Fantasy Football Week 1 Stats You Need To Know 2024
With Fantasy Football Week 1 in the books, it’s on to Week 2. Every week, I will rewatch as many games as possible from the previous week and break down the most significant things that happened. More importantly, I’ll break down the fantasy football season implications, stats, and important takeaways to help you win your fantasy leagues this year.
Fantasy Football Week 1 Stats To Know
Find out everything you need to know about Fantasy Football Week 1 below.
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson‘s arm talent is unbelievable. This was evidenced by his falling down throw to Alec Pierce. He also hit Pierce on another bomb late in the game. Pierce blew past Derek Stingley Jr, and the safety on the first one for a TD, and on the second one he went up and got it. In the end, Pierce could be in for a breakout season. He’s 6’3 and he ran a 4.4 at the NFL Combine.
Richardson is going to throw up deep passes often and it’s likely going to be a lot of Pierce and rookie Adonai Mitchell who he tried to go deep to twice but just couldn’t hit. He also overthrew Mitchell in the end zone for what could have been a touchdown. Needless to say, some big games are coming for him.
Conversely, Richardson had a couple of awful throws and a bad interception. That is to be expected. However, he is an absolute force with this throwing and running ability. The TD pass to Ashton Dulin on the deep cross was a laser also. Additionally, Richardson barreled over defenders for a touchdown run on 4th and goal after Jonathan Taylor was stuffed twice.
Michael Pittman Jr. will have better games but probably won’t be the consistent option he was last year with Gardner Minshew, certainly not worth that 2nd, 3rd round price. Josh Downs should be back in a couple more weeks from that high ankle sprain.
Jonathan Taylor had a TD run directly after the Colts blocked punt, but didn’t do much otherwise, he didn’t have a lot of room to run, and the Colts run scheme doesn’t seem great, especially compared to the Texans. Hopefully, the Colts can get a little more creative with their run scheme.
For Houston, CJ Stroud played smart for the most part although he had an interception called back for a holding by Corner Jaylen Jones on Indy. His best throw was a rollout cross-body to Nico Collins on a key 3rd down. Collins caught a deep ball and also ended the game with a beautiful sideline catch where there was little to no room on good coverage. He is really impressive with his size, speed, and route-running ability.
Stroud seems to have it all. Stefon Diggs operated mostly in the slot and scored two TDs, but was not running deep. Tank Dell was just missed for a TD pass, Jaylon Jones made a nice play for Indy, but Stroud could have thrown a better ball. Dell had a big run on a reverse play and he certainly is going to have some big games. Dalton Schultz is going to be very inconsistent with the three WRs there and Joe Mixon in the run game.
Mixon ran this zone-blocking scheme at Oklahoma and he looked very comfortable in this offense. The blocking was great and Mixon was running with burst and power. Needless to say, he’s a true workhorse back. The Colts’ run defense didn’t seem great and supposedly sold out to stop the pass, but the Texans have a very good run scheme, similar to Miami and the 49ers. Damien Pierce had a few carries and a few nice runs but he’s nothing more than a handcuff. Meanwhile, Cam Akers was a healthy scratch.
Denver Broncos @ Seattle Seahawks
Bo Nix had a rough rookie debut, trying to force in two balls into double and another into triple coverage to Courtland Sutton which was picked off. He also threw a ball about 10 feet over Sutton’s head on another pass. Nix did make some plays and played within Payton’s system, but any throw past 10 yards was kind of scary. He ran for a touchdown late with a nice move on the defender. Cortland Sutton and the rest of the Bronco wide receivers struggled to separate against the big physical Seattle Corners. The Seattle defense under first-year defensive head coach Mike McDonald looked pretty sound.
Javonte Williams looked slow and crusty but the holes were not being opened. Jaleel McClaughin also didn’t look great. Audric Estime got a carry early and exploded up the gut for 10 yards, but almost lost a fumble. He only got one more carry after that. He should probably get more work because the other two backs were underwhelming. I’m not sure about Payton’s offense in the NFL, will see if the Broncos look a little more fluid and explosive as the season goes on, I think it would help to get speedsters Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims more involved. It’s certainly possible that both of those guys aren’t truly fit for the NFL game.
Geno Smith opened the game with a perplexing interception with seemingly no wide receivers around. He played better as the game went on and had a great touchdown run where he juked out the defender. He talked about running more this year and he should. Tyler Lockett was the best Seattle wide receiver on the day, catching two Geno back shoulder throws and also sealing the game with a key catch.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught two balls early then was not heard from. DK Metcalf was being guarded by Pat Surtain Jr. who is one of the, if not the best corner in the league. This Seattle pass game should look better as the season goes on, I think they did some good things here.
Kenneth Walker was the story for the Seahawks, looking ultra explosive scoring a touchdown while having another called back. He’s clearly the superior runner over Zach Charbonnet. Walker should also catch more passes this year in this offense, he could have a huge year, certainly a career year. Walker suffered some abdomen injury, no word yet on how serious it is, but he said he would be fine. Charbonnet caught a touchdown on a wide-open wheel route.
Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints
Same old same old for Carolina and Bryce Young to start the 2024 season. He started the game by overthrowing Diontae Johnson for a pick and missed several throws during the game. There was a lot of pressure on him, but Bryce was unable to make accurate throws on the run. The Saints were sending all-out blitzes against him and Young was either unable to evade pressure, unable to find the check down, or simply had no shot to complete a pass. This Saints defense is still very formidable with veterans like Tyrann Mathieu, Cam Jordan, Marshawn Lattimore, and Demario Davis. They also added Chase Young to the mix.
