Surprises and Disappointments From Week 1 Fantasy Football: Justin Fields, Nico Collins, and More
Fantasy

Surprises and Disappointments From Week 1 Fantasy Football: Justin Fields, Nico Collins, and More

Adam Ronis recaps the highs and lows from the Week 1 fantasy football slate.

The lowest total going into Week 1 was the Jets-Steelers game at 38 points. The two teams combined for 66 points. It turned out to be the second-highest scoring game on Sunday behind the Ravens-Bills and only one of two games to go over.

While those games produced a lot of good fantasy performances, the others lacked scoring. Here are the surprises and disappointments of the week.

Surprises From Week 1 Fantasy Football

  • Justin Fields had a difficult matchup against a tough Steelers’ defense and was often ranked outside the QB1 range. Fields showed why he’s tough to bench. He rushed for 48 yards on 12 carries with two TDs and passed for 218 yards with a TD.
     
  • Breece Hall started to fall down draft boards with the Jets implying they would use all three running backs. Hall is clearly the best one and looked really good. He rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries and caught two passes for 38 yards. Braelon Allen scored a rushing TD, but had six carries for nine yards and no targets. Garrett Wilson came through in a tough spot by catching seven of his nine targets for 95 yards with a TD. While the fantasy news was good for the Jets, they suffered a typical loss despite scoring 32 points. 
     
  • Aaron Rodgers got his revenge on the Jets with 244 yards and four TDs. Did anyone start him in a superflex?
     
  • Daniel Jones was one of the biggest surprises of Week 1. He passed for 272 yards with a TD and rushed for 26 yards on seven carries with two TDs. The Dolphins looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL, and while that played a role, this is the most talent Jones has played with. Tyler Warren was one of the biggest risers late in the draft season and showed why with seven catches for 76 yards on nine targets for a 31% target share.
     
  • One of the biggest questions entering the week was the Jaguars' backfield. Turns out Travis Etienne is the one to start. He rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries, including a 71-yard run, and caught three passes for 13 yards. Tank Bigsby had five carries for 16 yards and Bhayshul Tuten had three carries for 11 yards.
     
  • The Browns young players came through. Dylan Sampson led the backfield with 12 carries for 29 yards and caught all eight targets for 64 yards. Quinshon Judkins could return as soon as next week after signing a contract, although the NFL could still suspend him. Sampson is the better option than Jerome Ford, who rushed six times for eight yards and caught a pass for negative three yards. Ford will not be a factor.
     
  • We knew the Browns would play a lot of 11-personnel and that Harold Fannin Jr. would be on the field a lot. He led the team in targets with nine and caught seven passes for 63 yards, making him an appealing waiver wire add, especially for those with George Kittle. David Njoku had six targets, catching three for 37 yards. Cedric Tillman had a great four-game stretch last season before a concussion ended his season. Tillman had eight targets and caught five for 52 yards with a TD.
     
  • It became a bit easier to consider starting Jacory Croskey-Merritt when Chris Rodriguez was a healthy inactive. Croskey-Merritt rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries with a TD, while Austin Ekeler had six carries for 26 yards and caught three passes for 31 yards.
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Disappointments From Week 1 Fantasy Football

  • The Bengals’ offense was awful across the board. After playing the starters in the preseason, the hope was that the typical slow starts to the season would stop. Instead, the struggles of Joe Burrow continued in Cleveland. Burrows passed for 113 yards with a TD. It was better than the first week last season when he didn’t throw for a score. Tee Higgins had three catches for 33 yards, and Ja’Marr Chase had two catches for 26 yards on five targets. Chase Brown was the only running back to get a touch. He had 21 carries for 43 yards with a TD and caught two passes for eight yards.
     
  • The Dolphins’ offense looked broken. Tyreek Hill had four catches for 40 yards on six targets, Jaylen Waddle had four catches for 30 yards, and De’Von Achane salvaged his day with a late TD. He had 10 touches for 75 yards. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 114 yards with one TD, two INTs and lost a fumble.
     
  • James Conner had a juicy matchup against the Saints and while he scored a TD, it was a disappointing game. He rushed for 39 yards on 12 carries and caught four passes for five yards with a TD. Trey Benson rushed for 69 yards on eight carries and caught a six-yard pass.
     
  • The Steelers backfield was a big disappointment. Jaylen Warren had 13 touches for 59 yards, Kenneth Gainwell had 10 touches for 23 yards and rookie Kaleb Johnson had one carry. Warren is the only one to consider starting.
     
  • The Giants offense was abysmal. The absence of left tackle Andrew Thomas played a factor, but Russell Wilson went 17-for-37 for 168 yards and the offense didn’t score a TD. Be thankful Malik Nabers had five catches for 71 yards on 12 targets.
     
  • Terry McLaurin only had two catches for 27 yards on four targets. He missed a lot of training camp due to the contract, and a slow start can be expected. The presence of Deebo Samuel will hurt McLaurin. Samuel led the team with 10 targets, catching seven passes for 77 yards and rushing for a 19-yard TD.
     
  • Brian Thomas Jr. was a big letdown. He saved his day with a nine-yard rushing TD, but caught one of his seven targets for 11 yards.
     
  • Bo Nix had a terrible performance at home. He passed for 176 yards with one TD, two INTs and lost a fumble.
     
  • As expected, Calvin Ridley had a tough game going up against Pat Surtain with four catches for 27 yards on eight targets. Ridley will be fine.
     
  • The Seahawks backfield didn’t go well for Kenneth Walker. He had 10 carries for 20 yards and caught three passes for four yards. Zach Charbonnet had 12 carries for 47 yards with a TD and no targets. A split like this isn’t ideal for either player.
     
  • The Lions offense in the first game without Ben Johnson looked bad. David Montgomery had 15 touches for 40 yards, Jahmyr Gibbs had nine carries for 19 yards and caught 10 passes for 31 yards, Amon-Ra St. Brown had four catches for 45 yards and Jameson Williams had five touches for 26 yards.
     
  • If you thought Matthew Golden would emerge as the go-to receiver in Green Bay, it didn’t happen against the Lions. The Packers continued to spread the ball around. Jordan Love only completed 16 passes as they were in control the whole way. Golden only had two catches for 16 yards. Jayden Reed had five targets, while Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft each had four.
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  • Nico Collins was one of many top receivers to flop. He had three catches for 25 yards on five targets.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Justin Fields
    JustinFieldsIR
    QBNYJNYJ
    PPG
    9.15
  2. Nico Collins
    NicoCollinsQ
    WRHOUHOU
    PPG
    10.32
  3. Breece Hall
    BreeceHallQ
    RBNYJNYJ
    PPG
    9.05
  4. Braelon Allen
    BraelonAllenIR
    RBNYJNYJ
    PPG
    4.57