Week 1 Fantasy Recap: A look at who impressed the most in the opening week and who may be poised to put up big numbers moving forward.
The 2019 NFL Season finally kicked into full swing this Sunday and there were surprises to be found around nearly every corner.
Teams that were expected to start strong faltered, teams that were total afterthoughts rose to the occasion to surprise everyone, and fantasy breakout candidates began their ascension. It was a beautiful this to behold, and it was the first dose of real football that we all so desperately needed.
The boys of fall have returned, and they brought their A-game. Let’s take a look at who stood out the most in the opening week and who may be poised to put up big numbers moving forward.
DAK PRESCOTT: (Dallas Cowboys)
The Kellen Moore era in big D roared out of the starting blocks with a thrashing of the rival New York Giants on Sunday afternoon.
The primary narrative surrounding Dallas all off-season was how Moore would fair as the offensive coordinator, and if they would reach a deal with superstar tailback Ezekiel Elliott. It turns out both things came up roses for Dallas, but the star of the show all day long was quarterback Dak Prescott.
Prescott picked apart a threadbare Giants secondary all day long to the tune of 4 TDs/405 yards and a perfect passer rating. If the rumors of Prescott’s extension are true, he’ll need to send the Giants a fruit basket or something for this one. Total domination.
AUSTIN EKELER: (Los Angeles Chargers)
To paraphrase Jerry Jones: “(Melvin Gordon) who?”. That had to be the general refrain across the Chargers front office on Sunday afternoon after seeing how impressive Austin Ekeler looked.
Ekeler dominated the workload split 18-7 over backfield partner Justin Jackson and proceeded to shred the Colts defense both on the ground and through the air. He finished his day with a jaw-dropping final stat line of (3 TDs/154 all-purpose yards). He even scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to seal the win at home. Gordon may have shown his support on Twitter, but he had to be sweating seeing how well this offense ran without him.
SAMMY WATKINS: (Kansas City Chiefs)
Patrick Mahomes could turn me into a 10 TD per season receiving option in the NFL. I’m fully convinced that last year’s MVP is capable of getting the most out of any member of the Chiefs roster, and he put those skills on full display by going to Sammy Watkins all day long.
Watkins exploded against one of the more talented secondaries in the league (Jacksonville) and scored 3 TDs with almost 200 yards of total offense. With Tyreek Hill now expecting to miss 4-6 weeks, it doesn’t seem like the Chiefs are going to miss a beat waiting for him. That’s a thought that would have seemed incomprehensible just over a year ago, and yet here we are.
T.Y. HILTON: (Indianapolis Colts)
Indianapolis may not have won the game on Sunday, but they showed NFL fans and teams alike that they’re not going to be anyone’s push-around team.
When Andrew Luck retired the Colts fell from AFC Championship favorites to missing the playoffs. In response, Indy played with a competitive fire meant to prove those doubters wrong, and no player shined brighter than perennial superstar wide-out T.Y. Hilton.
Hilton’s fantasy stock tanked after news of Luck’s retirement, but he showed just how valuable he can still be with Jacoby Brissett under center, catching 8 of 9 targets for 87 yards and 2 scores. Don’t bury the Colts already, they’ve got some fight in them and they’ll gladly show it to you if you overlook them.
DESEAN JACKSON: (Philadelphia Eagles)
In a scene that could have believably been ripped out of Silver Linings Playbook, the Philadelphia Eagles welcomed back DeSean Jackson with a vintage revenge game.
The preseason hype surrounding the instant connection between Carson Wentz and Jackson was evident from the moment the game started, and it resulted in two 50+ yard touchdown scores for the south Philly speedster. Jackson’s addition in the off-season was heralded as both a roster boost and a triumphant return of a lost hero, and on Sunday Jackson looked every bit the part.
LAMAR JACKSON: (Baltimore Ravens)
“Not bad for a running back.” – Lamar Jackson
That was all that Jackson had to say at the top of his post-game press conference after systematically decimating the Miami Dolphins (59-10) on Sunday afternoon.
The second-year quarterback has had plenty of vocal doubters since his time at Louisville, but he’s taken that criticism in stride and converted it into a Heisman Trophy, and a starting spot in the NFL.