The Panthers run game was also nonexistent and Miles Sanders even mixed in hurting Chuba Hubbard’s value. Rookie running back Jonathan Brooks should help this team when he returns, but he might be eased back in very slowly even though his ACL tear was clean with no other ligaments impacted. Rookie WR Xavier Legette caught a few balls in garbage time, Jonathan Mingo fumbled, Adam Thielen also was the leading receiver and Johnson only caught two balls. Johnson is still the favorite to emerge but this passing game is a mess right now. Young needs to turn things around fast before he’s benched for Andy Dalton.
The Saints’ offense looked better and more crisp under first-year Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. Most notably the run game looked more creative and explosive. Alvin Kamara still has plenty of juice and no real competition behind him with just Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller who is hurt and on Davis Allen’s shit list. This Carolina defense was getting manhandled but still, the running game looked better.
Rashid Shaheed has elite speed and it was good to see the Saints get him involved early as he caught a 59-yard touchdown to open the game. Derek Carr took another shot deep to Shaheed also but the pass was broken up by a good play by the corner. Shaheed was also used on a reverse run that went for a nice gain. Chris Olave was very quiet with just two catches, but that will obviously change. Still, Shaheed may have a bigger presence this year which could eat into Olave’s overall production and certainly prevent him from paying off that 2nd round ADP.
Furthermore, Carr only threw for 200 yards but tossed three touchdowns, continuing his touchdown pace from last season. Juwan Johnson caught a touchdown and Taysom Hill was used in the backfield on runs and almost caught a TD himself. He will continue to be a weapon in this offense and surely will have some big games. He will be volatile, but still a good play in redraft if you can slot him in at tight end.
The Saints should be a slightly above-average team this year, I have my doubts about Dennis Allen, but Klint Kubiak may save the day on offense.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Miami Dolphins
Trevor Lawrence continued to look uncomfortable under pressure and not quick enough to evade it. However, he did make some nice throws in this game. Most notably the touchdown pass to rookie WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the back of the end zone. Thomas almost caught a deep ball for another touchdown but was mugged by Jalen Ramsey, he still could have caught it, however. Meanwhile, Christian Kirk made one big play and Evan Engram was silent. This Jaguars passing game looks sort of stale like it did last year, and they aren’t doing a great job at protecting Lawrence who doesn’t do a great job under pressure. Christian Kirk’s days of being a consistent wide receiver are probably over.
Tank Bigsby had some nice strong runs in this game, which is encouraging but Travis Etienne is still the guy in this offense. Etienne had one touchdown and would have had another but he fumbled the ball in the end zone after a nice run up the middle. As a result, the Dolphins connected for a deep touchdown to Hill on the next play.
Tua Tagovailoa struggled with pressure taking some bad sacks and missing some throws. He’s lucky he has Hill and Jaylen Waddle. De’Von Achane was used a ton in the passing game, essentially as a swing pass specialist. He didn’t do much in the run game but ended up finding the end zone.
Veteran Raheem Mostert got a little banged up in this game, so it’s tough to tell about the true usage. However, there is no doubt that Achane is going to be a big factor in this passing game and offense overall. Jeff Wilson mixed in later, Achane also has some sort of ankle injury that has him questionable for Thursday’s game. Mostert is also out with a chest injury.
Hill got handcuffed before the game but still found his way into the end zone on another explosive play. Waddle also went over 100 yards. Really, the Dolphins should just throw to these two guys every single play. Both are very special players. Waddle could be a 1,500+ yard receiver as the WR1 on another team. Ultimately, I think Tagovailoa’s limitations hold both these players back some.
Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants
The Giants continue to be a hot mess. The quarterback, the defense, and the offensive line are just awful. Daniel Jones was under pressure most of the game, the offensive line didn’t pass or run block well and Jones once again made some awful throws. The worst one was on an attempted swing pass that was intercepted by Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel for a pick-six.
Furthermore, Jones was uncomfortable most of the day, also throwing another pick in the end zone on 4th down. His best pass of the day was over the head of Stephon Gilmore where rookie WR Malik Nabers went up high and came down with the pass. Jones is going to have to look Nabers way a little bit more, especially in pressure situations.
Wan’Dale Robinson looks like he should be a consistent option all year. Notably, he is worth looking at on the waiver wire in your fantasy football leagues. He has always been a talented player he’s a couple of years removed from the ACL now. Quick shifty player who is a nice weapon for them. Additionally, he led the team in targets with 11. Devin Singletary didn’t have much room to work with and Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy Jr., mixed in some. Singletary is more like an RB3 or Flex the rest of the way.
Sam Darnold looked pretty composed under this Kevin O’Connell system, throwing for two touchdowns. His best throw was a beautifully placed corner route to Justin Jefferson. He also hit Jefferson on a quick slant for a touchdown. Additionally, he had one interception where Dexter Lawrence hit his throwing hand, and the ball skied in the air and was picked off.
In the running game, Aaron Jones looked great. He looked like one of the best backs in the league, which he is. While everyone was obsessed with grabbing wide receivers, Jones was falling into the 6th-8th rounds and could prove to be a massive fantasy football value.
The Vikings defense looks solid once again under Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores. Overall, this is a solid defensive unit. However, there are certainly tougher matchups on the horizon.
Thanks for reading, you can follow me on X @FantasySavvy.
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