte Williams (25 years old) and Miles Sanders (28) would be the primary options.
Williams is someone I am still bullish on despite his injury history. He's still young/in his prime and was someone the fantasy community was extremely high on early in his career. Williams out-carried Sanders 15-4 while the latter, despite ripping off a 49-yard gain, lost a costly fumble in the third quarter.
A box-score scout will see Williams's pair of TDs and get excited about the final outcome, but as always, additional context is needed. CeeDee Lamb caught a 32-yard pass but was tackled at the one-yard line. Two plays later, Williams scored from a yard out. Williams's second TD, also from a yard out, came on a drive assisted by a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty.
This is not to say that Williams won't find the end zone more this season. He mostly passed the eye test and looked fresh in his first game with the Cowboys. Blue is still someone to monitor as he could still make his presence felt as early as Week 2. However, for the time being, enjoy Williams in a featured role for an offense that can still put up plenty of points.
Harold Fannin - One Week Wonder or Potential Breakout
With all eyes likely on fellow rookie TE Tyler Warren, who had an impressive Week 1 of his own, it was Harold Fannin who stood out to me with his performance.
Fannin came in as the TE3 in our Rookie TE Model and immediately built on his massive college production profile from just a season ago. Last year, he tallied:
- 117 receptions
- 1,555 receiving yards
- 10 TDs
However, it's important to note that, despite playing for Bowling Green, he posted strong numbers against top-tier competition as well. Ian Hartiz noted the following:
However, simply pointing to Fannin's gaudy counting numbers and obvious MAC competition isn't fair considering his performance in four non-conference games against D-1 competition:
- at Penn State: 11 receptions-137 yards-1 TD
- at Texas A&M: 8-145-1
- vs. Old Dominion: 12-193-2
- vs. Arkansas State: 17-213-1
The Browns also had the most vacated targets (235) from last season of any team in the league, which accounted for 37% of their 2024 targets.
In Week 1, Joe Flacco threw the ball 45 times, which certainly won't happen every week (right?), and Fannin was one of four players to finish with 8+ targets and 50+ receiving yards. It's definitely worth noting that incumbent David Njoku didn't reach either of those thresholds.
Njoku is in the final year of his contract and is certainly too talented to be a non-factor moving forward. We'll have to wait and see how both TEs are utilized moving forward. Regardless, Fannin is a solid option in dynasty formats based on what we've seen so far.
Green Bay Features Everyone
In a dominant Week 1 win over the visiting Lions, Jordan Love completed 16 of 22 passes for 188 yards and a score.
Last season, one of the biggest narratives about Green Bay was their lack of a true No. 1 option in the passing game. They seemed to address that issue, to an extent, when they drafted Matthew Golden in Round 1.
We'll have to wait at least another week before we see whether or not Golden can take over a game.
Love's 16 completions went to 10 different players, and only one player had more than two receptions…Jayden Reed had three. Reed also led the way with five targets while both Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft had four.
For now, it appears as though those three, and the aforementioned Golden, will be the primary drivers of the Packers' passing game this season. Much of the offense will continue to run through Josh Jacobs and the ground attack, but it'll be tricky to fully trust any Green Bay pass-catcher for consistent fantasy production.
Until we see someone, anyone, step up into a larger role, every Packers player will be a TD-dependent option for the foreseeable future.
Jakobi Meyers - New Age Tyler Lockett
For the longest time, all Tyler Lockett would do is consistently beat his preseason ADP by a sizeable margain. It never seemed to matter how well he finished the previous season; the fantasy industry always seemed to find reasons to doubt him again and again.
And again and again he would prove them wrong.
I give you Jakobi Meyers.
Fantasy production can come in all shapes and sizes. While we are naturally drawn toward high-octane, exciting offenses, NFL teams we might overlook still move the ball and score points.
The Raiders might not be the most flashy team, and they certainly play in one of the more competitive divisions in football, but they generate fantasy points for their key players.
In Week 1, Meyers racked up eight receptions for 97 yards on 10 targets. The passing attack predictably funneled through Meyers and Brock Bowers (5/103 on eight targets) with Ashton Jeanty handling 19 of 22 RB rushing attempts.
Geno Smith is a solid NFL QB and Meyers is a solid NFL WR. We don't have to overthink this one; Meyers will continue to be a staple of my lineups each week for the remainder of the season.
Go FantasyLife+
Your league is unique. Your advice should be too. Get personalized tools, rankings, and projections tailored to your fantasy football league settings.