Head coach John Harbaugh had talked about Jackson revolutionizing the quarterback position in the off-season, and Lamar looked like a revelation on the field on Sunday. Most shocking off all to his critics, Jackson did all of his damage with his arm, tossing 5 TDs for 324 yards on just 20 attempts. One-fourth of the balls that left his hand on Sunday went for touchdowns, this was one for the highlight reel.
MALCOLM BROWN: (Los Angeles Rams)
Avert your eyes Todd Gurley owners, you may not like the look of this one. Fantasy owners who drafted the Rams stud running back were likely tearing their hair out seeing Malcolm Brown trotting into the end-zone on Sunday afternoon.
While Gurley saw 14 carries on the day, Brown and rookie Darrell Henderson saw the goal-line work, and it paid off to the tune of 2 TDs/53 yards for the teams presumed 3rd string running back.
Brown had moments in this game where he looked like a more fluid runner than Gurley, and it’s a situation that will be well worth monitoring as the first few weeks of the season go on. It’s unthinkable to believe that Gurley could lose the starting role outright, but if the Rams backfield turns into a committee approach it could easily tank his value considering where most owners drafted him.
T.J. HOCKENSON: (Detroit Lions)
There’s a general rule in fantasy football circles around the world that goes like this, “Rookie tight ends don’t produce in year one”. Well, clearly no one ever told T.J. Hockenson the news, but the big man had himself a day against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
He looked downright “Gronk-ian” against a depleted Cardinals secondary, snatching 6 rec/131 Yards/TD on the day and adding a second big man for Mathew Stafford to target in the Motor City. This kind of elite-level production obviously shouldn’t be expected in every matchup, but it’s hard to deny how impressive the rookie was in his first real NFL game.
MY MAIN TAKEAWAY FROM WEEK 1:
New England could get another shot at a perfect season this year.
When Don Shula and the 1972 Miami Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history, it was rightfully assumed that it was a feat that would never be duplicated. Given the parity of the league, the influx of new talent and always growing sources of knowledge across all 30 teams, it was unthinkable that it would ever happen again.
Fast forward to 2007 and the New England Patriots were one David Tyree helmet catch away from joining Shula in immortality. It wasn’t meant to be in 2007, and the Giants snatched the honor away from Belichick and Brady, but this year’s Patriots present something even more unthinkable: a second chance at the brass ring.
Coming off of their sixth Super Bowl victory over the LA Rams last year it was an offseason of upheaval for the NFL resident dynasty. New England lost super-fire Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski to retirement, edge rusher Trey Flowers to free agency, and ancillary pieces like Chris Hogan also left.
To compound things further, the Patriots learned that they would be without their starting center for likely the entire 2019 season due to blood clots in his lungs. The 42-year-old Tom Brady had a receiving core heading into this season comprised of Julian Edelman, an aged Demaryius Thomas and Phillip Dorsett heading into Week 1. Then, as things all too often do, the winds of change blew in the Patriots’ favor.
Josh Gordon was reinstated from the commissioner’s exempt list just weeks before the Week 1 opener, giving Brady a physical freak down the field to throw to. Then, the atomic bomb dropped that Antonio Brown would also be joining the Patriots following a brief stay in Oakland that can be most kindly described as “interesting”.
With just two additions, New England turned a noticeable weakness into arguably the most potent receiving core in the entire league. Edelman, Brown, and Gordon represent an unwinnable scenario for opposing defenses if the latter two can stay on the field and avoid the distractions that landed them here to begin with.
Brady will be operating with arguably the greatest array of receiving weapons he’s had to date, and it’s impossible not to compare the signing of Brown to the 2007 acquisition of Randy Moss (also from Oakland).
These weapons will give New England the firepower to hang with even the most potent offenses in the league, but it’s the team defense that will prove to be their greatest strength in games against playoff-caliber competition.
The Patriots defense showed exactly what they’re capable of this past Sunday night, holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to just a field goal in a dominating performance that never seemed in doubt. With their combination of talent on both sides of the ball, I feel a strong 2007 vibe with this team, and it could take another “helmet catch” level spectacle to stop them this time around.
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