By Winsto (09/13/2024)
1. I truly think it is more a matter of when, not if, Bucky Irving, at the very least, forces Rachaad White into a time-share. For his career, White yards per carry is 3.6. That is not great. In Irving’s first game, he averaged 6.9 ypc. Yes, it is a very small sample size (9 carries), but so far, so good. White’s value was due to touches last year, not due to efficiency. He will not be getting remotely close to the same amount of touches in 2024. He will still retain value as a Flex, particularly in PPR as he is solid catching the ball, but if you can find a buyer who thinks he still has that RB2 look, sell!
2. It appears, at least for now, that the rumors of Ray Davis and Jayden Wright playing a larger role in TNF’s matchup were greatly exaggerated. James Cook had himself a day. While Davis is a solid hand-cuff, the hypothesis that he will be used as a short-yardage/goal line back has yet to be supported by evidence. As for Wright, he mostly watched from the bench as De’Von Achane, despite his smaller size, was used like a workhorse running back (29 touches) and performed very well. That is compared to Wright’s 5 touches. And this happened with Raheem Mostert not even playing! Wright faces several obstacles before he can be fantasy relevant this season. Jeff Wilson, Jr. is also in the mix for touches, as Wright was competing with him for touches before the Wilson, Jr. left the game with an oblique injury. As it looks right now, Wright would actually need an injury to BOTH Mostert and Achane to factor. And then finally, as long as Tua Tagovailoa misses time, the Miami offense, and players in that offense, become much less appealing for fantasy. And on that last point, we are really not sure how much time Tua will be missing due to nature of the injury and his history with that type of injury.
3. I wonder if we are about to witness a rare phenomenon in fantasy football this season: an offense that can support two top 10 Tight Ends! I am looking at you, Baltimore. We saw Isaiah Likely look like a top 10 Tight End last Thursday, but make no mistake, Mark Andrews is not going away. Andrews saw the bulk of attention by Kansas City’s defense in Week 01. He is still probably a top 6 Tight End, but he is probably not a top 3 TE anymore, as we must adjust his ceiling because Likely is not going away, either.
4. On a related note, Taysom Hill had a relatively quiet Week 01, but he had a chance at a receiving TD in the game. I do think New Orleans is going to lean into the Taysom Hill experience more this season than last. Week 01 wasn’t a good test due to the game turning lopsided rather quickly.
5. I wonder if there is ANY fantasy value at all, aside from maybe Malik Nabers, on the offenses of the Giants and Panthers. I would hold onto Nabers, simply because of the talent, but it is difficult to see any other fantasy relevant players at this point. I know it is only one week, but oh sweet mother of mercy!
6. For Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery fantasy managers, I wonder if we need to just accept reality: this is a 50/50 split with no predictable pattern until further notice. Dreams of Gibbs taking over was apparently more about plumbing—they were pipe dreams! Both players are used in short yardage, though Montgomery is probably leaned on slightly more. Both players factor into the passing game, though Gibbs tends to be leaned on more for that. They will limit each other’s ceiling and lower each other’s floor. That said, I will consistently rank both as mid to high RB2s.
7. With Hollywood Brown going on Injured Reserve and expected to miss a significant amount of time, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy will be the obvious beneficiaries for fantasy purposes. I think Week 01 pretty much tells the tale of the two. Rice will be steady with a safer floor. I don’t think, however, he has as high of a ceiling as Worthy. Rice is a high end WR2 for me. As for Brown, he is the more volatile play: higher ceiling but much lower floor. Brown is a borderline WR2/3 right now. Given that he is a rookie and can grow quickly into more, that is a pretty impressive start. Incidentally, another beneficiary is going to be Travis Kelce. Don’t let his quiet Week 01 fool you. Just like Kansas City’s defense did a lot to limit Andrews, Baltimore’s defense returned the favor.
8. For those of you who play in IDP leagues, if DeMarvion Overshown (Dallas) is out there and you have bench room, grab him! He is already a startable option now, but if his playing time cracks 85% or more of the snaps, he could be a top 15 LB for the rest of the season. Also, with Terrel Bernard (Buffalo) heading to the Injured Reserve, Baylon Spector (Buffalo) is someone to watch. He took over for Bernard and wore the Green Dot after the former left the game.
9. I wonder how many fantasy teams will win in Week 02 simply because of Cooper Kupp. With Puka Nacua out, Kupp looks primed for a day to remember. As for the other Rams receivers, Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson, I just don’t have much trust in starting either of them, nor am I rushing to the waiver wire for them. I do think very deep fantasy leaguers can take fliers on them, but if I am taking a flyer on a Rams receiver, I would look at Jordan Whittington. He did not see many snaps in Week 01, but he flashed in the Preseason. Colby Parkinson (TE), meanwhile, could prove to be serviceable at tight end.
10. And finally… I went out the other day to buy camouflage pants, but I had no luck. I simply couldn’t find any!