Let’s get right to the Week 2 takeaways, starting with the biggest game on the slate, which turned out to be a dud.
Cincinnati vs. Kansas City historically generates buzz of a fantasy bonanza. But each team generated only about 300 yards. Patrick Mahomes averaged 5.1 yards per pass play. Both offensive units seem to have problems.
Let’s start with Kansas City. Travis Kelce has not made an impact and had just one catch for five yards. Rashee Rice is solid, but not a game-breaker. He’s more of a No. 2 receiver, ideally — more Cris Carter than Randy Moss. Xavier Worthy looked like a rookie and has four catches in two games. There’s no Marquise Brown this year after his shoulder surgery. The idea that Mahomes was going to throw for 40 TDs and 5,000 yards has turned out to be a pipe dream.
Joe Burrow has been a pop-gun QB since 2022 — 6.35 yards per attempt. He showed a little something on Sunday, but just to the tight ends, really. Ja’Marr Chase was frustrated and had 35 yards. He wasn’t even given a chance to make plays.
These seem like two average(ish) offenses going forward.
Lots of Justin Fields victory laps have been taken, but he’s led one TD drive in eight quarters. That’s better than how the Broncos look. Granted, Bo Nix is a rookie and it could get better quickly. He goes to Tampa Bay next week hoping to get something going with his wide receivers. I definitely regret touting Courtland Sutton. But I’ve learned to never issue apologies in Week 2.
The Pittsburgh backfield seems to be 66% Najee Harris, but it’s hard to leverage that with little chance of touchdown equity.
Kyler Murray was fantastic — a perfect rating. There wasn’t much passing volume, but that will change. Marvin Harrison Jr.’s target share (column coming Tuesday) was about 40% and his TDs were the kind you dreamed of when you drafted him. James Conner is looking like a true RB1 in an offense that has been above the line and seems likely to stay there.
It’s possible the Rams are just a defensive disaster. Next up, the 49ers.
San Francisco could use a boost after flagging their game in Minnesota and having to start at 10 a.m. PT (their time), which is bad for their circadian rhythms. West Coast teams really should be given 4 p.m. ET starts when they travel.
Brock Purdy had a bad day. His rating was good and he may grade okay but watching it, things were just off. The two turnovers (including a fumble) were brutal.
Jordan Mason is a good runner but the Vikings exposed him with blitzes and those blitzes were the key to shutting down the Niners. The Vikings blitzed Purdy on 45% of dropbacks and he was dumped half a dozen times. So Mason has to tighten that up on the fly, which is unlikely. Remember, the Jets don’t blitz and didn’t even know about Christian McCaffrey sitting until game night.
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When are we going to get “MVP” chants for Sam Darnold in Minnesota? The “Red-Headed Assassin” now has an 8.37 YPA in his past nine starts. The 97-yard TD strike to Justin Jefferson will be shown at Jefferson’s Hall of Fame induction — it was that beautiful. He led them to the two-possession lead by throwing a backup WR open between three defenders while his starters were out with injury (Jefferson’s quad bruise is not expected to be a worry going forward).
The Jets offense is a work in progress. Aaron Rodgers looked better than his stats and would have had three TD passes if Jeremy Ruckert had any receiving instincts — Ruckert was thrown open in the end zone and did not finish the route. Rodgers is making “Rodgers plays” sporadically, but it’s going to take four or five games for him to be fully back mentally from his injury — too many delays and near delays on Sunday. That timeline will also coincide with Mike Williams being fully back from his 2023 ACL. They connected on the play of the game on 2nd-and-16 in tight coverage to set up the winning TD.
Most QBs don’t complete his TD pass to Breece Hall.
Braelon Allen had a couple of touchdowns in minimal work. I wouldn’t worry too much about Hall, but Allen is a different-style back in the Derrick Henry mold who can also catch and could steal some goal-line plays. Allen lasting until the fourth round in the real NFL draft is crazy — he’s just 20.
The Calvin Ridley TD catch against Sauce Gardner was amazing. Two Jets looked like they were going to intercept it. (So it was luck, actually.)
