Jeudy felt like an afterthought behind the two rookie wideouts in the Browns’ passing game. He tied for second in targets and was a distant third in yards behind Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion. The veteran is still involved as a starter on the outside, but Todd Monken made it a point to make Boston the deep target and Concepcion the primary offensive weapon. In a fantasy-unfriendly offense, Jeudy is best left off the fantasy radar.
Fannin only saw three targets on the day, catching his first pass towards the end of the third quarter. It was a bafflingly low level of usage for the 22-year-old tight end, who was heavily involved last year. Some of it may have to do with Deshaun Watson helming the offense; the Browns struggled to move the ball for much of the day. Fannin is still the primary receiving tight end, but he will have to fight KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston for what little high-leverage targets this offense can muster. We cannot discount his TE1-level rookie season just yet, Fannin is a low-end TE1 for Week 2 against the Buccaneers.
It’s a standard-issue Robinson statline for his Titans debut. Ominous, since this should have been an 8-9 reception Robinson outing with the Titans spending the entire game in comeback mode. Cam Ward and company simply could not sustain drives. In theory, Robinson could form a compelling inside-out duo with Carnell Tate, but Ward did not look like a player ready to break out on Sunday. Things could get worse before they get better with the Titans forced to take on the Eagles’ tough defense in Week 2.
Johnson didn’t catch his first pass of the game until the final minute, when Tyler Shough found him in the end zone for a game-tying score. He then racked up another 45 yards on a catch at the end of the fourth quarter and another in overtime. Johnson only finished fourth on the team in targets, which could be an issue when the team’s passing volume inevitably dips. He will be a mid-range TE2 for another potential shootout with the Ravens next week.
Picking up where he left off for the Jets last season, only this time with hopefully better quarterback and line play, Mitchell caught a 40-yard pass in the third quarter to set the Jets up in the red zone. His receiving slash wasn’t bad considering the fact Geno Smith dropped back only 24 times in a game the Jets controlled start to finish. They didn’t need to open the offense up, and they very much did not. That should change for Week 2 against the Packers, where Mitchell can be fired up as a boom/bust WR4.
Both of Downs’ catches came on the Colts’ opening drive. The fourth-year receiver looked explosive on his first reception when he turned a short catch into a 25-yard gain to move his team into Ravens territory, and he picked up another 12 yards through the air two plays later. Three of Downs’ four targets came on that drive, as he managed just one target the rest of the way. Downs’ drop-off after the opening possession largely stemmed from the Colts’ inability to move the ball. They averaged just 4.2 yards per play after that first drive and totaled only 107 passing yards over that span. The early targets were encouraging. Hopefully Downs will be in line for a better outing in Week 2 against the Chiefs. He shouldn’t be treated as anything more than a WR3 in next week’s game.
In his first regular season action, Brooks played well behind lead back Chuba Hubbard, who finished the day with ten carries and three receptions. The highlight of Brooks’ day came on a sideline throw from Bryce Young that went for 48 yards. Brooks, coming off multiple major knee injuries, showed impressive burst and speed on the catch and run. That Hubbard was the team’s primary option inside the ten yard line is bad news for Brooks’ touchdown upside in the Carolina offense. For now he profiles as a bench stash in case Hubbard misses time this season.
Waller had a short touchdown grab called back on offensive pass interference while rotating snaps and routes with Tommy Tremble. Both Panthers tight ends ran 19 routes on the day and saw two targets from Bryce Young. Waller will continue as a touchdown-reliant TE2 option in Week 2 against the Falcons.
Lance operated as the Saints’ No. 3 receiver in this game, but he was the wideout Kellen Moore subbed off the field for 12-personnel looks. In a game that doesn’t see Tyler Shough drop back over 60 times, Lance likely doesn’t make much of a mark in the box score. The good news for Lance is that the Saints could be in line for another high-scoring outing next week when they take on the Ravens. Lance will be a boom/bust WR5.
Miller operated as Travis Etienne’s backup with Alvin Kamara out this week. He surprisingly drew Etienne to a carries standstill at nine apiece. Etienne, however, saw nine targets. Miller was not targeted. Miller will be a thorn in the side of Etienne backers as long as Kamara is out, but he doesn’t have much standalone value headed into Week 2.
Burden overcame a first quarter fumble on a bubble screen to finish second on the team in targets behind Kalif Raymond, who saw nine looks from Caleb Williams, just as everyone had predicted. While Burden’s 17 percent targets per route run was well below his 2025 rate, he should be more involved going forward in a Bears offense that might be trying to break the NFL’s single season scoring record, as head coach Ben Johnson mentioned in an August interview. Burden will be a top-30 PPR option next week against the Vikings.
