Headlines For Week 2!
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Welcome back! Week 1 is in the books, and we’re all ready to overreact. Or underreact, whichever is most detrimental. Here’s this week’s headlines to help you stay ahead of player values, make trades, and find those gems still sitting on the wire before week 2!
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Now let’s go kick Week 2’s butt:
News & Notes:
All players/coaches passed their COVID-19 tests before the games this past Sunday.
IND coach Frank Reich said RB Jonathan Taylor will be the starter at running back moving forward.
NO RB Alvin Kamara agreed to a 5-year contract extension worth $75M in new money.
MIN RB Dalvin Cook agreed to a 5-year $63M extension.
The Rams and WR Cooper Kupp have reached an agreement on a 3-year contract extension worth up to $48M.
The 49ers are signing WR Mohamed Sanu.
CHI WR Allen Robinson has reportedly not asked for a trade, but is unhappy that Chicago has been unwilling to pay him market value. Robinson took Chicago Bears out of his bio and has since deleted all of his ‘Bears’ photos on his Instagram. The Latest reports indicate Robinson and Nagy cleared the air.
NYJ RB Frank Gore has been named the starting RB for Week 2.
Notable Injury Updates:
Here’s a handy tool for browsing all injury news.
IND RB Marlon Mack has a confirmed torn Achilles and is out for the season.
DAL TE Blake Jarwin has a torn ACL, will miss rest of season
NO WR Michael Thomas suffered a high-ankle injury in Sunday’s game. Looks like he’ll likely miss, or be hampered for at least a few weeks.
PIT RB James Conner suffered a sprained ankle. Team is “optimistic for a timely return.”
PHI RB Miles Sanders (hamstring) practiced in full on Wednesday.
TB WR Chris Godwin is in the concussion protocol.
DEN RB Phillip Lindsay left MNF with a foot injury.
SF TE George Kittle dealing with knee sprain.
SF WR Deebo Samuel was placed on IR. He’s out at least 3 games.
CLE TE David Njoku placed on IR with a sprained MCL.
CLE WR Jarvis Landry (hip) officially questionable for TNF.
NYJ RB Le'Veon Bell (hamstring) has been placed on IR. Eligible to return in 3 weeks.
NYJ WR Denzel Mims (hamstring) has been placed on IR.
Articles, Analysis, Hype:
JAX RB James Robinson hype: “One running back saw 100% of his team's running back rushes so far this week. His name? James Robinson.” Quick clip of Robinson hurdling a defender. Jay Gruden says Robinson “can handle the workload.”
Great Reddit thread: Week 1: "I watched the whole game" takeaways.
JAX QB Gardner Minshew stands alone on a list of every QB in NFL history to complete 95% of their passes and throw for 3 TDs.
Week 1 performances by rookie WRs taken in the first 3 rounds of the NFL Draft (Posted before Jeudy’s game).
IND RB Jonathan Taylor hype: At 226 lbs, JT is blazing fast. He had two of the top 10 fastest plays clocked by next gen stats in week 1. Also, raise your hand if you picked Jonathan Taylor to lead not just rookie RBs, but ALL rookies in receiving yards in Week 1.
LAC RB Joshua Kelley hype: HC Anthony Lynn said he didn't think they would have won if they didn't have RB Joshua Kelley. Kelley rushed for 60 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Here’s a couple clips breaking down some of Kelley’s nicer runs.
SEA coach Pete Carroll weighs in on “Letting Russ cook.”
LV HC Jon Gruden said he didn’t want to make comparisons for RB Josh Jacobs. He then immediately made a comparison saying he reminded him of Walter Payton. “It was hot as hell and he insisted that he got the ball. He is special.”
BAL QB Lamar Jackson “became the first QB in NFL history to produce at least three games with 3-plus TD passes & a 150-plus passer rating (min. 10 attempts) during his first three seasons.”
NYG WR Darius Slayton “now has 10 receiving TD since Week 5 of last season, more than anyone else in the NFL.” Also, “That was Darius Slayton's fifth-career TD of 30+ yards. Tonight is his 15th NFL game.”
AZ WR DeAndre Hopkins had 14 catches for 151 yards in his Cardinals debut. The 14 catches was a career high.
Fantastic breakdown of how JAX WR Laviska Shenault Jr. was used in week 1 and his incredible potential. Also: “Kind of funny, but #Jaguars WR Laviska Shenault never got tackled to the ground yesterday after a reception. Three catches, one he went OOB, one a TD, and then one, this catch and even with a swarm, they couldn't get him on the ground.”
“JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington finished with three combined touchdowns last night, but... JuJu target share: 19.4% Washington target share: 9.7% [PIT WR] Diontae Johnson target share: 32.3%”
TB WR Mike Evans: “Bucs coach Bruce Arians, on his weekly radio show, says they should’ve moved Mike Evans around vs the Saints instead of keeping him outside and lamented only targeting him four times. Says he feels bad if Evans has less than 10 targets in any game.”
HOU WR Will Fuller “sleepwalked to 8/112 on a D- night for the Texans offense. Massive 32% target share. Gets BAL / PIT next but matchups wont matter with the type of usage he saw tonight.”
