As always, Week 1 was filled with surprises. Chances are, you saw the highlights like Malik Hooker nabbing that interception in the end zone with one hand or Marquise Brown turning on the turbo to break away for his first touchdown. Today and every Monday afternoon, though, I’ll be telling you about everything I saw when I went back through and watched every play of every game. I saw the Thursday night game and three Sunday games live then used NFL Game Pass to see the other 10 contests this morning. As you can imagine, I had to wake up extremely early to see it all and write this up by the afternoon, but it’s easy to get up when your job is to watch football. And look, I can rave about how Saquon Barkley was far and away the most impressive running back on tape once again that week, but you already know things like that. I want to tell you about what you may have missed.
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Three rookie wide receivers popped off the tape
#3: Terry McLaurin did most of his damage on that long touchdown where coverage was suspect at best. Beyond that, though, McLaurin showcased excellent body control, strong hands and veteran-like awareness. Yes, his upside is limited and he needs to improve his route running, but this is likely Washington’s best receiver while Jordan Reed is injured.
#2: A.J. Brown is ready to contribute all season long for the Titans. You might not think there is much opportunity with Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Delanie Walker, but talent finds a way to get touches. Brown is not just talented, but he is polished with impeccable feet and strong instincts.
Then the best rookie receiver: Preston Williams. I can’t believe I’m typing this and I went back to the preseason film before I did and it only further validated this statement: Xavien Howard is correct, Williams is going to be a serious player in the league. His game reminds me of Miles Austin, who like Williams, was an elite athlete who went to a smaller school and was overlooked. Don’t hesitate to add him before he takes over as Miami’s #1.
Let’s take it easy on Lamar Jackson
Just remember, Ryan Fitzpatrick put up 42 fantasy points in Week 1 last year. I won’t take Jackson’s rushing upside away from him but from a passing standpoint, he takes too long to deliver the ball, he made a handful of truly dangerous passes and we didn’t get to see him under pressure all day. Listen, if Kevin Kolb came out of retirement today, he’d hit wide-open receivers if he could stand in the pocket all day against Miami.
Sammy Watkins is a different football player
It helped that Tyreek Hill was out, of course, but Watkins did his damage against a top-10 cornerback in football and he did it because he is clearly in the best shape of his career. This time last year, I wrote about how Watkins looked nowhere close physically to where he once was. It was like Kelvin Benjamin running around out there with a piano on his back. As you can imagine, it’s tough to produce when you are slower than linebackers. This year’s improved version of Watkins was running like the Reggie Wayne comp he had coming out of Clemson. Add Patrick Mahomes, subtract Tyreek Hill the next month and we’ve got ourselves a bad bad man.
Miles Sanders runs like a star
I won’t say superstar like Saquon, Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara, but you can legitimately put his film in there with guys like Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette and Melvin Gordon. He has loose hips and elite acceleration to go with a strong athletic profile. Add in what may be the best offensive line in football and we’ve got RB1 upside if Doug Pederson will give the man more than a dozen touches.
Believe it or not, Josh Allen looked pretty good
Heck, I’ll go as far as saying there was no quarterback who had their film improve as much this off-season. Sure, he had two interceptions but both were tipped and this Jets defense is much improved from last season. What I saw more often than not was a composed big-arm passer making accurate throws to his receivers in stride. Granted, he has a long way to go, but he certainly looked further along than Sam Darnold. This bodes well for John Brown in fantasy leagues.
Justin Jackson looked better than Austin Ekeler
I can already see the Twitter comments: “This guy is stupid.” or “He just wants attention by saying this garbage.” Listen, if that’s you, learn how to interact with other humans like a decent adult then go back and watch every play yourself. Ekeler was good, yes. He got in the end-zone three times, yes, but when Jackson touched the ball, he was more explosive, more agile and showed better vision. Ekeler isn’t going to give away touches, obviously, but the point is that you shouldn’t drop Jackson just because Ekeler exploded.
Larry Fitzgerald is going to have a much better fantasy season than you realize
Oh man, this guy is still just incredible. You may have forgotten or just assumed he had faded into irrelevance because the Cardinals’ offense has been so boring with Josh Rosen, Sam Bradford, Blaine Gabbert and Drew Stanton throwing passes the past few seasons. The fact of the matter, though, is that he is still good enough that he may return to WR2 numbers with Kyler Murray and an up-tempo offense.
T.J. Hockenson looks like a running back with the ball in his hands
You’ve heard Tags and I talk about rookie tight ends and their lack of fantasy success, but we may have really missed the boat here. Yes, the Cardinals are an easy matchup, but Hockenson looks special on the field. He moves with such ease that you’d have no idea he was a tight end. It is possible that he breaks every historical data point and we are eating crow for fading him.
The Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl again
Oh wait, this article is supposed to be about things you don’t already know.
Other notes
- Kirk Cousins finally looked solid under pressure
- Matt Ryan looked better in Week 1 than Week 1 last year
- Denzel Ward is astonishingly good at his job (see Corey Davis)
- Neither D.J. Chark nor Chris Conley should be expected to breakout
- Devante Parker has some serious talent
- Cameron Brate had two touchdowns called back
- Todd Gurley looked just as explosive as last year
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