Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, QB:
In what was one of the biggest surprises of the first week, Ryan Fitzpatrick was by far the highest scoring player in the 1:00 P.M. slate of games. The veteran quarterback lit up the New Orleans secondary going 21/28 for 417 yards and four touchdowns, as well as rushing 12 times for 36 yards and another touchdown. Fitzpatrick threw touchdowns to Desean Jackson, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin with the first two players combining for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns alone. While this was a very impressive performance, this may end up being the best game of the season for a Tampa Bay offense that did not have high expectations with Jameis Winston suspended to start the year. If Fitzpatrick can start to show some consistency in the beginning of the season, he could unseat Winston as the season-long starter and end up having QB2 value.
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs, WR:
It didn’t take long for Tyreek Hill to make his owners very happy this week as he had a 91-yard punt return just two minutes into the game and then had a 58-yard receiving score later in the first quarter. The speedster wasn’t done there as he ended up scoring from the 1-yard line later on in the game. Hill ended up finishing the day with seven receptions for 169 yards and three total scores, making him the highest scoring flex player in the 1:00 P.M. and 4:30 P.M. games. The third-year wide receiver showed off the chemistry he has developed with new quarterback Patrick Mahomes that had been flashed throughout the preseason. While Hill may never be the big red-zone threat that some other high-end wide receivers are, the Chiefs use his speed in many different situations and that helps keep his fantasy ceiling very high. Don’t expect an offensive explosion like this every week, but as the other offensive weapons get more involved it should take some of the defensive attention away from Hill.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints, RB:
It seems like a crazy feat, but Alvin Kamera was able to produce 34 fantasy points in standard scoring this week in a losing effort. The Saints may have fallen to the Buccaneers in Week 1 but the offense looked sharp as they put up 40 points in the losing effort. Kamera played more of a wide receiver role than a running back one in this game as nine of his 17 touches were through the air. In total, the second year star had eight carries for 29 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching nine passes for 112 and another score. Kamera was also able to tack on a two-point conversion in his impressive performance and he doesn’t seem to have lost a step from last season. Any doubts about the running back not being worthy of a first-round pick because of workload concerns should be ignored because the Saints offense seems to be centered around Kamera at this point.
Drew Brees, New Orleans, QB:
Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t the only quarterback to put up big numbers in the Saint-Buccaneers game, as Drew Brees was able to put up 31 fantasy points of his own. After a down year in terms of passing volume, the veteran signal caller exploded out of the gate in Week 1. Brees threw for 439 yards and three touchdowns as New Orleans had to try very hard to keep up with the dominating Tampa Bay offense. Just like Fitzpatrick, this could be one of Brees’ biggest games of the year as the Saints would like to run the ball a bit more in the future as well as having a stronger defense in the coming weeks. With weapons like Alvin Kamera, Michael Thomas, and Ted Ginn Jr. at his disposal, the 18-year quarterback should be a reliable QB1 for the rest of the season.
James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers, RB:
No Le’Veon Bell, no problem. The Steelers run game didn’t seem to miss a beat on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, despite the extended holdout by their star running back Le’Veon Bell. James Connor who took the reigns of the backfield in the contest looked great and produced 29 fantasy points in standard scoring for his owners. The second year running back carried the ball 31 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns, as well as catching five passes for 57 yards. For the time being, Connor is a solid RB2 with RB1 upside as it looks like Bell is still at least a few weeks away from taking control of the Pittsburgh run game again.
DeSean Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR:
While not expecting to play a huge part in a crowded Tampa Bay receiving corp, DeSean Jackson was the biggest beneficiary of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s big day. The veteran wide receiver caught all five of his passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Both of Jackson’s scores came on passes of at least 35 yards, proving the speedster still has the legs to get past the opposing secondary. While this was a great day for the 11-year veteran, it won’t happen every week, and he should go back to being a boom or bust flex option in deeper leagues. Jackson has a lot of competition for targets but is the best deep threat on the team still.
Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers, QB:
It wasn’t the start to the season that the Chargers wanted to see, because unfortunately, their offense wasn’t able to keep up with the explosive Kansas City passing attack. Philip Rivers had to attempt 51 passes but luckily it did end up turning into great fantasy numbers. Rivers ended the day with 424 yards and three passing touchdowns giving him a total of 29 fantasy points. He won’t be throwing for 400 yards every week, but the veteran quarterback does a have a high floor while being part of a high yardage offense that features the likes of Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams.
