• Cooper Kupp returns to form: Kupp saw a whopping 21 targets in Week 1, and with Puka Nacua now on injured reserve, his ceiling is even higher.
• Zamir White has a worrying showing: White handled 13 rushing attempts, which he turned into only 42 yards and a fumble. Alexander Mattison out-snapped White, 61% to 39%.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
BOOMS
TE Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
Likely went off for fantasy managers in Week 1, racking up 26.6 PPR points and coming a toe away from scoring 33-plus PPR points. When Mark Andrews was healthy last season, Likely played only 25.5% of offensive snaps. With both tight ends healthy again this season, Likely was still out-snapped by Andrews — but by a much smaller margin (Andrews 49.2%, Likely 44.2%).
Look to pick up Likely in all fantasy leagues right now, as there are not many backup tight ends to stash on your bench that provide such upside.
However, I would be hesitant to start Likely next week until we see how this rotation officially shakes out. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won't be attempting 41 passes each game going forward, and Likely won't always be getting 10 more targets a game than Andrews.
Going Forward: High-end bench tight end or mid-tier starter
RB J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers
Dobbins was the comeback story of Week 1. After being one of the most promising running backs in the league coming out of Ohio State, he was plagued by multiple season-ending injuries, which led to him signing a “prove it” deal with the Chargers this offseason, following his former offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Dobbins finished with 135 rushing yards and 22.9 PPR fantasy points — not too shabby for someone who was going as the RB43 in redraft leagues this season.
People were speculating that Gus Edwards would handle the majority of the load in Los Angeles due to being signed first in free agency, and for more. However, Dobbins played 59.3% of offensive snaps to Edwards' 40.7%. He also received one more carry than Edwards (11 to 10). Dobbins did more with his workload, averaging 13.5 yards per carry, forcing four missed tackles on runs and generating three explosive plays (rushes of 15-plus yards). Meanwhile, Edwards averaged 2.5 yards per carry, forced no missed tackles, and had zero explosive plays.
If you weren't on it already. It’s time to board the J.K. Dobbins train.
Going Forward: High-end flex play or mid-tier RB2
"I've been praying hard, working hard, and it's no surprise to me."
– a resilient JK Dobbins to our @tracywolfson | @chargers pic.twitter.com/d99qqJW9B4
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 8, 2024
WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
After an injury-plagued 2023 season, the 2021 Triple Crown winner bounced back to the form we all know, scoring 32 PPR points.
It looked like 2021 all over again on Sunday night for Kupp, who saw 21 targets and hauled in 14 of them. The next closest receiver handled 12 targets in Week 1. Granted, some of this was due to Puka Nacua going down with a knee injury in the second quarter. Nacua is being placed on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four weeks. In the meantime, Kupp is immediately back to being one of the top-tier WR1s in fantasy football.
Even alongside a healthy Nacua in the first quarter, Kupp saw five targets and played 21% of the receiving snaps. Nacua saw only one target and played 16.1% of receiving snaps. It’s early, but all signs point to Kupp being a steal at his WR17 ADP.
Going Forward: With Nacua: Mid-tier WR1; Without Nacua: High-end WR1
BUSTS
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
Was it bad? Yes. Did it cost some people their Week 1 fantasy matchup? Absolutely. Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 1.4 PPR points were not what fantasy managers were hoping for out of the fourth overall pick, but the opportunities were there. Harrison received a team-high 36 receiving snaps but saw only three targets.
On top of that, quarterback Kyler Murray missed a wide-open Harrison for a touchdown late in the game. The opportunities will come for MHJ sooner rather than later. If there is someone in your league who is willing to sell low on Harrison after this performance, take the deal.
Marvin Harrison Jr. was so wide open for a game-winning touchdown CBS couldn't even fit a Bills defender in the frame
(Kyler Murray did not throw to him) pic.twitter.com/77hEMZYzwD
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024
Temperature Check: Still high on him
WR Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
3.5 PPR points on with three targets and two receptions. Yuck.
The Falcons' offensive game plan was not in London’s favor. They ran the ball 22 times, and the second leader in targets and leader in receptions on the day was running back Bijan Robinson. This was mostly due to T.J. Watt and company wreaking havoc on quarterback Kirk Cousins, who averaged only 2.50 seconds to throw in Week 1.
Cousins also seemed off. In 2023, he attempted 92 passes out of play action across his first eight games and earned an 88.2 PFF passing grade off play action. This past week, Cousins attempted zero play-action passes.
Temperature Check: Not worried, but monitoring
RB Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
One of the hottest names in fantasy football over the offseason got off to a lackluster 4.6-PPR-point start to 2024. White handled 13 rushing attempts, which he turned into only 42 yards. White also fumbled on that meager workload. Alexander Mattison out-snapped White, 61% to 39%.
Mattison’s snaps, however, were primarily in receiving sets (24 out of 36), and he controlled all of the blocking work, with White not seeing a blocking snap during the game. White was split between the rushing and passing sets (13 rushing snaps and 10 passing snaps).
Temperature Check: Worried
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.