After an intriguing week 1 of NFL football has come and gone, we can now look back and reflect on how our fantasy stars lived up to their hype, or failed us miserably.
It’s important to remember that we’re talking strictly about fantasy numbers here, which may not necessarily reflect on how well they actually played.
It’s also important to remember that if players on your fantasy team are on week 1’s loser list to not panic, and if players on your fantasy team are on week 1’s winner list, to not start looking for that championship quite yet.
So lets get right to it.
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Running Backs
Biggest Winners
Saquon Barkley not only gave Philly fans something to root for, but Barkley fantasy owners as well. In his debut with his new team, he rushed for 109 yards and 2 TDs. I was surprised to see he only had 2 receptions for 23 yards, but one of those receptions also went for a TD, for a total of 3 TDs on the day, helping Barkley to lead all players in fantasy points.
Joe Mixon also debuted with his new team in Houston, rushing for 159 yards and 1 TD, helping his team secure a win in Indianapolis. Mixon was 2nd among RBs in fantasy points. It did take Mixon 30 carries to get to that mark, though. With as many weapons as Houston has in their WR corp, I can’t imagine Mixon fantasy owners can count on 30 carries a week, but it made for a great week 1 stat line.
Biggest Losers
Raider fans had big expectations for who was thought to be their new work horse to replace Josh Jacobs, in Zamir White. White only had 13 carries, I’m sure partly due to lack of production, for only 44 yards. If that wasn’t disappointing enough, Chargers end Joey Bosa punched the ball right out of Whites hands for a fumble loss as well.
D’Andre Swift was another RB debuting with his new team in Chicago. Swift only had 10 carries for 30 yards in the Bears’ home opener against the Titans. The Bears fell behind early so they primarily went to the air in the 2nd half. Swift did have the most carries in Chicago’s backfield, if that’s any consolation for Swift owners moving forward.
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Wide Receivers
Biggest Winners
Can Jayden Reed be on both lists at the same time? On the one hand, he was able to go for 138 yards on only 4 receptions and 1 TD. He even rushed for a 33 yard TD as well, putting him 4th among all players in fantasy points. But his Packers not only lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, his QB, Jordan Love, also suffered a sprained MCL. Love was not placed on IR, so there may be hope for him to return sooner than later.
Jameson Williams is coming off one of his best games as an NFL receiver, hauling in 5 receptions for 121 yards and 1 TD, in Detroit’s home opener against the Los Angeles Rams. The Lions will continue to look to Williams as an offensive weapon this upcoming week against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Biggest Losers
Cowboy fans and CeeDee Lamb fantasy owners alike, have big expectations for the star WR in 2024. While Dallas fans are happy that the Cowboys throttled the Cleveland Browns in week 1, Lamb fantasy owners were certainly hoping for a more impressive stat line than 5 receptions for 61 yards. Dallas was up 27-3, just 2 minutes into the 2nd half, which often can result in a team turning to the running backs to burn clock and finish out the game.
For a guy who is coming off a season in which he caught 96 passes for 1,364 yards and 8 TDs, starting the following season with a 5 receptions for 36 yards week 1, is definitely a let down for DJ Moore fantasy owners. I will give him a mulligan, as there have been a lot of changes in Chicago, including a rookie QB.
Quarterbacks
Quarterbacks get too much credit when a team wins and too much blame when they lose. So I’m going against the grain and putting them 3rd in this article.
Biggest Winners
Josh Allen has been going into each season for the past few years with extremely high fantasy expectations, and with good reason.
Allen did not disappoint fantasy owners in week 1, being QB1 in fantasy, passing for a modest 232 yards, but that included 2 TDs. He also rushed for 39 yards and 2 TDs. Those rushing yards and TDs are a big reason Allen is always at the top of list in fantasy points. The Bills needed every bit of it, as they were able to escape with a win in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
Baker Mayfield has found new life in the NFL, ever since he landed in Tampa Bay. He was an efficient 24 of 30, passing for 289 yards and 4 TDs, in the Buc’s home opener against the Washington Commanders. We’ll have to see what Mayfield’s stat line looks like in week 2 when Tampa travels to a tougher defense in Detroit, but for week 1, Mayfield was golden.
Biggest Losers
Although Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys put a hurtin’ on the Cleveland Browns, Prescott fantasy owners couldn’t help but feel disappointed. His 179 passing yards and 1 TD didn’t add up to much comparatively, when it comes to fantasy points. As I mentioned with CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys built a comfortable lead, and abandoned the passing game. Prescott wont have a lead like that every week, so Prescott fantasy owners shouldn’t be hitting the panic button.
People are starting to wonder if 2021’s #1 overall pick, the sure fire bet, generational talent, Trevor Lawrence, is really all that. Although Lawrence got off to a good start, week 1 in Miami, he and the offense sputtered in the 2nd half. Lawrence finished the game only completing 12 passes for 162 yards and 1 TD. We’ll have to see if he and the Jags can bounce back in week 2, coming home against the Browns.
Tight Ends
Biggest Winners
In the very first game of the season, on a Thursday night, being the solo NFL game on, Isaiah Likely had the most productive game of his NFL career. He caught 9 passes for 111 yards and 1 TD, and missed a second TD by less than an inch, as his toe was just barely touching the out of bounds line.
Likely was impressive in 2023 when Mark Andrews was out with injury. It looks like Baltimore will continue to use 2 TEs, even with Andrews healthy.
In his NFL debut, rookie Brock Bowers brought in 6 passes for 58 yards. No TDs on the day, but Bowers looks like he will be a big part of the Raiders offense moving forward.
Biggest Losers
No Tight End is going to give fantasy owners those huge fantasy point days every week. Travis Kelce fantasy owners have grown to expect it most weeks, however. Kelce’s 3 receptions for 34 yards was less than what Kelce fantasy owners were bargaining for.
Defense
Biggest Winners
The Chicago Bears’ defense completely kept them in the game as the offense struggled mightily, in their week 1 home opener against the Titans.
While the offense could hardly move the ball, the defense came up with 3 sacks, 2 Ints, a fumble recovery, and most importantly in fantasy, 2 TDs.
The Bears travel to Houston in week 2, where the Texans will surely be more capable of moving the chains and getting in the end zone. The Bears defense will not be scoring 2 TDs a game, so it will be interesting to see how they fare from here on out. But as for week 1, they were on top of the mountain.
Biggest Losers
There are big expectations in New York, for the Jets defense. All be it, they did go to San Francisco to play a very talented 49ers team, they allowed 32 points. They were able to muster 3 sacks, but you don’t win too many games in the NFL giving up 32 points. As good as the Jets are suppose to be on defense, this was a disappointing game for Jets fans, and Jets Defense fantasy owners,
Thanks for checking out my article for week 1’s biggest fantasy winners and losers! Be sure to check out my weekly article on the biggest fantasy winners and losers, along with other weekly articles I’ll be putting out on injury status of players, potential waiver wire pick ups and more!
To get all the latest gear for these players and more, go check out the NFL Shop now!