DeAndre Hopkins seems either cooked or hurt, or maybe a little of both.
Malik Nabers had 18 targets but was just 8.0 per target against a bad defense and the Giants only mustered 18 points (though they missed an extra point and then failed trying to make that up twice).
Brian Robinson Jr. looked great and should be the No. 1 running back but, most weeks, game scripts are going to give a lot of snaps to Austin Ekeler (three catches for 47 yards).
Sort of a nothing day for Jayden Daniels, which is disappointing. Terry McLaurin managers are, and should be, worried. But just give it five or six games.
Derek Carr looked like Joe Namath out there with the big plays — 166 of his passing yards came on three plays. He only threw 16 passes as the Saints somehow were never even challenged by the Cowboys in Dallas. Carr now has five TD passes on 39 attempts. So much for check-down Carr. This is a new offense, remember. Chris Olave just missed a TD (short of the line).
I did recommend Alvin Kamara at ADP right before the draft season started in earnest and feel like I dodged a bullet there. I roster him nowhere but am so relieved.
It’s early in the year so maybe the Saints defense is good. But the Cowboys have not been sharp now for two games. And they have Baltimore and Pittsburgh in two of the next three weeks.
Detroit is the most disappointing offense of the week. The Bucs were riddled with injuries and Jared Goff was woefully inefficient. But 11 more targets for Jameson Williams — giddy up! I said you can’t believe in Williams if you believe in Sam LaPorta, and vice versa, and that has proved correct so far. They can’t both eat with Amon-Ra St. Brown getting 33% targets.
Goff really let his defense down because Tampa Bay did very little all day. I’d be very worried about Rachaad White. He’s one of the least efficient backs I can remember.
At QB, you can be good at fantasy and bad at football. It’s possible. That’s Anthony Richardson right now. Of course, when you’re bad at football, you can be bad at fantasy any day, and Sunday was one of those days. The Colts have run 96 plays in two games — just disgusting. That’s tied for the fifth fewest this century through two games (2005 Niners, 88).
Josh Jacobs needed to assert himself despite his contract and was at his best today when his best was needed.
Geno Smith was super efficient and every bit of that was needed to beat the Patriots. My belief that Jaxon Smith-Njigba was overdrafted is looking bad after Week 2. Tyler Lockett did win the game in an unusual way — by drawing pass interference flags.
Hunter Henry had nearly 20 PPR points. In a year when the high-priced TEs are mostly failing, Henry is just sitting on waivers. Picking up a tight end who just posted a game like Henry’s is automatic.
It’s amazing how all the fears about the Chargers passing game are coming to fruition. Teams are not going to let J.K. Dobbins keep running like this, I don’t think. But Quentin Johnston had a 30% market share. At just about zero cost, I thought he was an automatic model pick in deeper leagues. You always draft a second-year receiver who was a first-round draft pick the year before and who is free. You do this 100 times out of 100 times when your league lets you do it.
What can I say about Bryce Young? I’m not saying he has no chance, but what were the Panthers thinking? And that goes for 95% of draftniks too. I said before the 2023 draft that my Grandma Edna would have picked C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young if she saw them throwing in shorts at Westside Park in Paterson, NJ. Who in their right mind would pick Young over Stroud? Yet here the Panthers are.
Brian Thomas Jr. hauled in his second target of the game for 66 yards to set up Jacksonville’s only TD. I can’t even find a highlight of it because no one likes the Jaguars. But throw the ball to THAT guy.
We had reversion to the mean with Isaiah Likely, who did let a potential game-winning pass in the final seconds go right through his hands on the sideline. He got about half the routes of Mark Andrews. But look at the results — the Ravens are 0-2. They have to figure out a way to involve both of these tight ends in all their routes.
The Raiders have a two-man passing offense and the Ravens could not contend with either Davante Adams or Brock Bowers, who were both winning players this week. Is Bowers the best tight end in fantasy right now? I’m not going to fight you if you think so.
(Top photo of Kyler Murray: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)
