2 years agoKansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling tied for the team lead in targets in Thursday's win over the Chargers, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes looking his way seven times. MVS caught just two of those passes for 13 yards, though. It's encouraging to see how much the team is trying to get Valdes-Scantling the ball, but with so many players in this receiving game, his floor makes him too low to trust most weeks in fantasy.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman was targeted four times in Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers, hauling in three of those for 49 yards. Hardman also got a carry on a third-down play, but lost four yards. The Chiefs are spreading the ball around so far and Hardman has now been targeted 10 times in two games. He's an intriguing deep-league target in fantasy, though the nature of this offense means that he'll have a low floor, since Patrick Mahomes has so many people to throw to.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson caught a 41-yard touchdown in Thursday's 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Overall, Watson caught two passes for 50 yards. Those were his only two targets. The Chiefs were spreading the ball around a lot on Thursday, so don't expect Watson's usage to mean too much in the grand scheme of things. He's intriguing in fantasy, but not intriguing enough to pick up off the waiver wire yet.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce led the Chiefs in targets, receptions and yards in Thursday's win over the Chargers, but all of those numbers were lower than fantasy managers expect from Kelce. In the 27-24 win, Kelce was targeted seven times, catching five passes for 51 yards. He won't face this Chargers defense every week, so consider Kelce to still be the top tight end in fantasy football going forward.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire showed that this is fully his backfield in Thursday's 27-24 win over the Chargers. He led the team with eight carries for 74 yards, including a longest run of 52. He also caught four passes for 44 yards. Edwards-Helaire was also off the field for a bit in the first half after his knee was stepped on, so Jerick McKinnon's four carries and Isiah Pacheco's two carries are possibly higher than they should have been. It's clear through two games that Edwards-Helaire has the trust of this coaching staff. Consider him a solid fantasy RB2 going forward.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 24-for-35 for 235 yards in Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Mahomes threw a pair of touchdown passes. He lost one yard in the run game. It definitely wasn't a classic Mahomes performance and the numbers could have been worse if an interception wasn't called back by penalty, but the former MVP did what needed to be done to get the win. Mahomes is still a top five fantasy quarterback and should play better against the Colts.--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoThe Los Angeles Rams defense and special teams unit faces the Atlanta Falcons this week in what could be a tough matchup. The Falcons offense didn't do much last season, but now they have a new quarterback who can run in Marcus Mariota, rookie receiver Drake London and record-setting tight end Kyle Pitts entering his second year. Add in dual-threat running back Cordarrelle Patterson, and they looked good in Week 1. The Falcons gained over 400 yards and scored 26 points on the Saints. The Saints defense allowed fewer yards and fewer points last season than the Rams defense did, so if the Falcons can do that to the Saints, they could do it to the Rams.--Mitchell Blatt - RotoBallerSource: Team Rankings

2 years agoTennessee Titans running back Dontrell Hilliard (hamstring) missed Thursday's practice due to a hamstring injury. He touched the ball five times in Week 1 against the New York Giants. The 27-year-old made the most out of those touches by catching three passes and racking up 69 total yards with two receiving touchdowns. He picked up a hamstring sometime during the week and could not practice Thursday. The Titans play on Monday, and Hilliard will have a few more sessions to try and practice this week. Hilliard will be the Titans' RB2 behind star Derrick Henry if active. Hassan Haskins, Julius Chestnut, and Trenton Cannon would back up Henry if Hilliard cannot suit up in Week 2.--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Turron Davenport of ESPN

2 years agoArizona Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore (hamstring) is not expected to play in Week 2's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. He has been unable to practice this week and will miss his second straight game due to a hamstring injury. According to Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network, Moore will miss Week 2 and could be sidelined for multiple weeks. The 22-year-old initially hurt his hamstring during practice last week. Arizona is depleted at the wide receiver position with Moore, Andy Isabella (back), and DeAndre Hopkins (suspension) out. A.J. Green and Greg Dortch should see an uptick in targets with Moore sidelined, but both are dart throws at best in deep-league formats.--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Aaron Wilson

2 years agoSan Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (groin) is not expected to play in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. He has been unable to practice this week and is expected to miss his second straight game due to a groin injury. "Hopefully, we'll have better luck this week," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of Kittle. "Made a lot of progress." The 28-year-old hasn't officially been ruled out, but fantasy managers with Kittle should look for a streaming option in Week 2. Tyler Kroft and Ross Dwelley should continue to see an increase in snaps with Kittle sidelined, but neither tight end is a good fantasy option against the Seahawks.--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Aaron Wilson

2 years agoLos Angeles Rams kicker Matt Gay is a solid streaming option in his Week 2 home matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons allowed the most touchdowns per game in 2021 but only the 25th-most field goals. In sum, they allowed the 15th-most points to opposing kickers. There is a lot of random variability when it comes to field goals, but one reason for the relative lack of FGs by Falcons opponents is that the Falcons were one of the worst defenses in the red zone, allowing touchdowns 63.8% of the time. With the Rams strong offense and the Falcons weak defense, Gay has a good chance to at least kick some extra-points and maybe a FG or two.--Mitchell Blatt - RotoBallerSource: Team Rankings

2 years agoAtlanta Falcons running back Damien Williams (ribs) did not practice on Thursday. He missed most of the Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints with a rib injury and couldn't practice this week. The 30-year-old is trending in the wrong direction to suit up for Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams. He will have one more chance to practice on Friday. Williams finished with two carries for two yards and only 13% of the offensive snaps in Week 1. Avery Williams and Tyler Allgeier would see an uptick in snaps if Williams is ruled out against the Rams.--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Atlanta Falcons

2 years agoLos Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (ribs) will undergo more tests on his injured ribs Friday. According to head coach Brandon Staley, the star quarterback is "OK" after the quarterback sustained an injury late in Thursday night's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The severity of Herbert's injury will be known after he undergoes further evaluation. The 24-year-old completed 33-of-48 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the Week 2 loss to the Chiefs. Herbert will have a few extra days to recover, but his status for Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars is up in the air for now. Stay tuned.--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network

2 years agoLos Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers goes into a Week 2 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons with questions about his usage. Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, he had only three carries and did not gain positive yardage. Rams coach Sean McVay said that he maintains confidence in Akers and is pushing him to step up. He said, "I want him to be able to be a guy that we're heavily able to lean on, both him and Darrell." His matchup against the weak Falcons defense could be tempting—if he gets enough carries. The Falcons allowed opposing RBs to run all over them for the ninth most fantasy points last season. But it is risky to start Akers until you can be assured that he has a role in the Rams offense.--Mitchell Blatt - RotoBallerSource: Cameron DaSilva - USA Today

2 years agoLos Angeles Rams running back Darrell Henderson Jr. is a hot "start" choice in Week 2 in the  home matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs last season and the most total touchdowns to all positions. Because Henderson has a major role in the Rams passing game, he could score a receiving touchdown, too. Henderson took 82% of the Rams rushing volume in Week 1, but he probably won't monopolize carries at such a high margin very often, even if he remains the lead back. Rams head coach Sean McVay says he wants to get Cam Akers involved more. Against a weak Falcons team, there should be more total carries for both backs. Henderson is a strong starter at flex with real potential to finish as an RB1 this week.--Mitchell Blatt - RotoBallerSource: Cameron DaSilva - USA Today