McConkey collided with an Arizona defender on an over-the-middle target in the third quarter and stayed down for a while before limping to the blue medical tent. A few minutes later he was being helped to the Chargers locker room. It would seem his day is over after catching five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in his first regular season game under OC Mike McDaniel. Hopefully the oft-injured McConkey doesn’t miss extended time.
Pollard “added” a -1 yard reception. With the Titans spending the entire game in comeback script, Pollard was played to a snaps standstill by primary third-down back Tyjae Spears, though Pollard won the touches battle 8-5. Rookie Nicholas Singleton did not dress. As feared, this is looking like a near-even committee in an offense that could barely support even a bell-cow back. Pollard will be a barely-there FLEX for next week’s rough Eagles matchup.
Williams posted a semi-usable fantasy score, but the film was hard to watch. He dropped a perfectly thrown deep shot from Jared Goff early in the game and bungled a pitch later, resulting in a loss. Williams has had these types of games in the past and he generally rebounds well. Fantasy managers can keep him in their lineups for a likely shootout with the Bills next week.
Pro Football Focus charted Spears as playing just one fewer snap than Tony Pollard (26-25 for Pollard), though Pollard “won” the “touches battle” 8-5. There were no winners here, of course, as Cam Ward struggled to sustain drives in an ugly loss to a bad Jets team. Now things get much harder for Week 2 against the Eagles. The only good news for Spears and fantasy managers is that rookie Nicholas Singleton was healthy scratched this afternoon. Perhaps that will change seven days from now.
Javonte Williams should see all the volume he can handle with the Cowboys entering Week 1 with a recent signee and a practice squad elevation as depth behind their lead back. There weren’t any other surprises outside of the lack of backfield depth.
He did most of his work on the offense’s final drive, catching back-to-back targets for 26 yards. Schultz managed 52-of-79 snaps. If you were going to pick anyone in this offense besides David Montgomery and Nico Collins to return consistent fantasy value, it’s probably Schultz. It’s just, you know, there are not often three Texans worth starting in fantasy football. He’ll be a high-end TE2 against the Bengals in Week 2.
Strange operated as the Jaguars’ primary receiving tight end, seeing three targets on the day. In a loaded passing attack, he still found opportunity in what is a very fantasy friendly offense. Strange caught a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter and was mostly quiet in a second half where the Jaguars were already up by four scores. The Jaguars wide receivers will take much of Lawrence’s targets but Strange has a role over the middle of the field; he profiles as TE2 for Week 2 against the Broncos.
He let two of the other three non-catches glance off his hands. Marie Kondo loves mess, so she’d love this Texans WR2 situation. Hutchinson led the four non-Collins receivers with 44 snaps. This should not be confused with him being a desirable fantasy football play.
Wilson’s six targets tied him for second on the team and also don’t include a defensive pass interference penalty he drew on a deep ball in the first half. Wilson also had a near touchdown when a deep pass was broken up as he was going to the ground with the ball. Despite having so many more targets than Michael Pittman Jr., Wilson ran 29 routes to Pittman Jr.'s 42, so Wilson remains the clear WR3 in a potentially low-scoring offense.
Boerkircher was drafted to primarily be a blocking tight end. The 25-year-old played 38 snaps in his rookie debut, 26 of them coming for run blocking. With Brenton Strange operating as the receiving tight end, its unlikely Boerkircher achieves fantasy relevance within his role.
Allen did all of his damage in the short area of the field, as the veteran receiver never totaled more than nine yards on any of his six catches. Allen averaged fewer than four air yards per target on the day and will be hard to trust even in the deepest of fantasy leagues if this is the kind of production we will have to come to expect. It’s far too early to say Allen can be dropped from fantasy rosters, but there’s no need to jam him into your lineups in Week 2 against the Chiefs.
It was neither an efficient nor prolific day for the Bengals’ lead back, but he found the end zone and out-touched No. 2 Samaje Perine 21-8. It was a full “as expected” day in the Bengals’ backfield. Brown will remain in the RB10-14 range for Week 2 against the Texans. That’s a tough defensive matchup, albeit one the similarly offensive-minded Bills just handled with ease.
Warren’s underwhelming line can be blamed on the offense’s struggle to move the ball all afternoon. The second-year tight end tallied two receptions in the first half, both for two yards, with his longest play coming on a nine-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. His five targets were good for second-most on the team, but the Colts offense left a lot to be desired this week. The expected volume will keep Warren in the TE1 mix for Week 2 against the Chiefs.