Week 1 Fantasy Football Recap: Top 10 Takeaways
Fantasy football is back, and it feels so good! At least, it feels good for anyone who didn’t have to play against King Henry or Josh Allen. As always, Week 1 featured plenty of shocking and not-so-shocking developments. We don’t want to overreact to these one-game samples, but we don’t want to underreact to the first real game action of the season. Without further ado, here are my top 10 takeaways from Week 1.
Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways Week 1
1. Harold Fannin Jr. Has Arrived
Given that he literally led the FBS in receiving yards from the tight end position, Harold Fannin Jr. was always an intriguing fantasy prospect. However, his path to rookie-year fantasy relevance suddenly looked very slim after he slipped to the third round in the draft and landed in Cleveland behind David Njoku.
A week into his career, and that path looks a whole lot wider. Fannin led the Browns with nine targets, catching seven for 63 yards. He posted a 60% route participation rate, with his snaps roughly evenly split between a traditional in-line TE alignment and the slot (plus a few out wide for good measure).
Six of his nine targets were first-read or designed targets, so Cleveland’s coaching staff is clearly making it a priority to get him the ball. That route participation number is still low enough that you don’t have to slam him into your TE1 spot yet, but he’s an add in all formats.
2. Emeka Egbuka Has Also Arrived
Egbuka’s NFL debut was even more exciting than Fannin’s, as he finished as the WR3 on the week (pending MNF) with 21.6 Half-PPR points. Of course, that number is inflated by the fact that two of his four catches went for touchdowns. But the first-round pick’s usage was simply good across the board.
Egbuka actually led the Buccaneers with an 89% route participation rate (two more routes than Mike Evans), and saw six targets for a 19% target share. As the clear WR2 in one of the most fantasy-friendly offenses in the league, Egbuka is a weekly starter … and I’m not so sure that will change when Chris Godwin returns.
3. Josh Trends Down(s)
I’ve always been a bit of a doubter when it comes to Josh Downs. His advanced numbers are great, but not playing in two-WR sets puts a firm cap on his route participation rate, which in turn caps his upside. But even I wouldn’t have predicted how bad his usage was on Sunday.
While the rest of the Colts’ offense ran rampant, Downs caught just two out of three targets for 12 yards. Even worse, his route participation rate was just 49%. That’s way below his already concerning 73% average from last season.
We could say that Downs was still working his way back from a preseason hamstring injury, but that feels generous for a guy who was off the injury report as early as Wednesday. Instead, maybe the addition of first-round TE Tyler Warren, who ran 39% of his routes from Downs’ usual home in the slot on Sunday, cut into his workload. Whatever the reason, Downs isn’t a startable fantasy option until his participation rate trends way back up.
4. Can WR Busts Become Third-Year Breakouts?
While Week 1 was rough for Downs, it was much better for two other wide receivers from the 2023 class. Quentin Johnston shone in Brazil for the Chargers on Friday, while Kayshon Boutte racked up over 100 yards for the Patriots on Sunday.
Both QJ and Boutte have the underlying numbers to back up their big days, too. Johnston posted an 88% route participation rate, running four more routes than Keenan Allen. His seven targets were good for a 21% share. Boutte, meanwhile, led the Patriots in route participation rate (76%), targets (eight), air yards (138), and receptions (six). He ran seven more routes than Stefon Diggs, New England’s theoretical WR1.
Now, it’s possible that one or both of these performances were simply one-off anomalies. But these are both young players who were once considered elite talents (QJ was a first-round pick, while Boutte was heading that way after an excellent true freshman season at LSU). They are also both in solid situations to succeed, with paths to their team’s WR2 and WR1 jobs, respectively. Don’t expect too much, but don’t let their bad reputations preclude you from scooping this duo up off waivers this week.
5. Jalen Hurts is Back?
In 2024, Jalen Hurts averaged an 8.9% scramble rate. He scored zero touchdowns with his legs on plays that were not designed rushes. On Thursday against the Cowboys, he scrambled nine times on 33 dropbacks (a 27% rate), racking up 63 yards and two touchdowns in improv mode.
It’s definitely possible that this was a one-off anomaly, perhaps a result of the Cowboys’ defensive game plan. But it’s worth noting that Hurts dealt with an ankle injury for large chunks of last season. Maybe he is simply feeling better and ready to run more? If that is the case, he will firmly cement himself among the truly elite fantasy QBs, a group that he hovered on the border of for most of this offseason.
6. Isiah Pacheco is Not Back
While Hurts’ ankle injury went mostly under the radar, nobody missed Isiah Pacheco’s fractured fibula last season. The Chiefs’ RB1 missed nine games, then was a shell of himself upon his return. After serving as a workhorse through two games prior to the injury, he split work with fresh-off-the-couch Kareem Hunt late in the season and during Kansas City’s Super Bowl run.
Heading into this year, there was reason to be optimistic that Pacheco, after an offseason to recover, would be back to his old self in terms of efficiency and, perhaps even more importantly, usage. Through one week, that was not at all the case. He played less than half of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps, ceding 40% to Hunt and eight more to rookie Brashard Smith. Hunt also tied him in both carries (five) and targets (three), as well as running just two fewer routes. As long as this continues, Pacheco is more of a TD-dependent flex play than a weekly RB starter.
