Week 1 is always a mystery! We had numerous bizarre results and some even more obscure stat lines. It’s always challenging to write about Week 1 because of the unpredictability, but we love to learn every week! That’s one of the best parts of the NFL grind because adapting to new information is critical to succeed.
The premise behind this article is simple: Identifying fantasy football smash plays that are on the fringe of your starting lineup. We will rarely recommend a top-10 player at any position, but we want to help you fill those critical flex spots!
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Ryan Tannehill looked as bad as possible in Week 1, but DeAndre Hopkins looked promising in his Tennessee debut. The former All-Pro receiver had seven catches for 65 yards. That’s a decent stat line, but it looks even better since he had 13 targets. That’s one of the highest totals in the league, with D-Hop posting an absurd 38 percent team target share. He’s been that type of player in the past, and it’s not like there are many players to compete with him in this lackluster passing game. The matchup is the icing on the cake, with the Chargers allowing 466 passing yards in Week 1.
Gabe Davis can be far from impressive at times, but he also showcases one of the highest ceilings of any receiver in fantasy. We believe one of those could be in play here because Davis barely came off the field in Week 1. The speedster played 94 percent of the team’s snaps despite finishing with just two catches for 32 yards. Playing 65 snaps is extremely encouraging because Davis averaged 11 fantasy points per game in the four outings he played at least 65 snaps last year. We would love that against Las Vegas, with the Raiders surrendering the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL last year.
Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND)
Many people were worried about Michael Pittman Jr. in the offseason, but he looks like the go-to target for Richardson. That’s massive since Pittman Jr. has been a target hound throughout his career, averaging 93.5 catches on 135 targets over the last two years. That’s one of the highest workloads out there, and it was on full display when Pittman Jr. provided eight catches on 11 targets in Week 1. He also added 97 yards and a touchdown, making him one of the biggest breakouts in the opening week. The matchup couldn’t be much better against Houston, with the Texans owning one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
There were some glowing reports out of camp about Jake Ferguson, and it was evident in Week 1 that Dallas wanted to feed this talented tight end. You might see he had just two catches for 11 yards, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. That 40-0 blowout limited this passing game, but Ferguson saw 28 percent of the team’s targets. That’s the second-highest total among all tight ends, which looks even better since he led all of them with five red zone targets. If that continues, Ferguson could be the breakout tight end fantasy managers need right now.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
