In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Experian:
Injuries in the preseason can lead to getting value in drafts. Oftentimes, injury optimism can result in disappointment.
Hollywood Brown is the latest example. The Chiefs wide receiver will have surgery to repair a dislocated sternoclavicular joint in his shoulder and will be placed on injured reserve. He is expected to miss months.
Brown suffered the injury in the first game of the preseason, and the expectation was he would be back early in the season. Getting a discount on a player in an explosive offense with the expectation he would miss 2 to 4 games seemed ideal.
On Wednesday, coach Andy Reid wouldn’t rule out Brown for Week 2. Puka Nacua and Jordan Addison came into the season with injuries and both will miss time.
Keep this in mind when drafting players with injuries next season or trading for players currently injured. There is major risk and chances of a setback are more likely than most believe.
As for the Chiefs receivers, Rashee Rice will be a WR1 going forward and would be even with Brown on the field. Xavier Worthy will benefit the most. He becomes an every-week play in most formats. Worthy had 3 touches for 68 yards with 2 touchdowns last week. His explosiveness can lead to a score on any touch.
What else is in today’s newsletter?
- Jess Bryant gathers the Fantasy Life experts to answer pressing Week 2 questions.
- Watercooler: The Week 2 Injury Report continues to grow …
Fantasy Football Expert Roundtable: Week 2
- by Jess Bryant
Week 2 is here and with actual data from Week 1, we can make more informed decisions when setting our fantasy lineups.
Deshaun Watson, Will Levis, Bo Nix, Daniel Jones, and Bryce Young all underperformed, posting passer ratings below 53.0. On the flip side, Anthony Richardson looks like a franchise quarterback, and Sam Darnold is making a solid case for Comeback Player of the Year.
This week, I'll discuss Week 1 takeaways, overreactions, and strategic adjustments with the Fantasy Life team.
What are the biggest overreactions from Week 1, and which concerns are valid?
Coach Gene Clemons: You should definitely be concerned with the Green Bay Packers backs and receivers. The loss of Jordan Love for what could be half the season and no legitimate backup in place means that they all should be thrown in the wait-and-see category going forward.
We do not know what Malik Willis will look like in this offense or if he has made strides beyond his few performances with the Titans. Even Josh Jacobs at running back should be a question mark because defenses will immediately start keying on him to shut down the offensive production.
Jess Bryant: Concerns about the Broncos offense, Bryce Young, and Daniel Jones are valid, but those were concerns coming into the season. The Browns may also have a quarterback problem on their hands, and along with it, a salary cap issue. I wouldn't put any stock into Kyler Murray's comments about Marvin Harrison Jr.
Murray has never been good with the media. Harrison will get the ball as the season goes on. I know everyone is saying that Mark Andrews will be fine, and while I agree, when watching the game, I thought he looked tired.
While I am picking the Chiefs this week, despite surrendering a league-worst 452 yards in Week 1, against the Bengals, the Bengals should improve as the season progresses. In Week 3, the Bengals play the Commanders, and in Week 4, they play the Panthers. That may be when they start their playoff run.
Jake Trowbridge: The urge to type this in all caps is almost overwhelming, but hear me when I say that elite tight ends have not been wiped off the face of the earth! Yes, many of our old favorites drastically underperformed in Week 1. Do you know when else that happened? Week 1 of last season. So please avoid the temptation to swap Travis Kelce out of your lineup in favor of Foster Moreau.
That said, if you were high on previously solid TEs in suddenly crowded offenses, now is probably the time to recalibrate. Guys like Cole Kmet and Dalton Schultz simply can't be trusted as weekly starters.
Rob Waziak: Dalton Kincaid saw just one 5-yard target in Week 1 and saw that target halfway through the 4th quarter after 8 other Bills players already had theirs. Bills OC Joe Brady stated that the Cardinals' "defense was really concerned with where (Kincaid) was on any given moment," which allowed opportunities for others.
While I expect more production from Kincaid moving forward (he saw the 6th-highest snap share among TEs in Week 1), his usage is worth monitoring, especially following a lackluster TNF performance against the Dolphins.
Chris Allen: The Bengals are doomed. Joe Burrow couldn't hold a water bottle. The concerns about a lack of WR2 are valid. Trenton Irwin ran over 60.0% of the routes and only earned 2 targets for a whopping 6 yards.
However, Burrow's 22.9% pressure rate tied for the 10th-lowest rate of his career with Cincinnati. Ja'Marr Chase spent most of the offseason away from the team. Give them time, and we'll see them become the potent offense we drafted them to be.
Ed Eck: Biggest overreaction: Isaiah Likely passed Mark Andrews in Baltimore. Andrews will still be the guy, but Likely will also be a guy you can start. Stop thinking of Likely as a tight end to replace Andrews and think of him as the Ravens' third pass catcher along with Zay Flowers.
Unlike many offenses with two receivers and a tight end you can start, the Ravens have two tight ends and a wide receiver.
More Questions to Answer Ahead of Sunday’s Slate
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