Fantasy Football Player Notes

What a debut for Kenneth Walker. 191 total yards and two scores, while breaking off a 60-yard touchdown run, was about as good as it gets. This was exactly what we were hoping for when he signed with the Chiefs this offseason. Unfortunately, we also hoped we'd see the potent Chiefs offense of past years, and that didn't come to fruition. Walker is this entire offense and he looks up to the task. This week he goes against the Colts, who just allowed Derrick Henry to rumble for 144 yards and three scores. Sit back and enjoy the Kenneth Walker Show this week.

Rashee Rice had a touchdown in Week 1 to save his disappointing fantasy day as the WR36 for the week. Rice was almost a forgotten piece of the passing attack with a 7.4% target share (3.5 aDOT), 19 receiving yards (0.70 YPRR), one red zone target, and a 10% first-read share. His first-read share was third on the team behind Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce. We'll see if Rice can bounce back this week against an Indy secondary that allowed the most yards per target and the second-most fantasy points per opportunity to receivers in Week 1, but I'm not hopeful. Rice is a low aDOT drag route artist in what looks like a low or middling passing volume offense. This could be a high-volume passing offense again as Patrick Mahomes gets healthier and so does his offensive line as we move through the season, but I don't think we see that change in Week 1.

In Week 1, Travis Kelce finished as the TE16 in fantasy. He was second on the team with an 18.5% target share and 25% first-read share. He finished with 71 receiving yards (2.96 YPRR), zero red zone targets, and zero deep targets. Most of Kelce's production in Week 1 came on one long chunk gain. Kelce could return strong TE1 production in Week 2 against a pass defense that allowed the fourth-most yards per target and the 12th-most fantasy points per opportunity to tight ends last season.

Xavier Worthy didn't do much with his opportunities in Week 1, but it's notable that he led the team with a 22.2% target share and 30% first-read share (7.0 aDOT). Worthy was only able to finish with 18 receiving yards (0.67 YPRR), one red zone target, and one deep target. Worthy could be the team's WR1 if this usage holds this season, which would be a passing of the torch from Rashee Rice to him, but it's just a one-game sample, so I'm not getting ahead of myself. Worthy could offer some flex upside this week against a pass defense that was ripped apart in Week 1 by Lamar Jackson. In Week 1, Indy allowed the most yards per target and the second-most fantasy points per opportunity to receivers.