Week 1 Takeaways

Emeka Egbuka Shines in NFL Debut

Egbuka wasted no time in his NFL debut, reeling in two TDs and running a route on nearly every dropback. Mike Evans is still the clear WR1 with a 28% target share and 34% air yards share. Egbuka earned a solid 21% target share, so he can continue to be in lineups as a WR3 play next week against the Texans.

Deebo Samuel's Big Washington Debut

Deebo functioned as Jayden Daniels’ go-to guy, racking up 10 targets and scoring on his lone rush attempt of the day (thanks, Kliff Kingsbury). A slow start for McLaurin was expected, given his holdout, so his games will come, but Deebo will continue to have touches schemed up for him all year long. For now, he’s a WR3 with WR2 upside.

Dylan Sampson Leads Browns Backfield

Sampson handled the majority of the work on early downs while Ford took on the third-down role. Despite that, Sampson racked up 8 targets on top of his team-leading 12 carries - this is quite unsustainable given a whopping 53% target per route run on only 35% route participation. Things will get interesting if Quinshon Judkins takes the field at some point. In the meantime, Sampson can be started as a flex with RB2 upside.

Breece Hall Beats Committee Allegations

After a preseason of uncertainty, Hall dominated the backfield by handling 72% of the RB opportunities that turned into 145 total yards, and had the lone inside-the-5 RB rush attempt. It is worth noting that Braelon Allen had a couple of snaps inside the 5-yard line, but didn’t get a touch. Hall looked a lot like his old self, and looks like he could be a steal in drafts if this type of usage continues (there’s even more room to go).

Dobbins Leads the Broncos Backfield

Dobbins handled the majority of the work on early downs and in short yardage over R.J. Harvey. Tyler Badie’s role as the passing-down back is one that Harvey can absorb at some point, but Badie on the field is not ideal short-term. For now, Dobbins has the lead and is the only Broncos RB that should be in lineups. Be patient with Harvey, as he can easily turn this into a tighter 2-man backfield as the season progresses.

Pearsall Steps Up as Kittle, Jennings Go Down

The return of Jennings to the lineup post-contract drama lasted three quarters before he was forced to leave with a shoulder injury. George Kittle also left the game early in the first half, leaving Pearsall as the last man standing. Pearsall was a full-time receiver even with Kittle and Jennings healthy, but if one or both would miss time moving forward, Pearsall would be close to a must-start as Purdy’s top option after topping 100 receiving yards in Week 1.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba Alone at the Top of Seahawks WR Room

JSN was the apple of Sam Darnold’s eye in his Seattle debut, racking up a suffocating 59% target share resulting in 13 targets. Cooper Kupp only earned a 14% target share. We obviously shouldn’t expect this ridiculous share to continue, but this is extremely encouraging for JSN’s fantasy projections for this season - we could be looking at 30%+ share if Kupp can’t prove to be a legitimate 2nd option.

Keon Coleman Steps Up to Lead Bills' WRs

Coleman set single-game career highs in targets, receptions, and fantasy points. His 26% target share is an extremely encouraging number for him, given he couldn’t top 15% in his rookie season. He ran a route on 94% of Josh Allen’s dropbacks, so he looks to be the Buffalo WR to start. We might be able to trust him as a WR3 next week, but he will have a tough matchup against Sauce Gardner. Encouraging game that could lead to a breakout second year.

Etienne is the Guy in the Jags' Backfield

We have our answer, at least for now. Travis Etienne led the backfield with 62% of snaps, while no other RB saw more than 20%. He was targeted on 20% of his routes, and despite the Jags not having any goal-line attempts in this game, Etienne did see the majority of short-yardage snaps - so his role can be even better next week. Continue to stash Bhayshul Tuten on your bench for another week or two to see if anything shifts. Etienne is a solid RB2 with upside next week after his 156 total yards, leading to a RB1 finish in Week 1.

Trey Benson Carving Out Significant Role

The Cardinals' backfield ran more of a committee than I would’ve liked as a James Conner manager, with a 65/35 split between him and Trey Benson both in snaps and opportunities. Benson doesn’t look like he has standalone value in this current arrangement, but he’s a desperate play when you need one. With that being said, Conner’s usage was still very solid given his 55% route participation, 14% target share, and goal-line role.

