With the Jets in the unusual position of dominating a game from whistle to whistle, new QB Geno Smith dropped back just 24 times. Translation, Wilson coming away with seven targets was actually a pretty good outcome. The Jets’ blocking appeared much improved, but this was not a true test, even if it came on the road. That will come in Week 2 for the Jets’ home opener against the Packers. Wilson will remain a solid WR2 whose high floor will hopefully be accompanied by more ceiling efforts this season.
Judkins was the workhorse back for the Browns, getting the majority of the team’s backfield opportunities. In a game where the Browns struggled to even get into the red zone, those opportunities were not high leverage, leading to a less-than-ideal fantasy day for the 22-year-old. The Browns offense is lethargic with Deshaun Watson at the helm, capping Judkins’ fantasy ceiling. Volume puts him in the low-end RB2 range for Week 2 against the Buccaneers.
Etienne was taken off the field a surprising amount, ceding nine carries to Kendre Miller and another two to CJ Donaldson. Donaldson also logged two targets. While his role on the ground was concerning for fantasy managers, a nine-target outing cushioned the blow slightly. In PPR leagues, Etienne did enough. Unless the Saints are going to play in overtime shootouts every week, Etienne will need to take on more rushing work to be a weekly RB2. With Alvin Kamara potentially returning next week, Etienne will sit on the RB2/3 border for his date with the Ravens.
Irving’s eight carries look bad on paper, but they were a function of the Bucs falling behind 21-3 midway through the second quarter thanks to a deluge of turnovers. That includes a lost Irving fumble where he entered a scrum one-handing the ball. Not good, though he was not punished for the mistake. He ended up tying a career high with his seven receptions, with supposed pass-catching back Kenneth Gainwell catching the ball only one time. Nothing went the way the Bucs drew it up this afternoon, so we would not count on that usage simply carrying over to Week 2, but it is certainly a good start from a usage perspective for those who took the plunge on Irving as their RB2. It is worth nothing that PFF charted Irving as out-snapping Gainwell just 35-26. There’s a long way to go here, but we will have Irving in the top 24 for Week 2 against the Browns.
Sanders entered the game after Dylan Sampson (knee) was ruled out. The 24-year-old had a couple explosive kickoff returns, including a 74-yard return in the second half. He caught three passes filling the Brown’s receiving back role and showcased some burst by taking those receptions for 25 total yards. Sanders is an intriguing handcuff to pick up off waivers, pending Sampson’s status heading into Week 2.
Bizarrely, Egbuka was not targeted after the break in a game the Bucs trailed 24-10 at the half and 27-10 early in the third. He nevertheless led the Bucs’ wideouts and tight ends in targets, though Bucky Irving led the team with seven. The Bucs were all out of sorts thanks to four lost fumbles, setting up short fields for the Bengals and limiting the Bucs’ overall play volume. The good news is, Egbuka looked healthy and springy. The downtrodden Browns are on tap for Week 2.
It was the fourth 300-yard outing of Young’s NFL career and it came in a wild back-and-forth affair with a Chicago offense that did whatever it wanted to against a pathetic Carolina defense. The Panthers had to abandon their run-heavy offense in the first half, leading to 44 Young drop backs. Young targeted Jalen Coker relentlessly and connected with Coker for two touchdowns — one of them in garbage time. Young, who was 7 percent above his expected completion rate, made a handful of impressive throws under duress and found his way into the end zone on a short rush in the first half. Young will be a premiere streaming option in Week 2 against a middling Atlanta defense.
Some had suggested you might want to bench Josh Allen against the Texans defense this week. Instead, Allen absolutely decimated last year’s top defense with a game-winning stick throw to the post for Josh Palmer to take a late five-point lead. He did his typical witchcraft out of structure, the best of which was probably a floater in his own end zone with a man in his face that landed directly on Dalton Kincaid’s hands. He also owned the ground game in the red zone. It was the first Bills win in Houston since the JP Losman Era. Allen, as always, will be in the QB1 overall discussion against the Lions in Week 2.
Perhaps Rush was still feeling the effects of the back spasms that he experienced on Saturday, but the veteran did not look good on Sunday. He attempted just five passes longer than 10 yards downfield and was 2-for-5 on those passes. Even when the pocket was clean, Rush wasn’t really driving the ball down the field, even with the Steelers daring him to do it. The Falcons gained just 238 yards on the day, and it’s tough to have any confidence in the pass-catchers with Rush under center. He’ll look to bounce back with an easier game against the Panthers next week.
Ward also took three sacks for 13 yards. His touchdown was a too little, too late 11-yard strike to Elic Ayomanor with the Titans trailing 23-3 at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter. As was the case down the stretch last season, Ward did a good job of avoiding turnovers, but he struggled to generate positive plays of any kind. He was besieged by pressure, but he just wasn’t making anything happen. That could come in time — there’s a new experienced play-caller in Brian Daboll and several new weapons in the skill corps — but this was a highly discouraging start to the year at home vs. a not-exactly-amazing Jets defense. It was certainly confirmation that Ward is on the outside looking in of top-24 status in superflex leagues for the time being. The Eagles are a rough Week 2 matchup, though also at home.
Cook had two yards on the game’s first drive, but the game eventually skewed pass-heavy for the Bills and Josh Allen had the game’s only two rushing touchdowns. Per PFF’s early charting data, Cook had 41 of the 57 snaps and almost all the work ahead of Ray Davis and Frank Gore Jr. Assuming Ty Johnson remains out on a short week against the Lions in Week 2, Cook will remain a touch-dominator on the RB1 line and will have a chance for a better touchdown runout.
