A Recap of Week One in Fantasy Football

Week one of the 2021-2022 NFL season is now officially in the books. The first week was pretty incredible, and I had a great time spending my entire Sunday sitting on the couch watching hours upon hours of football.

Many NFL fans enjoy playing fantasy football and desperately want to win their league, so they don’t have to spend 24 hours in a Waffle House. I’m right there with you. To help you on your quest to become a fantasy football champion, here are some of the top performers, worst performers, and players to watch from week one.

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Top Performers

Kyler Murray, Quarterback, Cardinals

Murray put on a show vs. the Titans, throwing for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He also added five carries for 20 yards and one touchdown. The Cardinals’ offense was electric, scoring 38 points and averaging 6.2 yards per play, and Murray was a big reason why. I don’t expect him to continue being this efficient as a passer, but his rushing equity near the goal line makes him one of the best quarterbacks in fantasy this year.

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Chiefs

We have another outstanding performance from an elite fantasy quarterback. Mahomes was fantastic vs. the Cleveland Browns, throwing for 337 yards, three touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He also added five carries for 18 yards and a touchdown. His performance helped the Chiefs come back from a double-digit deficit against one of the best teams in the AFC. I think we can expect to see this kind of passing performance from him every week, but if Mahomes continues to rush for touchdowns in the red zone, he’ll arguably be the best player in fantasy football.

Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver, Chiefs

Let’s stick with the Kansas City Chiefs and talk about Tyreek Hill. Hill was the primary beneficiary of Patrick Mahomes, catching 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. What’s so impressive about this performance is how many opportunities he got. Hill received 15 total targets in this game. To put this in perspective, Travis Kelce received just seven targets. If the Chiefs continue to target Tyreek Hill at this rate, he’ll be in the conversation for WR1, especially in PPR leagues.

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Worst Performers

Najee Harris, Running Back, Steelers

Harris received a ton of hype going into the season as many people believed he could be a good RB2 and maybe even an RB1 due to the volume of carries and targets he was projected to receive. He was pretty disappointing vs. the Bills, rushing for just 45 yards and 0 touchdowns and catching only 1 pass for 4 yards and 0 touchdowns. Harris did play on every single snap for the Steelers, but he only received 19 combined carries and targets. He also didn’t score a touchdown, which concerns me even more. I’m not going to overreact after a rookie’s first game, but Harris was underwhelming in week one.

Mike Evans, Wide Receivers, Buccaneers

Evans had a rough week one vs. the Dallas Cowboys, catching just three passes for 24 yards and 0 touchdowns. This was a disappointing performance, considering the Buccaneers were playing against a poor defense, and Evans has been their number one receiver for his entire career. He didn’t look like the number one receiver In this game, receiving just six total targets. Here were the Bucs’ top five receivers in terms of targets.

Chris Godwin - 14

Rob Gronkowski - 8

Antonio Brown - 7

Leonard Fournette - 7

Mike Evans - 6

Yeah. Evans had fewer targets vs. the Cowboys than Leonard Fournette. It’s a bit early to jump off the Mike Evans bandwagon, but if this becomes a trend, I advise you to look into trading him.

The Packers’ Entire Offense

The Packers got destroyed by the Saints on Sunday, losing 38-3 at home. Their offense was flat-out awful, and unfortunately, it translated to fantasy. Here is how their top offensive players performed in week one.

Total Fantasy Points:

Devante Adams - 10.6

Aaron Rodgers - 1.32

Aaron Jones - 4.2

Robert Tonyan - 2.8

I think I might throw up. As you can see, no one played well for the Packers, which resulted in a terrible fantasy day for every one of their offensive players. I’m not worried about their offense long-term, but this was a disappointing week from an offensive unit that ranked number one in offensive efficiency last season.

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Players to Watch

D’Andre Swift, Running Back, Lions

Right before kickoff on Sunday, a report announced that Jamaal Williams would start ahead of Swift because Swift was limited in training camp due to a groin injury. Both backs ended up slitting time, but Swift still played well, racking up 11 carries for 39 yards and catching eight passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. His productivity as a pass-catcher led to him scoring 24.4 fantasy points against a very good 49ers front seven.

I’m pretty high on Swift because he has some upside as a receiver, and he’s playing behind a very good offensive line. If he becomes the RB1 in Detroit, he very well could be an RB2 in fantasy this year.

Ja’Marr Chase, Wide Receiver, Bengals

I am a massive Ja’Marr Chase fan, and I thought he was the best wide receiver in the 2020 NFL draft. However, I didn’t think he would be a great fantasy option in year one because he’s playing in a crowded receiver room, and the Bengals’ offensive line is still a massive issue.

My concerns may not matter, though, because Chase looked like a star in the making in week one vs. the Vikings. He caught five passes for 101 yards and one touchdown on Sunday while leading the Bengals in targets. I want to see him play at a high level for a few more weeks before I say anything crazy, but I loved what I saw from him in his debut.

The Entire Rams’ Offense

Unlike the Packers’ offense, the Rams’ offense was spectacular in week one, scoring 34 points and averaging 7.7 yards per play. Everyone played well for them, and I expect that to continue as the Rams’ weapons get more and more comfortable with Matthew Stafford as their quarterback. Here’s how the Rams’ players performed in week one.

Total Fantasy Points:

Matthew Stafford - 24.34

Darrell Henderson Jr. - 15.7

Cooper Kupp - 23.8

Robert Woods - 12.4

Van Jefferson - 16

Tyler Higbee - 11.8

Every single player on their offense had at least ten fantasy points vs. the Bears. That’s unbelievable. While I don’t expect this to be a weekly occurrence, I do think the Rams’ offense will be explosive, and guys like Kupp, Woods, and Henderson Jr. will have the opportunity to put up many more high-level performances.