You probably checked your waiver wire to see if Isaiah Likely was available after the season opener. Turns out he’s there to be had in about 70% of Yahoo leagues, and I believe the 12 targets, 111 yards, and touchdown wasn’t a fluke, so let’s get that out of the way as a smart claim to make on one player who obviously has his stock on the rise.
The problem is that Week 1 is just that… one week — the one and only week. So many times players have great openers that cause fantasy managers to blow their FAAB or waiver priority on what turns out to be a one-hit-wonder. On the flip side, if you added Puka Nacua, Nico Collins, or Trey McBride, who were readily available this time last year, it may be the reason you won a championship! It’s hard to tell what’s an outlier and what has staying power, especially when everyone is trying to make sense of the smallest sample size possible. That said, here are some players who are worth a closer look given their stock movement (rising or falling) after Week 1.
Stock Up
Brandin Cooks WR, DAL (33% of Y! rosters)
Yes, Cooks is coming off two of the worst seasons in his career. However, the newly-minted highest paid player in the NFL is his quarterback and Dallas is still a pass-heavy team expected to score a ton. Dak Prescott led the league with 36 passing TDs last year, was third with 4,516 yards, and Dallas didn’t exactly build a scary run game in the offseason. We all know about CeeDee Lamb (who also got paid), but many expected TE Jake Ferguson to be second on the Cowboys in most receiving stats. Unfortunately, Ferguson suffered an MCL sprain and bone bruise in Week 1, and it was Cooks who stepped up. He had the only touchdown in the passing game during a 33-17 victory in Cleveland, was the obvious No. 2 option in the passing game, and is positioned to be heavily targeted if Ferguson (who is now listed as week-to-week) misses any time. Lamb will still be the alpha, but there’s enough production to go around in Dallas and I expect Cooks’ slice of the pie to grow enough for him to be fantasy relevant on a weekly basis.
Sam Darnold QB, MIN (10%)
Darnold certainly benefited from a matchup against the Giants, who were the only team unable to get to 10 points in Week 1. The Vikings dominated throughout the contest and, while 208 yards passing doesn’t seem like lighting the world on fire, Darnold was incredibly efficient in completing 79% of his passes to eight different Vikings. A month ago, some analysts thought J.J. McCarthy was a sneaky QB2 due to the weapons he had at his disposal (Justin Jefferson, anyone?), and the potential with Kevin O’Connell calling plays. Those elements are still in effect and O’Connell expected Darnold to play well, saying, “I don’t think anybody’s surprised that Sam Darnold played the way he did today, I know I’m certainly not. I tried to foreshadow as much as I could throughout training camp, so I’m just proud of him.” It’ll get tougher next week against San Francisco, but Darnold should be rostered in SuperFlex leagues as a QB2 option moving forward. Jefferson “only” had six targets and utilizing one of the best receivers in the game more often should help make Darnold’s ceiling even higher in the coming weeks.
Tyler Lockett WR, SEA (61%)
We heard a lot about Ryan Grubb’s new offense for the Seahawks this offseason. It didn’t look worth the hype in the first half against Denver after surrendering two safeties, but Geno Smith found a rhythm in the second half and the Seahawks cruised, scoring 17 points after halftime. Another surprise from this offense was that Tyler Lockett was the leading receiver in all categories, with 7 targets, 6 receptions and 77 yards. Most assumed second-year WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba would leapfrog Lockett in his age 32 season, but JSN was only targeted twice. Lockett battled a thigh injury during the preseason, which didn’t help his fantasy stock, but his usage in Week 1 suggests he’ll still be a key cog for the Seahawks passing game. Lockett has been incredibly steady, reaching at least 73 catches and 894 yards each of the past five seasons. He looks like he can get there again and is worth a roster spot if he went undrafted in your league.