To say Bijan Robinson was the majority of the team’s offense would be an understatement. He had 173 of the team’s 238 total yards and 29 of the 43 touches by any skill player. He played on 47 of the team’s 61 total snaps and only lost carries to Brian Robinson because the team couldn’t possibly continue to ride Bijan Robinson any more than they were. His involvement in the short passing game, especially given who will be at quarterback, makes Bijan Robinson seemingly matchup-proof for fantasy purposes.
Abdullah rotated into the game as the Jaguars’ third running back, showing some burst with 32 yards on four carries. He won’t see enough opportunities to reach fantasy relevancy but will mix in to spell Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez. LeQuint Allen was active but coming off a hip injury, seeing just one snap on the day. As Allen gets healthier, Abdullah could see less opportunities, though neither would be fantasy relevant barring a Tuten or Rodriguez injury.
The Bears broke scoring records in their Week 1 demolition of the Panthers but Loveland — leading the team in pass routes — was largely invisible. Caleb Williams missed a wide open Loveland in the middle of the field in the second half and nearly connected with his second-year tight end in the end zone. Cole Kmet, meanwhile, ran about half of the Bears’ routes and turned three targets into two catches for 35 yards and a score. Loveland is almost certain to bounce back in Week 2 against the Vikings.
Smith “added” six rushes for seven yards. Although it was not a productive day in fantasy football, it was a highly encouraging one in “real life.” At least for one game, the Jets’ blocking was 10x better than what Smith experienced in Las Vegas last season, and he took advantage by taking zero sacks and hitting several down-field passes to his talented skill corps. Three different receivers generated gains of 30-plus yards, but Omar Cooper Jr.'s was more of a catch-and-run. Unfortunately, the rookie injured his ankle in the process. Smith is going to be a “highs and lows” quarterback in even the best of years, but there is now reason to believe 2026 will not be all lows like 2025 was with the Raiders. The Packers will be a tougher opponent for the Jets’ home opener in week 2.
London also added six yards on one rush as the Falcons looked to do anything to get the ball in the hands of their best receiver. The 25-year-old was an absolute non-factor in this one, largely because Cooper Rush was highly inefficient and ineffective under center. The role is not in question though. London played 60 of the team’s 61 snaps and ran a route on 28 of their 29 dropbacks. However, he will be tough to trust with Cooper Rush (and probably even Tua Tagovailoa) under center. London has a much better matchup next week against the Panthers, but there is some fear that he’s more of a WR2 option until Michael Penix (knee) returns.
Moore also added a long 46-yard DPI penalty in the end zone to get the Bills their second touchdown of the game. The catch wasn’t anything fancy, but Texans S Reed Blankenship tried to jump the ball and once Moore caught it there was nobody behind him. It is worth noting that Moore left late in the game to the medical tent, it looked like he was rolled up on during James Cook’s late-game fumble, but he did return to play. We’ll be monitoring for Moore on the early injury reports ahead of Week 2’s TNF showdown with the Lions, but he’s an obvious Week 1 success story as the team’s leading receiver. He’ll be on the WR2/WR3 line if everything is fine, as we suspect it will be.
Robinson was likely only involved as much as he was because the Falcons ran the ball 31 times, compared to just 22 pass attempts, with Cooper Rush under center. Brian Robinson looked fine and broke some tackles, but he is not a threat to steal meaningful touches from Bijan Robinson.
Thomas got off to a fast start, making a toe-tap catch on the Jaguars’ first drive and catching all three of his targets in the first quarter. He hurt his shoulder diving for a fumble and exited the game in the first half. Though Thomas returned in the second half, the Jaguars had a monstrous lead and he saw no targets the rest of the game. Based on first half utilization, Thomas is the team’s No. 2 wide receiver and should get plenty of opportunities in a fantasy-fruitful offense. He is a fantasy WR3 for Week 2 against the Broncos.
As expected, the Lions elevated Gibbs to a true workhorse role sans David Montgomery and he never looked back. He ceded a grand total of three touches to backup Sione Vaki. Gibbs logged career highs in touches and carries. Despite this, Gibbs still cruised past 5.4 yards per carry, consistently gashing the Saints for chunk gains. To no one’s surprise, Gibbs is the runaway favorite to be the RB1 overall this year. He will hold that spot in the Week 2 rankings when he takes on Buffalo.
Chicago’s offensive line bullied the Carolina front seven from start to finish, creating wide open running lanes for Swift and Kyle Monangai, who had ten carries for 100 yards and a touchdown, as the Bears offense put up 59 points. Swift was the team’s preferred option near the goal line while Monangai had a slight edge in route running out of the Chicago backfield. Swift drafters should be thrilled to see their guy easily lead the Bears backfield, though his relative lack of route running could mean he’s somewhat game script dependent. Swift will be a top-12 option next week against the Vikings.
Kincaid was the recipient of many of Josh Allen’s biggest throws of the game, including a 35-yarder to put him over 100 yards on Buffalo’s final non-kneeldown drive. Kincaid played 42-of-57 snaps, a 73 percent rate he never came close to hitting in any game last year. It sure seems like there’s no reason for the Bills to not target him if he can stay healthy; so it will be hard to not recommend him as a TE1 against the Lions on TNF.
Dotson actually operated as the second receiver for the Falcons in this one, running a route on 20 of the team’s 29 dropbacks. He also played 38 snaps, while Olamide Zaccheaus played just 18. That didn’t amount to much, but it’s something for fantasy managers in deeper leagues to keep in mind when Michael Penix eventually gets back onto the field.
Zaccheaus was on the field for 18 of the team’s 61 snaps and ran a route on 11 of their 29 dropbacks. Rookie Zachariah Branch ran a route on eight dropbacks. Neither player appears to be a major factor on an offense that really wants to run the ball, especially with Cooper Rush at quarterback.