This year’s weekly wrap will be more condensed, highlighting my main takeaways throughout the league. Onto the Week 1 fantasy recap:
• Ashton Jeanty led the Raiders in both rushing and receiving and looked completely healthy while recording two touchdowns. It was a favorable matchup, and rookie Mike Washington Jr. continues to impress, but Jeanty is going to have a big fantasy season in Klint Kubiak’s system. I strongly regret backing off him late in draft season after overreacting to him suffering what was apparently the world’s lowest ankle sprain.
• Brock Bowers may return in Week 2, which seems aggressive!
• Malik Willis struggled in a favorable matchup, although he still produced QB1 fantasy stats thanks to a TD run. In Willis’ defense, the Dolphins’ top three wide receivers entered with nine career starts, and the offense was robbed of a late garbage time drive thanks to a Malik Washington lost fumble. Still, fantasy managers want Willis to run more (and take fewer sacks sitting in the pocket).
• De’Von Achane’s fantasy value takes a hit thanks to Miami’s offense, but at least he saw five targets from Willis. Achane was also given 16-of-17 RB opportunities and will bounce back.
• I still say Chris Bell eventually emerges as Miami’s WR1, but Caleb Douglas clearly looked more the part Sunday.
• Bucky Irving ceded some carries to Kenneth Gainwell after losing a fumble, but he looked rejuvenated and led Tampa Bay with seven targets. He’s a borderline top 12 fantasy back.
• The Bengals’ defense forced three turnovers in the first 18 minutes and won’t be pushovers like last season, when opposing tight ends and running backs were automatic starts.
• Ja’Marr Chase’s extremely quiet game is concerning considering he’s coming off a hyperextended knee injury, but it’s worth noting he has a history of slow Week 1s.
• Jahmyr Gibbs averaged 7.5 carries during the first halves of games last season; he had nine over Detroit’s first two drives Sunday before finishing with 33.6 fantasy points. A top 10 fantasy RB season all time is coming.
• Travis Etienne deserves a downgrade after splitting carries evenly with Kendre Miller. The nine targets were certainly nice, but New Orleans won’t pass 54 times every week, and Alvin Kamara will be back soon.
• Tyler Shough threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns over the final 25 minutes (plus OT), but the Saints fell short thanks to a failed two-point conversion attempt in overtime.
• Lamar Jackson is back, and the Ravens are going to score a ton of points in Declan Doyle’s new offense.
• Zay Flowers looked like a top five fantasy WR while going for 6-5-150-1 before exiting with 5:40 left in the second quarter. It took less than 20 minutes for Flowers to set a career high in receiving yards in Doyle’s new offense, but he’s set for an MRI on Monday after aggravating a hamstring injury he originally hurt in mid-August.
• Ja’Kobi Lane also left Sunday’s game with a fractured wrist, so a Baltimore pass catcher needs to step up; Elijah Sarratt is a sleeper, and Rashod Bateman will get a bigger opportunity.
• Jonathan Taylor was the league’s most game-script sensitive RB last season, so it’s encouraging to see him finish as fantasy’s RB7 during a week the Colts were down 38-16 at one point.
• Keenan Allen tied for the team-lead with six targets, more than Josh Downs and Tyler Warren. Not great, Bob.
• I recommended starting both Pittsburgh running backs in a tweet that somehow reached nearly one million views. The 11 combined targets were nice, but the results weren’t.
• Bijan Robinson saw 10 targets, more than the rest of Atlanta’s pass catchers combined (nine). Robinson also had 100+ more total yards than his teammates (173 to 65).
• Drake London and Kyle Pitts Sr. need Michael Penix back ASAP.
• Caleb Williams had two TD runs in the first half after entering with just three in his career. He was fantasy’s QB1 this week despite his running backs rushing for four touchdowns.
• D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai were the NFL’s leading duo in rush yards over the final 11 games last season and went off for 224 Sunday (8.0 YPC) while both finishing as top 10 fantasy backs. Swift also had two long runs negated by penalties over Chicago’s first two drives; he looks like an RB1 moving forward.
• The Bears/Panthers tied for the most points scored (55) ever in a first half. Chicago scored 59 points with Luther Burden, Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland essentially doing nothing.
• Williams missed Loveland for a potential big play, but two targets is obviously a rough start for the tight end.
• We’ve been over the myth regarding bad defenses leading to more fantasy scoring by the offense, but Chicago’s setup sure looks like a carnival season is in store.
• The Bears have a shaky defense, but Bryce Young played terrific.
• Jonathon Brooks took a backseat to Chuba Hubbard as a rusher, but he secured a nice 48-yard catch.
• I drafted Jalen Coker in many leagues, but he was on my bench in most during Week 1. God bless Best Ball! He finished as fantasy’s WR1 this week despite being tackled at the one-yard line during a drive.
• Trevor Lawrence’s fantasy day would’ve been even bigger, but he attempted just 23 passes and sat out most of the fourth quarter.
