🔥 Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

Quarterback Studs and Rookie Duds

Author

Ryan Kirksey
September 09, 2024

Our seven-month collective nightmare is over! Football is officially back and the first fantasy football Sunday of the season has come and gone.

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes five days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

The first week of any new NFL season always gives us a first glimpse at some of the storylines and predictions from the previous offseason. What follows are the top fantasy headlines we will talk about this week.

👨‍🍳 Baker the Touchdown Maker

Baker Mayfield threw four touchdowns to three different receivers against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. It’s not a complete surprise since the Commanders allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks and wide receivers in 2023. Mayfield spread the ball around to five different pass-catchers in this one and positive touchdown regression came early for Chris Godwin (8-83-1) after just two scores in 130 targets last year.

🚗 Baby, You Can Drive My Carr

Derek Carr didn’t even need top wide receiver Chris Olave (two catches for 11 yards) to be almost perfect against Carolina on Sunday. The Panthers’ porous and un-physical secondary made sure of that. Before the game got completely out of hand in the second half, Carr was 19-for-23 for 200 yards and three touchdown passes, plus he rushed for 13 yards.

📉 Rookie Wide Receivers (Mostly) Flop

All rookie wide receivers who struggled on Sunday, step forward. Not you, Brian Thomas Jr.! BTJ was the only rookie wide receiver who was a fantasy asset on Sunday, securing all four of his targets for 47 yards and a toe-tap touchdown against Miami. Elsewhere, Marvin Harrison Jr. caught one pass for four yards, Rome Odunze grabbed one for 11, Malik Nabers was decent going five for 66 yards (but Daniel Jones, woof!), and Xavier Legette caught four for 35. Ladd McConkey juked the Raiders for a nifty score. Keon Coleman caught four balls. But altogether it was an underwhelming debut for the uber-hyped rookie class.

🐄 Bell-Cow Bijan

Freed from the shackles of the Evil Dr. Arthur Smith, Bijan Robinson was finally unleashed into a full-time role against the Steelers on Sunday. Robinson rushed 18 times, saw five targets, played all seven third-down snaps, and was in on seven of nine plays in the two-minute drill. Compared to Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson played on 50 snaps, while Allgeier played 10. Robinson had 111 scoreless yards, but bigger days are ahead.

⚡ J.K. Big Day All the Way

Still concerned about J.K. Dobbins’ residual affects from his torn Achilles in Week 1 last year? He looked like the most explosive player on the field in his game, rushing for 135 yards on 10 carries including a touchdown and a 61-yard burst through the hole. Dobbins also saw three targets and played on 11 of the Chargers’ 13 third-down plays.

⚰ RIP Blake Corum’s Fantasy Value

After an offseason of speculation that Blake Corum was going to steal a healthy share of Kyren Williams’ workload this season, we can safely put those thoughts in the ground after one game. Corum did not touch the ball once even though players like Ronnie Rivers, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua all received rush attempts. In fact, Blake Corum didn’t even play a single snap against the Lions in what ended up being a 65-minute game.

Puka Nacua left Sunday Night Football after suffering a knee injury. He attempted to come back into the game, but quickly left again and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. More tests will come Monday, but if he misses time the beneficiaries behind him would be DeMarcus Robinson and Colby Parkinson. But in reality, it just means we might see the NFL’s first 30-target game at some point by Cooper Kupp (he had 21 in Week 1).

David Njoku was forced to leave in the second half of the home game against the Dallas Cowboys with what is feared to be a high-ankle sprain. There should be more conclusive news Monday or Tuesday, but he looked like the only reliable option for an otherwise horrific Deshaun Watson in Week 1.

Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson had one of those leg injuries that makes your face grimace, but early indications are he does not have a torn ACL. He also will have more tests because he was not able to walk under his own power as he left the game in the second half.

Kenneth Walker conceded work to Zach Charbonnet in the second half of the Seahawks-Broncos game Sunday after Walker left with an abdomen injury. He had already dominated for more than 100 yards and a score in that game, and this exit may have been a precaution. He declared himself “good” after the game, so stay tuned.

Jordan Addison, Minnesota wide receiver and confirmed reckless driver, suffered an ankle injury on Sunday after catching three balls for 35 yards. He left the game, but reports are already surfacing that it is not a serious injury. There should be confirmation on that before practices start on Wednesday.

Here are the latest articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 1 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.