Week 1 fantasy football observations: snaps, targets, usage

Week 1 is here and football is back! So far we’ve seen the 49ers go on the road to Pittsburgh and dominate, while the Bengals and the highest paid player ever, Joe Burrow, looked sluggish in the rain and the Browns thumped them. I’m going to take you through some of my initial observations from the games.

No Cooper Kupp? No problem

I for one did not expect the Rams to have much of a shot against the Seahawks without Cooper Kupp, but I was wrong. Matthew Stafford looked good as he targeted Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell, giving them both strong fantasy games. Nacua had a whopping 15 targets, and caught 10 for 119 yards, while Atwell caught 6-of-8 targets for 119 yards as well. The touchdowns were scored by the running backs, but even without scores, Atwell and Nacua put up great numbers and should be picked up while Kupp is out.

Kenneth Gainwell leads the Eagles backfield

It was surprising when Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch, but it was even more surprising when Kenneth Gainwell dominated the running back work against the Patriots. We knew Gainwell and D’Andre Swift would be the two main backs, but Swift ended up seeing just two touches, one reception and one carry for just three yards, while Gainwell rushed 14 times for 54 yards and caught four passes for 20 more yards. It wasn’t a huge fantasy day for Gainwell or really any of the Eagles, but they won and Gainwell was the no-doubt lead back. He’s worth a pickup in all leagues.

Anthony Richardson holds his own as a passer

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but rookie QB Anthony Richardson had 223 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, on 24-of-37 passing attempts, adding 40 rushing yards and a TD on 10 carries. That puts him as the fifth best fantasy quarterback with MNF left. It won’t be a smooth ride, but with his size and speed as a runner, he’s going to have a much higher fantasy floor than the majority of the non-stud quarterbacks this season.

Kyren Williams outplays and out snaps Cam Akers

Cam Akers got the start, but Kyren Williams quickly mixed in and took over as the lead back until the team got a sizable lead. This situation is probably going to ebb and flow with situation and the hot hand, but Williams showed he was the better back today and the team wanted him in there with the game close.

Calvin Ridley hasn’t lost a step

Many were worried that a year’s suspension might have slowed down Calvin Ridley, but that wasn’t the case. Ridley caught 8-of-11 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown in a 31-21 win over the Colts. His breakout was to the detriment for Christian Kirk, who caught 1-of-3 targets for 9 yards.

Bijan Robinson vs Tyler Allgeier

The Falcons duo of Allgeier and Robinson put up big numbers against the Panthers in Week 1. They split snaps fairly closely, but with three touchdowns between them, there were plenty of fantasy points to be had.

Robinson still led the backfield in snaps, but Allgeier did have 18 looks to Robinson’s 16. He also had two goal line carries that led to touchdowns. Plus, Cordarrelle Patterson was out with an injury. Add in Patterson to this group and a game against a better team, and we could see the RB fantasy points get thinned out a bit more in the Falcons backfield. But, as long as Robinson is getting this amount of work, he’s too good to worry about.

Zay Flowers, Ravens WR1

Flowers was far ahead of the other pass catchers for Baltimore in targets with 10. No other receiver had more than three targets. Flowers also did very well with those targets, catching nine for 78 yards. Of course Mark Andrews was out with an injury for this game, but as far as the wide receivers go, Flowers looks like the man.

J.K Dobbins tears Achilles

This really sucks for Dobbins, who has had bad injury luck in his short career. But we have to move on to the next man up and it appears that will be Justice Hill and Gus Edwards. Hill had 8 carries for 9 yards and two touchdowns, while Edwards had eight carries for 32 yards and no touchdowns. The touchdowns for Hill will make him the waiver wire pickup, but Gus Bus is a good pickup as well.

The Bengals were awful

This game will likely be forgotten about by the end of the season, but there is no doubt that Joe Burrow and company needed a bit more work together this preseason. Burrow completed just 14-of-31 passes for 82 yards before being sat with the game out of contention. His calf injury that kept him out of practice for preseason and a rainy day along with a stout Browns defensive line conspired to shut the highest paid NFL player and his team down. They’ll bounce back, as well as their fantasy players.

Robert Woods and Nico Collins, target hogs

It wasn’t all that effective, but C.J. Stroud funneled targets to Nico Collins and Robert Woods. Collins caught six of his 11 targets for 80 yards, while Woods caught six of his 10 targets for 57 yards. If they can keep seeing these kinds of targets, they’ll have fantasy value.