20 thoughts recapping week 1.
“Talented WR drafted high out of college.... fantasy sleeper.... underperforms... listed as a sleeper for a few seasons.... always disappoints... finally healthy and puts it all together after everyone has bailed. Is [TEN WR] Corey Davis this year’s Devante Parker?” Corey Davis got the game ball after the win and apparently wasn’t at 100%. He had 10 targets with 7 receptions for 101 yards.
KC RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire's 7 missed tackles forced on runs is tied for the best ever from a rookie RB in Week 1. Quick video breakdown of how Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s strengths in college carried-over in his first NFL game. It’s also worth noting that Edwards-Helaire saw 65% of the team’s snaps and 6 goal-line carries.
HOU RB David Johnson forced missed tackles: Week 1 vs. Chiefs - 5 Entire 2019 season - 11.
Week 1 air yards leaders (PFF) 1. Julio Jones (189.96) 2. [ATL WR] Calvin Ridley (186.96)
MIA WR Preston Williams “played on 90.3% of snaps in wk 1 led team w/ 7 targets (23.3% tgt share) - only caught 2-of-7.... but only two were deemed catchable (per@SportsInfo_SIS) AND he was covered by s. gilmore”
WAS TE Logan Thomas: “5 of his team-leading 8 targets came on 3rd Down. He also accounted for 30.1% of his team’s Air Yards on Sunday. Haskins might have a new security blanket.”
TEN RB Derrick Henry “ran 22 pass routes against the Broncos, which is a new career-high (per PFF).”
SEA QB Russell Wilson: “Adjusted for gamescript, Seattle was the most pass-heavy team of Week 1 Seattle passed on 65% of their played (5th-most) even though they led for 79% of their game and led by 2+ scores on 39% of their offensive plays That's all Russ needs to be Lamar/Mahomes tier”
IND WR Parris Campbell: “* Locked-in No. 2 WR behind TY Hilton * Led #Colts WRs in Week 1 snaps, catches, yards * 7/9 targets traveled 10+ yards downfield * Runs 4.31 * Week 2 opponent #Vikings No. 1 CB Cameron Dantzler runs 4.64”
A reminder that player market values can shift pretty rapidly each week.
Cold Water:
CLE RB Nick Chubb finished week 1 seeing 41.7% of Cleveland's RB/FB rushes. His single-game low last year was 62.5%. RB Nick Chubb has now been outscored by RB Kareem Hunt in 7 of their last 9 games played together.
CLE WR Odell Beckham Jr. — Just went and re-watched all of Odell Beckham's targets from Week 1. He's still the same player he always was. Baker Mayfield's accuracy was horrendous. This could've easily been a 100-plus yard game for OBJ vs. a tough secondary. You can already see the frustration. (This could be positive for the future, but for 2020 it belongs under “Cold Water”)
LAC RB Austin Ekeler saw only one target in week 1. He also ceded goal line work to Joshua Kelley. “HC Anthony Lynn said the new scheme — primarily the increased QB and pocket movement — will limit check downs to RBs.”
WAS RB Bryce Love got some hype this offseason, but was a healthy scratch in week 1.
All Jets players in Dynasty: “Jets CEO Christopher Johnson reiterates his ‘full confidence’ in Adam Gase”
Tools & Resources:
Reddit adjusted redraft trade values.
Another redraft trade value chart for week 2.
Week 1 “Workload Report.”
"Defensive Maneuvers" - Week 2 D/ST Rankings
List of most targeted players in week 1.
Week 1 air yards share (not total) leaders.
List of snap count leaders in week 1.
Great chart showing receiving stats that defenses allowed in week 1.
List of snap % for most of the relevant rookie WRs that played week 1.
% of routes run on dropbacks by tight ends.
Week 2 - WR/CB Matchups.
The Fun Stuff:
NFL’s Week 1 in images.
All the best catches of Week 1.
SF RB Raheem Mostert’s blazing 76 yard touchdown.
How RB Ezekiel Elliot scored on this play, is a mystery. Actually, you can see it here. Similarly, WR James Washington found a way to score on this play. Here’s how.
Wanna see Aaron Donald throw Ezekiel Elliot like a rag doll? (video)
TB RB Leonard Fournette’s first week with the Buccaneers wasn’t fun.
“WRs who switch teams usually take a step back in their first year”
Pretty awesome 360 clip of ATL WR Calvin Ridley’s stunning route for a TD. (video)
CIN QB Joe Burrow is an athlete. (video)
PHI WR Jalen Reagor is really, really fast. (video)
Great angle of ARI QB Kyler Murray putting defenders on skates.
The Giants might have won if they had an RB like James Robinson.
Mashup of wives pranking their husbands now that football is back. (video)
NFL Network has no clue who über sleeper RB James Robinson is.
CLE QB Baker Mayfield was assaulted on Twitter.
The internet is undefeated.
As soon as you saw Andy Reid’s fogged up mask you knew there would be memes.
AZ WR Larry Fitzgerald playing good football with seconds left on the clock. (video)
An offensive lineman doing his best heat seeking missile impression. (video)