Bucky Irving Dominates Tampa Backfield

He wasn’t able to turn it into a massive afternoon, but Irving’s workload looked like that of an elite fantasy RB1. His 76% snap share marked a career high, which left Rachaad White and Sean Tucker barely involved. Bucky seems to have absorbed Rachaad White’s receiving role last year, which provides a higher floor and ceiling.

Penix-to-London Connection Continues

Despite leaving the game in the fourth quarter while trying to haul in an end zone target from Penix, London (shoulder, day-to-day) managed to rack up a monstrous 14 targets (36% target share) – continuing a trend we saw last year in Penix’s three starts of hyper-targeting London (39% target share in 2024). Monitor London’s health in the coming days, but as long as he’s healthy, he’s Penix’s clear favorite target and will have high-end WR1 upside when they share the field.

Chase Brown Featured in Workhorse Role

Brown dominated goal line, early down, and short yardage snaps against the Browns, receiving 24 opportunities on the day, reinforcing his case to be a strong fantasy RB1 this season. Samaje Perine is a new addition to the backfield, but he was limited to obvious passing down snaps, which still allowed Brown to receive 92% of the RB opportunity share - elite.

Harold Fannin Plays a Big Role in Week 1

Fannin played a huge role out of the gate, leading the entire Browns offense in targets despite running a route on only 65% of Joe Flacco’s dropbacks. He did NOT take over David Njoku’s role, given Njoku’s very good 85% route participation. This was a matter of Fannin earning targets over everyone when he was on the field, primarily running out of the slot (29% TPRR). I wouldn’t expect this to be the case every week, but Fannin shouldn’t be ignored on the waiver wire; he holds a ton of FBS receiving records, so this is another signal to him being a good player.

Kaleb Johnson Not Involved in Debut

Johnson logged just two snaps in his NFL debut while running far behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, who split work overall at a near 50-50 clip. Johnson is close to being cut from many fantasy rosters, but I’d give it another week or two before cutting bait. If he does earn more time, he’ll still likely be in a rotation with one or both other RBs.

Bill is the Commanders' New Early-Down Back

Chris Rodriguez being a surprise healthy scratch opened the door for Jacory Croskey-Merritt to capitalize, and capitalize he did: Bill went on to lead the Commanders' backfield in early down snaps and total opportunities. He turned his 10 carries into 82 yards and a touchdown, and also pushed Ekeler for short-yardage snaps. His role could increase even further, but he’s a worthwhile start at FLEX moving forward if he’s able to maintain his current role.

Chuba Maintains His Workhorse Role

Despite adding Rico Dowdle to the backfield, the Panthers gave Chuba last year’s role right back to him. He had an 80% opportunity share, leading to an RB1 finish. Hubbard will be a solid RB2 with RB1 upside next week against the Cardinals - let’s just hope the offense can get it together by then.

Travis Hunter: Target Leader in Debut

We have some answers here - Hunter looks to be a near full-time WR, running a route on 82% of dropbacks. He ran out of the slot at a 71% rate, which is historically a beneficial role in a McVay-style offense (Godwin, Kupp, etc). Hunter’s 29% target share is an extremely encouraging sign of great things to come. Despite Brian Thomas Jr’s 1-catch performance, he still earned a 25% target share - so things will get better for him. Let’s hope Trevor Lawrence can get it together by next week. Hunter is a WR3 play next week with upside given his involvement in the first game of his career.

Tyler Warren Shakes Up Target Pecking Order

As anticipated, Warren wasted no time establishing himself as a top target for Daniel Jones: his 31% target share on the afternoon led the team, and he could have had an even bigger game if not for Indy getting into garbage time with a 30-point lead at one point over the Dolphins. Warren posted a near 80% snap share before that point, a usage virtually unheard of for rookies TEs – he’s a locked-in top-5 option going into Week 2. Josh Downs ran a route on only 52% of dropbacks because of his slot-only role, so hoping this doesn’t turn into a Jayden Reed-like situation. Michael Pittman is the WR to start in Indy in Week 2 after a 28% target share and a WR1 finish.

Zach Charbonnet Very Involved

Charbonnet rotated with Kenneth Walker out of the gate, and his high touch count came as a result of the drives he was in on being longer and more successful. Charbonnet ended up out-snapping Walker 59% to 41%, had a higher rush share, ran more routes, but wasn’t targeted at all. Walker’s total opportunities came out on top 13-11, but Charbonnet seemed to be the preferred back at the goal line. Not encouraging at all for Walker, but try not to overreact - let’s see how this plays out over the next week or two.