• Jacksonville had four pass catchers record touchdowns, but Brian Thomas Jr. wasn’t one of them.
• Quinshon Judkins had a tough matchup, but he could see increased targets with Dylan Sampson suffering an injury.
• I’m beginning to think Deshaun Watson may not live up to his contract in Cleveland.
• Josh Allen has the most TD runs by a quarterback ever, and he was fantasy’s QB2 despite a matchup in Houston. The Texans dropped a sure interception that might’ve ended the game, but Allen threw the winning TD the next play.
• I faded DJ Moore throughout draft season, but he sure looked like someone who will benefit from being Allen’s clear WR1. Moore already has more 100-yard receiving games than he had in 2025, and it came against arguably the league’s best defense. Moore also drew a 46-yard DPI in the end zone.
• David Montgomery’s YPC (3.0) matched his touchdown production, while Nico Collins is a threat to lead the league in targets this season.
• Breece Hall looked great, but he’s a sell-high candidate who won’t typically benefit from a positive game-script like Sunday. Braelon Allen added 10 rush attempts and had a TD run nullified by penalty.
• Garrett Wilson will be a fantasy WR1 as long as he’s healthy this season.
• Cam Ward is going to be a problem for Tennessee’s fantasy production throughout 2026.
• Kyler Murray left after 11 snaps thanks to getting sandwiched by two Packers’ defenders during an unnecessary roughness penalty. Murray appeared to fence, so he could miss time while dealing with concussion issues.
• Carson Wentz taking over at QB for an injured Murray is likely an upgrade for Justin Jefferson, who scored his first TDs at home since 2024 and matched his total (two) from last season. Jefferson averaged 16.3 fantasy points with Wentz last year despite not scoring one touchdown; he averaged just 10.0 fantasy points during the other 12 games.
• The Vikings’ 39-22 win will go down as one of the most misleading final scores of the season.
• Christian Watson went off for 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He’s a top 15 fantasy WR if he can stay healthy.
• I reached for Jayden Reed in many drafts, but Matthew Golden was available later and led Green Bay with 12 targets Sunday. Golden’s role appears far superior.
• Jeremiyah Love split work more than hoped, but he was a true game-time decision while returning from a high-ankle sprain and scored a touchdown. He’s going to be a star at some point, but the committee may linger for now.
• Michael Wilson’s role appeared more fantasy friendly than Marvin Harrison Jr., who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch downfield but otherwise also took a backseat to Kendrick Bourne. It wasn’t a favorable matchup, but it’s not encouraging that Harrison finished fifth on his own team in targets.
• Mike McDaniel’s debut in Los Angeles failed miserably, highlighted by Omarion Hampton and Keaton Michell getting just 3.25 YPC at home against a Cardinals’ defense that surrendered the third most RB fantasy points last season.
• Ladd McConkey left with a chest injury after taking a big hit at the end of the third quarter.
• The Eagles’ new offense produced, but it remains a work in progress that likely would’ve struggled Sunday against tougher competition.
• Stefon Diggs > Terry McLaurin rest of season.
• Jaxson Dart tossed three touchdowns and led New York in rushing until the final drive against a Dallas defense that should be much improved this season under new DC Christian Parker. Dart is a major injury risk, but he also carries top five fantasy QB upside.
• Tyrone Tracy Jr. lost a fumble in the first half, and it was Devin Singletary who stole touches from Cam Skattebo, not Najee Harris. Skattebo surprisingly wasn’t targeted.
• Malik Nabers immediately commanded a team-high nine targets. He looked healthy yet didn’t blow up if you played it safe and benched him during the Sunday night game. A successful outing by Nabers.
• Dallas had an unexpectedly quiet passing game, although just 23 minutes time of possession certainly didn’t help.
• Javonte Williams is set for a massive workload in games with more positive scripts. He saw 17-of-19 RB opportunities.
• Sunday marked the highest scoring Week 1 since the 1970 merger.
Regression Corner
The following players were tackled near the one-yard line and didn’t score during the same drive: Jameson Williams, Nico Collins, Jalen Coker, Zay Flowers and Ja’Kobi Lane.
Circa Survivor Results
My one solo Circa Survivor (which is up to $25 million!) entry cruised with an easy Jaguars win, but the same can’t be said for the other entry I share with a buddy, unfortunately. We’ll call him “Tommy” (because that’s his name), who insisted we take the Chargers (and by insisted I mean suggested, and I never pushed back). As if the Cardinals, who lost as 15.5-point favorites when we were in the final 20 back in 2021 and then knocked me out again last year with the most unlikely loss in NFL history, couldn’t hurt me any more in Circa Survivor. In Tommy’s defense, the Chargers are well-known for having a dominant homefield advantage! Come back better next year Tommy.
It could be worse, as there were 91 people who maxed all 10 of their entries on LAC this week.