7. Mark Andrews is Also Not Back
Another player we could hope for a bounce-back season from was Mark Andrews. The former TE1 overall started 2024 slowly, coming off both a broken fibula of his own and a preseason car accident. He picked it up as the season went on, providing hope that he could return to his old self (or at least close to it) after another offseason to recover. Fellow Ravens TE Isaiah Likely being sidelined to start the season only made his outlook brighter.
But after one week, things look dire for Andrews. He only saw one target in a game where the Ravens scored 40 points. To be fair, the Ravens spent most of the game either leading big or collapsing entirely, so Lamar Jackson only attempted 19 passes. The most bearish stat is actually Andrews’ underlying usage: Even without Likely unavailable, he posted just a 59% route participation rate. Unless that number improves in more normal game scripts, Andrews’ days as a fantasy TE1 may be over.
8. NFC West RBs Lose Market Share … Except Kyren
All four NFC West backfields had interesting outcomes on Sunday, so let me rank them by how concerned I am for their lead back’s workload going forward, from lowest to highest concern:
No Concern: The Rams’ backfield usage was interesting in that, despite many fantasy analysts predicting otherwise, Kyren Williams continued to dominate. Blake Corum saw just one carry and one target on 10 snaps, while fourth-round rookie Jarquez Hunter was a healthy scratch. With 19 touches on an 81% snap share, Kyren’s status as one of the few remaining bell cows in the league is secure.
Small Concern: Technically, Brian Robinson Jr. cut into Christian McCaffrey’s usual workload on Sunday. His nine attempts meant that CMC posted only a 71% RB rush share, well below his usual numbers. But McCaffrey, despite being listed as questionable, still recorded 22 carries and 10 (!!) targets. He finished with 18.7 Half-PPR points, and it was arguably disappointing. As long as he’s healthy, CMC isn’t just an RB1; he’s the RB1.
Medium Concern: In 2024, James Conner averaged an excellent 70% RB rush share in his healthy games. On Sunday, he saw only four more carries than Trey Benson, 12 to eight, for a 60% share. Benson also played 10 of 13 third-down snaps and finished with 11 routes to Conner’s 17. Conner is still the clear lead back here, but his value takes a real hit with Benson’s expanded usage.
Huge Concern: There were rumors coming into the season that Zach Charbonnet would push Kenneth Walker III for the Seahawks’ starting RB job. Through one week, those rumors seem accurate. Charbonnet played nine more snaps than Walker against the 49ers, handled two more carries, and ran one more route. Walker did see three targets to Charbonnet’s zero, but that’s a small consolation for managers staring at 3.9 Half-PPR points from an early-round pick.
9. Travis Hunter is a Receiver
In one of the more disappointing outcomes of Week 1, the Heisman winner and second-overall pick actually played fewer total snaps than plenty of one-way players. Thankfully for his fantasy value, this was mostly because he played just six snaps on the defensive end. But he also posted just a 64% snap share on offense, to go with a 76% route participation rate — both of those numbers were lower than Dyami Brown.
On the bright side, Hunter saw eight targets on those routes for an elite 32% target per route run mark. Maybe his usage on both sides of the ball ramps up as the season continues, maybe we see him play more DB, or maybe the Jaguars admit defeat and play him as a full-time receiver. Either way, he’s still a special talent, and at least it’s clear that his primary home is currently on the offensive side of the ball.
10. Somehow, These Committees Were Even Uglier Than Anticipated
Like every year, we came into the season with some NFL teams with no clear RB1s. Depending on whether you view the glass as half-full or half-empty, these teams either had “ambiguous backfields” or “ugly committees.” While we got some clarity on some of these situations, we also had a few that turned out even uglier than anyone expected:
In an Arthur Smith masterclass, Kenneth Gainwell led the Steelers RBs in snaps. Jaylen Warren played the Najee Harris role (early-down carries, short yardage, and goal-line situations), while the former Eagle played passing downs. Third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson played just two snaps. Warren and Johnson both deserve downgrades after Week 1, while Gainwell is a valid, if uninspiring, waiver add.
A similar scenario played out in the Houston backfield: While fantasy managers were focused on Dameon Pierce and Woody Marks, Dare Ogunbowale ranked second to Nick Chubb with a 26% snap share. All four of these backs played at least 12% of snaps, and all four saw at least three opportunities. Chubb is the only player with anything approaching a fantasy-relevant role at this point, and even his usage (13 carries and one target on 28 snaps and seven routes) wasn’t great.
We also had a couple of other situations where surprising names were involved enough to further muddy already crowded situations. Travis Etienne was the clear RB1 for Jacksonville, but seventh-round rookie LeQuint Allen Jr. dominated third downs. Allen was a fantasy afterthought for most of the preseason, but Tank Bigsby and Bhayshul Tuten were both popular draft picks, and they were both also involved on Sunday. In Chicago, Dylan Sampson outperformed Jerome Ford on slightly fewer snaps, but UDFA rookie Raheim Sanders came from nowhere (the Chargers’ practice squad) to steal a goal-line TD … and this is with Quinshon Judkins finally set to return eventually.
Hopefully, all of these teams will whittle down the list of names we have to keep track of eventually. In the meantime, rostering any of these many backs will be a frustrating fantasy experience.
Update: The Jaguars have taken a step in the right direction by trading Tank Bigsby to the Eagles, presumably to replace the injured Will Shipley as Saquon Barkley’s primary backup.
Find Ted Chmyz on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.