The first Sunday afternoon of the 2024 NFL season had many surprises in store for all fantasy fans, both good and bad.
However, I would like to remind everyone that it’s only one week, so don’t get rattled or overreact to a player’s performance, whether they were “cool” or “embarrassing.” (If you don’t know what that means, just ask your teens!)
With that said, here are the five storylines from my Fabs from Week 1 that stood out the most. We’ll go over that and much more on the Fantasy Dirt podcast, which airs live five days a week on the SI YouTube page, so subscribe here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
Williams came into this week with a lot of hype, but that didn’t translate into fantasy points. In fact, the rookie was downright bad, completing less than 50% of his passes, throwing for just 93 yards with no touchdowns, and scoring 7.2 fantasy points.
Perhaps more concerning is that none of his top three wideouts, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen or Rome Odunze, had more than 36 receiving yards. Worse, Moore’s 10 fantasy points were the most by a Chicago offensive player in the game.
At the very least, it’s a reminder that most rookie quarterbacks don’t come into the NFL and set the world on fire right away. Give Williams time.
Williams wasn’t the only rookie to throw a stink bomb on Sunday. Harrison Jr. botched Buffalo’s one catch on four attempts. Yes, that’s 1.4 points.
I wouldn’t lose faith in the talented wideout, though, as no one on the Cardinals offense had more than 47 pass catches against the Bills. Harrison Jr. also played 55 offensive snaps, the most on the team, and only missed six snaps in the game. I’ll also remind you that Amon-Ra St. Brown had just 4.3 points in his first NFL game. Justin Jefferson had just 4.6 points. Tyreek Hill had 7.9 points. CeeDee Lamb had 10.9 points. Harrison Jr. is still coming, so don’t bench him out of anger next week.
The week started badly at this position, with Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews both staying under seven points and scoring fewer points than their Backup. Things got worse when top players like Trey McBride (8 points), Dalton Kincaid (2.1 points) and Evan Engram (1.5 points) all went to bed on Sunday.
Based on ADP data, five of the top seven tight ends selected in most drafts combined for 21.4 points (4.3 points average). Things are bound to get better (it can’t get much worse), but it’s not been a great start for many of the top players at the most thinly-staffed position in fantasy football.
One of the questions fantasy managers had about Houston’s offense before the draft centered around the wide receiver rotation between Collins, Diggs and Tank Dell. If this week was any indication, there should be enough points for everyone.
Collins led the trio with 117 yards on eight targets and scored 17.7 points. Diggs saw six targets, scored two points and led in points (21.9). Dell saw seven targets.
The matchup against the Indianapolis Colts was favorable and Week 2 will be more difficult against the Bears, but at this point I would say all three are startable players with great potential every week.
We all knew the Chargers were going to run the ball, but we weren’t sure who the best running back would be. In Week 1, it was Dobbins… and it wasn’t even close.
He rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown, averaging 13.5 yards per carry. It should be noted that he shared the workload with Gus Edwards, who had 12 touches compared to Dobbins’ 13, but the latter looked healthier and far more explosive in the backfield.
With a game against the helpless Carolina Panthers next, Dobbins will be a flexible starter in Week 1.
