What You Need to Know from Week 1

Photo: USA Today Sports

Baltimore at Kansas City

• The Ravens offense (and Derrick Henry) won’t start to hit their peak until the offensive line gets the best combination worked out.
• Justice Hill is going to play enough to be a PPR desperation play, and he will become the lead back if Henry goes down. He should be rostered in all but the shortest bench leagues.
• The Chiefs are good at devoting extra resources to take Mark Andrews away and they did that successfully in this game. The new development is that Isaiah Likely is trusted and good enough to go off when teams do that. With the even lower bar than ever at tight end, Likely is worth spending most of your waiver wire wallet even though the production will level out between the two tight ends.
• Xavier Worthy’s speed translates and the Chiefs are going to give him chances to make big plays. He’s an upside WR3/Flex for now, but he could become more.
• Rashee Rice is going to continue to gobble up easy short catches and add value after the reception. His target share could go down when Marquise Brown returns (maybe this week vs. Cincinnati), but Rice looks like a value in PPR even at the elevated price in late drafts.
• Samaje Perine didn’t play a big enough role in the passing game to be worried about Isiah Pacheco, and Carson Steele didn’t take goal-line carries. Pacheco’s value is safe for now, but Perine’s role could grow as he becomes more acclimated in the Chiefs offense. 
• Travis Kelce wasn’t central in the pass offense and could be a bigger disappointment than Andrews in the long run, especially after Brown returns.

Green Bay vs. Philadelphia (in Rio)

• Jordan Love suffered a knee injury and will miss 3-6 weeks. The team reached out to Ryan Tannehill, but Malik Willis will get the start in Week 2, and presumably until Love returns. This is a big hit for all of the Packers' pass-catchers value.
• Josh Jacobs did well enough to keep in lineups even while Willis is the quarterback. Emanuel Wilson had a few nice runs when Jacobs was resting and is worth a pickup in deep leagues, while MarShawn Lloyd is getting healthy.
• Jayden Reed was the player of the game for the offense with two long touchdowns, including one on a rushing attempt. He might be the one Packer receiver worth starting while Willis is the quarterback because he also gets work on manufactured touches.
• Tucker Kraft was well ahead of Luke Musgrave and should be rostered in leagues with long benches. Once Love is back, he should be rostered in all leagues. He is one of the best run-after-catch threats in the league at tight end.
• Saquon Barkley was in top form and looks like one of the best values of the first two rounds. He scored three times including twice on the ground. His value isn’t going to be hampered by Jalen Hurts tush push goal line carries - the only one the Eagles tried (not at the goal line) was unsuccessful.
• A.J. Brown had a big catch and run score and should benefit from a more dynamic pass offense under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
• DeVonta Smith will likely lead the team in catches most weeks. He’s set up to get the easy short/intermediate targets that Keenan Allen got in the Chargers offense last year under Moore.

Carolina at New Orleans

• The Panthers made a lot of changes to the offense in the offseason, but the result was still one of the worst offenses in the league. You can’t trust any Panther in your lineup until they improve.
• Diontae Johnson was mostly a non-factor and didn’t make an impression in his debut as a Panther. If this continues, he might not even be rosterable in short-bench leagues.
• Miles Sanders played a larger role than expected, rendering Chuba Hubbard a poor play. Again, no Panther is worth playing right now.
• Derek Carr was highly efficient in the new Klint Kubiak offense. He is still a very low ceiling fantasy quarterback, but he could help the passing game generate more value if he is this sharp going forward. 
• Rashid Shaheed caught a long touchdown to open the scoring and should be at least a what-the-heck flex against the Cowboys.
• Chris Olave wasn’t a big part of the game plan, and Week 2 could be underwhelming, with Trevon Diggs possibly matched up with Olave for much of the game. He’s a WR3/Flex, even though he was drafted as a WR1/WR2 in fantasy leagues.
• Two tight ends caught touchdowns, but Taysom Hill wasn’t one of them. He did get an end zone target and should still be rostered in leagues where he has tight end eligibility.
• Alvin Kamara looked like he hasn’t lost a step and he probably was a value at the price he went in fantasy drafts as long as the Saints offense looks revitalized. 

Minnesota at NY Giants

• Sam Darnold looks up to the task of running the Vikings offense, starting 12 for 12 and leading a 99-yard drive. He (and Justin Jefferson) could have had bigger numbers if the Giants were competitive.
• Aaron Jones and Ty Chander are a committee, but Jones is clearly the better part of it, and more trusted at the goal line and when it’s time to sew up the win. Jones looks like a value at ADP and he should be in as an RB2/Flex against the 49ers.
• Jordan Addison went down with an ankle injury and might miss Week 2. Jalen Nailor will be the #2 receiver. He’s worth a pickup in deep leagues after a strong but injury-marred summer.
• Daniel Jones was horrible, but we should give an assist to the Vikings defense in their second year under Brian Flores. The Minnesota D/ST could be more viable in fantasy leagues this year. Drew Lock is a preemptive add in superflex leagues.
• Devin Singletary was the lead back, but the offense was so anemic that it didn’t really matter for fantasy leagues.
• Malik Nabers did enough to be a viable play in Week 2 at Washington, but you might want to root for Drew Lock to start to raise his value.
• Wan’Dale Robinson led the team in targets and catches and he’s worth a pickup in deep PPR leagues. He’s benefitting from Nabers being the #1 threat in the passing game and drawing attention.

New England at Cincinnati

• The Patriots offensive line wasn’t exposed in this game because they were able to play ball control with the Bengals offense struggling. The targets were spread out enough that there’s no clear play in the Patriots passing game even when they are expected to pass more.
• Rhamondre Stevenson was used like a bell cow back and he looks like one of the best values at running back in fantasy drafts. 
• Joe Burrow was ineffective with a not quite full speed Ja’Marr Chase who was mostly shut down by Christian Gonzalez and no Tee Higgins. Tanner Hudson did fumble at the goal line but overall it was a very discouraging game for Burrow and the Bengals offense. 
• Higgins was out with a hamstring injury and will be questionable at best for Week 2.
• Zack Moss got the better share of the backfield and goal line looks, including a rushing score. Chase Brown looks more like an injury upside backup than an ascendant back who is able to take over his backfield.

Pittsburgh at Atlanta

• Justin Fields was very safe with the ball but got some designed runs and was able to feed George Pickens. Fields is likely to start in Week 2 and he has some value in superflex leagues at Denver.
• Pickens was on the same page with Fields and should be in lineups as a WR3/Flex at Denver, but he’ll see a lot of Patrick Surtain II, so temper expectations.
• Najee Harris was the clear lead back, but that could be because Jaylen Warren came into the season with a hamstring injury. With a hyper-conservative offense that settled for six field goals and Cordarrelle Patterson mixing in the backfield, Harris is only a slight upgrade from his ADP and is still only a flex option.
• Kirk Cousins looked like a feeble quarterback who couldn’t move well in the pocket or drive the ball downfield. Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense should be on the attack in Week 2. We could see Michael Penix if this doesn’t improve by the end of the month.
• Bijan Robinson got the Christian McCaffrey level usage we hoped for when he was going in the first round. He wasn’t that efficient as a runner, but Tyler Allgeier is not a threat to his value.
• Drake London faced a budding shutdown corner (Joey Porter), and his quarterback couldn’t put any mustard on the ball. Don’t bail on London, but maybe don’t start him until Cousins improves or Penix gets put in the lineup.
• Kyle Pitts caught a short score and was on the field for almost all of the game, so his outlook is improved once the quarterback issue gets sorted out.