The Kansas City Chiefs started the season with a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but the loss of a standout wideout due to injury is a much bigger story for fantasy football purposes. Once Xavier Worthy left that game with a shoulder injury, Hollywood Brown stepped up in his absence as the primary target in the Chiefs offense.
With Worthy deemed day-to-day by head coach Andy Reid with a dislocated shoulder, there’s a chance he could miss some time moving forward. If he does, what does Hollywood Brown’s fantasy football value look like, and is he a must-roster option just in case?
Hollywood Brown’s fantasy value
As mentioned above, Kansas City lost their Week 1 matchup last Friday in Brazil. However, the Chiefs offense generated 21 points and 356 total yards as quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and a touchdown. Worthy saw just one carry without a target before exiting the game on his team’s first drive. Hollywood Brown filled the void as Mahomes’ primary target on the day, seeing 16 passes thrown his way. The veteran wideout saw 11 more looks than any other Chiefs player, garnering a massive 42.1% target share — the highest of any player on the Week 1 slate.
Now, Reid almost certainly didn’t set out to hyper-target Brown this week, and the excess of opportunities can also probably see some attribution to the Chargers’ defense mostly writing the wideout off and instead opting to place more focus on Travis Kelce between the numbers. However, it’s tough to ignore Brown’s line of 10 catches for 99 yards and 19.9 PPR fantasy points on the week. He could’ve seen an even more impressive final stat line had Mahomes not overthrown him on a ball inside the five-yard line, then underthrown a deep shot that the receiver brought in roughly 15 yards from the end zone.
Regardless of the missed opportunities, Brown saw an elite target share in Week 1 with Worthy sidelined. He’s the best wide receiver on the Chiefs for as long as the shoulder injury continues bothering his second-year teammate, and Rashee Rice won’t return to the field until his suspension is over in Week 7. Thus, Brown sees a chance to make an immediate impact as a primary target for an offense helmed by one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
The verdict
Brown doesn’t look like the most exciting play in fantasy football, but we’ve seen him produce in the past with double-digit fantasy points in each of his first four seasons with the Ravens and Cardinals. That also includes a 2021 campaign in which the wideout averaged 14.1 FPPG as one of the two primary targets in Baltimore’s offense alongside tight end Mark Andrews, so perhaps there’s a chance he could recapture that dynamic alongside Kelce for the time being in Kansas City.
While Brown probably won’t be a star once Worthy returns (and his value will take a further hit when Rice eventually comes back), he’s proving he can still contribute on an NFL roster and in fantasy football as well. Had he not dealt with injuries last season, he likely would have seen a decent role in a Chiefs offense mostly devoid of receiver talent. Brown can absolutely step into the void if Worthy misses time, especially with the rest of a thin depth chart headlined by JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton, so he’s a solid waiver pickup heading into Week 2 if available in your leagues.
