By Winsto
As the first Sunday of profession football is wrapping up, what follows are my thoughts regarding each game.
New Orleans at Atlanta
It was the Cordarrelle Patterson show. He is picking up where he left off last year, and there is no reason, at this point, that this can not continue.
Jarvis Landry (7 receptions for 114) may have been overlooked by the fantasy community. He looks like someone to consider, especially in PPR formats.
Michael Thomas (2 touchdowns) and Drake London (5 receptions for 74 yards) both were solid.
Kyle Pitts and Alvin Kamara, both had forgettable performances. Chalk it up as a bad week, as you are still going to start them next week.
Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota had solid outings as well, considering the expectations.
Take note of Taysom Hill’s usage. In many leagues, he has TE eligibility. If you do not have a top 8 TE, he may be someone you consider picking up.
San Francisco at Chicago
Simply put, because of the weather, this was not pretty.
Deebo Samuel was able to score, but also had a lost fumble.
Brandon Aiyuk, Darnell Mooney, and Cole Kmet did next to nothing. I am optimistically assuming that it was simply due to the weather, mostly.
Trey Lance and Justin Fields did not have positive games, either, though Fields was able to salvage the day late.
Eli Mitchell left the game with a knee injury. If he misses time, I “think” Jeff Wilson would be next in line, but the concern is that he would necessarily carry the load by himself.
If I am a David Montgomery owner, I have concerns. Khalil Herbert seems to be making his case for touches.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Jamar Chase is good, in case you did not notice.
Joe Mixon and Pat Freiermuth had a solid games.
Joe Burrow had some struggles, turning the ball over 5 times.
Pittsburgh players not named Freiermuth disappointed. Najee Harris bailed out his owners with a TD reception.
For IDP fantasy owners, Minkah Fitzpatrick has a nice game and let Pittsburgh in tackles with 14. There may be something to that.
New England at Miami
As for New England, it was not a great offensive performance. Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson split the workload 9 to 8.
Tyreek Hill is still good, and Jaylen Waddle helped himself out with a touchdown.
Tua Tagovailoa had a solid statistical day, but it just seemed like it could have been much better.
Philadelphia at Detroit
A. J. Brown and D’Andre Swift were the stars in this game. I do not see why this cannot continue.
Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders (who actually scored after a scoreless 2021 season), Dallas Goedert, Amon Ra St. Brown, were solid overall.
Jamal Williams had/vultured 2 TD runs, but be careful assuming he is the goal line back. They may have just been a bit fluky.
T. J. Hockenson’s stats were probably a bit disappointing, considering Detroit scored 35 points. He may be a buy low candidate.
Baltimore at New York (NYJ)
Lamar Jackson put up a solid fantasy day, with 3 TDs.
I am not sold on Devin Duvernay’s performance (2 TDs), at least not yet. Rashod Bateman saved his day with a 55 yard TD. Mark Andrews was solid.
Corey Davis led his team in receiving yards, but I think Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson will prove to be more valuable this season.
Michael Carter, who is talented, is definitely the lead back over Breece Hall right now, but I do not see that lasting over the course of the season, as Hall has elite potential.
As for Baltimore running backs, I would not bother with any of the currently healthy options.
Jacksonville at Washington
James Robinson, despite coming off injury, still outtouched Travis Etienne Jr. 12 to 6, and Robinson had 2 total TDs. Robinson may actually prove to be the more valuable of the two.
Christian Kirk had a day, with 116 receiving yards.
Carson Wentz also had a day, with 313 passing yards, 4 TDs, and 2 INTs.
Curtis Samuel actually had the most receptions for Washington, and a score.
Antonio Gibson had a solid game, with 130 total yards (and no fumbles lost).
Cleveland and Carolina
Fantasy owners of Nick Chubb are probably not satisfied with his 141 rushing yards because of no touchdowns thanks to Kareem Hunt, who had 70 total yards and 2 scores.
Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey (57 total yards and a score) underperformed but saved his day with the TD.
If you started Robbie Anderson, congratulations on the call, as he had a 75 yard touchdown grab.
Better days should be ahead for D. J. Moore owners. He is still the pass catcher you want on this offense.
Indianapolis at Houston
Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor both had great games.
Houston apparently decided that Dameon Pierce was not ready to carry the load, as Rex Burkhead outtouched him 19 to 12.
Brandin Cooks continues to be the alpha pass catcher for Houston.
I remain skeptical of O. J. Howard’s 2 TD performance.
For IDP players, Kamu Grugier-Hill (18 total tackles) and Jonathan Owens (15 total tackles) are worth taking a look at.
New York (NYG) at Tennessee
Saquon Barkley had himself a day. Right now, he is the only member of the NYG that I would trust.
Owners are probably a little disappointed with Derrick Henry’s stats, but he will be fine.
Ryan Tannehill threw for 2 TDs, both to Dontrell Hilliard. Though Treylon Burks has potential, I do not trust any of the pass catchers for Tennessee at this point, including Robert Woods.
Green Bay at Minnesota
Aside from A. J. Dillon, all of the Green Bay players disappointed. Aaron Jones had 8 total touches, while Dillon had 15. None of the wide receivers did anything of note, and that played a role in Aaron Rodgers’s lackluster day. The narrative on Christian Watson would have been different had he not dropped a long pass that would have easily resulted in a touchdown. If you have space on your bench, I think he is the wide receiver you want, as there is too much talent and potential to ignore.
Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook had solid outings, but Justin Jefferson was easily the player of the game, as he had 184 receiving yards and 2 TDs. He is simply elite.
Las Vegas at Los Angeles (LAC)
Justin Herbert spread the ball around as he went for 279 passing yards and 3 TDs. No pass catcher had more than 4 receptions or 66 receiving yards.
Austin Ekeler probably disappointed fantasy owners with 72 total yards but no score.
I am not buying DeAndre Carter (64 receiving yards and 1 TD), even with Keenan Allen possibly missing some time.
Mike Williams will have some big games this season. This was not one of them.
Derek Car struggled some, with 3 INTs, but he did have 295 passing and 2 TDs.
Davante Adams is still the target monster, with 10 receptions for 141 yards.
Darren Waller had a solid game as well; Hunter Renfrow did not.
It looks like Josh Jacobs is still in control of this backfield.
Kansas City at Arizona
There is a reason some in the fantasy community believed Patrick Mahomes was the number one quarterback going into this year. He is simply elite, as he threw for 360 yards and 5 TDs (in a game that was not even a shootout.)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire actually had a nice game, with 74 total yards and 2 TDs. As of now, he looks like he is holding off his competition (Isiah Pacheco, who also ran well in garbage time.)
Travis Kelce (obviously) and JuJu Smith-Schuster are the pass catchers you should be able to trust for Kansas City. As for the rest, it will probably be hit or miss every week.
Though Murray had 2 TDs, this was not a great game. James Conner, Marquise Brown, and Zach Ertz all had 1 TD a piece, but otherwise had fairly lackluster days.
Tampa Bay at Dallas
Aside from Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans (and I suppose Ryan Succop), this game was surrounded by disappointment.
Chris Godwin left the game with what appears to be a hamstring injury.
In theory, Julio Jones may be the beneficiary of an extended absence from Godwin. In theory.
Dak Prescott left the game, and it is being reported that he will have surgery on his thumb and miss the next “several weeks.” Not good. Downgrade your Dallas players for the next “several weeks.”