Demarcus Robinson WR, LAR (6%)
Nobody threw the ball more in Week 1 than Matthew Stafford. Stafford passed 49 times, with an amazing 21 of those targets going to Cooper Kupp! Stafford had to lean on Kupp after Puka Nacua went down, injuring the same knee that had him uncertain much of the preseason. Both Kupp and Nacua were top 40 picks during draft season and Nacua is now headed to IR for at least four games, making Demarcus Robinson the next man up. Fantasy football is about a player’s opportunity and role, so Robinson slotting into the No. 2 role in the Rams pass attack makes him an attractive option on the waiver wire, especially when defenses focus on limiting Kupp.
Stock Down
Travis Etienne Jr. RB, JAC (100%)
Etienne was universally regarded as an RB1 for fantasy football this year and he still very well may return that kind of production. As is the case with most RB1s, their value comes from being as close to a “bellcow” or “workhorse” for their team as possible, bringing maximum opportunity for yours. The concern for Etienne mainly comes from the usage of second-year RB Tank Bigsby. Bigsby failed to impress last year, only gaining over 21 rushing yards once. Sunday was the start of a new year, and a new Bigsby, who received 12 carries (the same as Etienne) en route to leading Jacksonville with 73 yards on 6.1 yards per carry. Etienne also had a crucial fumble at the goal line as the Jags were trying to solidify their lead against the Dolphins — they ended up losing 20-17. Ball security can keep you in the doghouse and if Bigsby makes the Jaguars backfield look more like a split, Etienne’s value will drop a tier or two.
Caleb Williams QB (91%); Rome Odunze WR (90%), CHI
The Bears won their season opener, but it wasn’t pretty. The only touchdowns they had in a 24-17 comeback victory against the Titans came from a punt block and interception return. The offense, led by No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, looked like it still had a lot to learn. Williams threw for only 93 yards, which is even worse than Bears averages over the past two seasons, and he couldn’t complete half of his passes, going 14 of 29 with a 55.7 passer rating. Some of the incompletions were just plain bad misses, as evidenced by sure-handed veteran receiver Keenan Allen only converting 4 of the 11 targets. Williams may still develop into a dynamic QB and the first Bears signal caller to surpass 4,000 yards, but Week 1 was not a good start. With so many other serviceable fantasy options at the QB position, it may not be worth the wait to see when Williams can make the adjustments required.
This also means that there may not be a ton of production to go around for the Bears weapons surrounding Williams. Fellow top 10 draft pick Rome Odunze only grabbed one of his four targets and was clearly behind Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. Some passing offenses may be able to support three receiving options, but not the one we saw in Chicago in Week 1. Add to it that Odunze tweaked his knee and it could set him back even further. I’d avoid both of them for now until we at least see a touchdown (or two) from the Bears offense.
Green Bay WRs (all of them)
One of the most intriguing teams heading into the season was the Green Bay Packers, and rightfully so. Nobody was more impressive in the second half of last year than Packers QB Jordan Love, who was rewarded with a huge four-year contract extension this summer. The narrative was that he had four quality WRs to throw to and it would allow him to read defenses and make the best decision. Unfortunately, the Packers lost their season opener 34-29 to the Eagles and lost more than just the game. Love sustained an MCL injury on the final series and is now expected to miss 3-6 weeks.
The backup in Green Bay is Malik Willis, who was only acquired a few weeks back and is known more as a raw dual-threat prospect. He has only 35 completions in parts of 12 games, has never thrown for a TD and has three interceptions. He’s been sacked 15 times in those games and has never topped 100 passing yards — in other words, he has yet to look the part of a starting NFL quarterback. While he may get to that level in Week 2 against the Colts, there’s no way you can start WRs Christian Watson (85% of Y! rosters), Romeo Doubs (53%), Dontayvion Wicks (25%), or even Jayden Reed (91%), who had 171 total yards and 2 TDs with Love under center. I wouldn’t cut them because Love should be back by Halloween, but keep them on your bench until Willis finally shows us something.
(Top photo of Brandin Cooks: Scott Galvin, Imagn Images)