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With Marlon Mack’s season-ending Achilles injury, Jonathan Taylor is in an absolute smash spot this week. Philip Rivers carried over his career love for targeting RBs, hooking up with Taylor and Nyheim Hines for 14 of his 36 completions. Taylor saw six of those, good for No. 2 among RBs in Week 1. The Vikings are a softer matchup than most think, ranking No. 27 in Defense Rushing DVOA against the Packers last week. Should his receiving volume continue, Taylor will flirt with top-5 RB numbers.

It didn’t take long for James Conner to realize his No. 1-ranked Injury Probability. His first quarter ankle injury paved the way for Benny Snell to be featured as the poster boy of Week 2 DFS. The second-year Steelers RB reportedly slimmed down from his 224-pound frame and looked good on Monday night. James Conner has yet to practice, meaning the Steelers will likely lean on Snell regardless of his status. He’s affordable and is a lock for 20 carries in an explosive offense.

It’s bad process to devalue Devin Singletary just days after he led the league in routes run at the running back position. Fortunately for those seeking to buy low, that’s exactly what’s happening here. There was nothing noteworthy in rookie Zack Moss’ 12-touch, 27-yard performance that suggests he’s ready to usurp Singletary as the lead back. Moss’ offseason hype and Singletary’s underwhelming Week 1 has opened a buy-low window to be taken advantage of.

While David Montgomery’s 12.5 Weighted Opportunities in Week 1 might not stand out, it’s encouraging that the coaching staff deemed the second-year running back healthy enough to play over Tarik Cohen for the most part. The 23-year old looked genuinely improved over his rookie season, and his 35.7-percent Juke Rate and five Evaded Tackles back that up. Given Montgomery suffered no setbacks, his share of the backfield workload will only grow as the season moves along. 

A trend that unfolded in Week 1 was Phillip Rivers’ connection with his trusted slot receiver. Lined up in the slot on 55 snaps, good for a 96.5-percent Slot Rate, this receiving weapon now wears the number 15 and goes by the name Parris Campbell. Finishing as the WR27 in PPR leagues, Campbell’s nine targets matched T.Y. Hilton for the most among Colts wideouts. After a strong showing in training camp, a solid Week 1 performance has the former Buckeye’s dynasty stock on the rise.

Harrison Bryant played 31 snaps, good for a 42.4-percent (No. 44) Snap Share, in Cleveland’s Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He ran a route on 30.8-percent of his snaps and caught one of two targets for five yards. With David Njoku parked on injured reserve, an uptick in Bryant’s usage is on tap. The next three weeks (at minimum) may be enough to put him on the radar of even casual fantasy gamers. Monitor his stock closely and be ready to act.

Before the season, Devin Singletary’s fantasy football value entered into a quintessential touch squeeze. Basically, both Singletary and Zack Moss are capable of handling the majority of touches in the Bills backfield. This leads to both sharing it almost 50/50. Where Moss may have found an edge is inside the red-zone, totaling three carries from inside the five to Singletary’s zero. Both backs are no more than Flex plays (for now).

Whereas J.K. Dobbins’ second touchdown came after the game was decided, he still managed to lead the backfield with two Goal Line Carries, converting both. Ingram was not used at the goal line, which is potentially troubling after he registered 13 (No. 2 among qualified running backs) such carries in 2019. He should be given one more week in starting lineups to prove himself before we consider other arrangements.

Will Fuller’s Week 1 performance confirmed the priors that he would be an alpha receiver on the Houston offense. He hit 123 yards of total target depth on 10 targets. He caught eight balls for 112 yards and was the only Houston receiver to catch more than three balls versus the Chiefs. Buy him before he hits 150 yards or scores multiple times in a game. He’s a WR1 going forward and paying anything less is a steal.

Hayden Hurst only drew five targets against the Seahawks in Week 1, the same number as Todd Gurley. Both earned a 9.8-percent Target Share. That isn’t going to cut it for Hurst to post fantasy TE1 numbers. He has never been a special player and this performance shows that he’s certainly not capable of getting his in an offense stacked with pass-catching options. See if the person who has Logan Thomas will let you buy high with Hurst as a bargaining chip.

Russell Gage spent the offseason as an intriguing late-round dart throw in Best Ball after a strong finish in 2019. He erupted in Week 1, matching both Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley with 12 targets, nine receptions and over 100 receiving yards. Expect him to be the No. 1 waiver wire target this week as a result. We wouldn’t recommend blowing all of your FAAB or a top priority waiver claim on Gage, but he’s certainly worthy of a bench spot and Flex consideration.

The Logan Thomas breakout is upon us. Many refused to believe that Thomas could be this year’s Darren Waller due to the low probability of having two breakout tight ends in back-to-back years that came from absolutely nowhere. Thomas led the Washington Football team with eight targets and his usage was beyond promising for future success. Add Thomas and insert him into your starting tight end slot unless you already have one of the Big Five on your roster.

This is a red alert. Russell Wilson threw the ball 35 times on Sunday. That only happened six times last season, and this was in a game where the Seahawks were never behind. Wilson has historically been a top 5-efficient QB by basically any metric. Consistent volume has been the only missing piece. He carries as high a ceiling as any QB in football when he’s unleashed. While he is off the main DFS slate next week against the Patriots, he’s a top-5 QB in any format.

With Marlon Mack done for the season, both Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines now hold starter value. We know about Philip Rivers’ propensity toward targeting running backs, and both of these backs are plus receivers with the requisite explosion and shimmy to add yards after the catch. Taylor will be a DFS smash next week against a Vikings team that ceded more than 150 yards on the ground to the Packers.

James Robinson’s 48.7-percent College Dominator Rating, a 97th-percentile mark, is the best among all incoming rookie running backs. His 107.2 Athleticism Score is the best in this rookie class, and No. 16 among all running backs in the entire database. That fact that he stuck around the team for this long in an offseason where all UDFAs faced a steeper-than-usual uphill climb to make a roster should’ve been the warning flare in the sky for fantasy gamers. The time to acquire him in all formats is running out. Be on the right side of history.

Marvin Hall’s seven (No. 150) receptions for 261 (No. 100) receiving yards helped give him astronomical marks in many of PlayerProfiler’s efficiency metrics, and he did most of that damage with Matthew Stafford healthy. In fact, eight of his 39 career targets have gone for 30-plus yards. Kenny Golladay led all wide receivers with 37 Deep Targets last year, so it would make sense for Hall to slide into that role over fifth-round rookie Quintez Cephus. Especially given his familiarity with the offense and the shortened offseason program. 

Will Fuller just needs to stay healthy and he will easily put up career marks in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He has played in 14 or more games in a season just once, though he is healthy for now. With his injury history baked into his WR31 ADP, he will pay that off even if he misses time, provided his Week 1 Target Share holds up. The upside with Fuller relative to his ADP is that if he stays healthy, he’s contending for a top-12 finish at his position in fantasy football.

Sammy Watkins again came in hot in Week 1, pacing the Chiefs pass-catchers with nine targets. This is a mirage. However, if Watkins stacks a few more of these games together, we’re looking at potential Flex appeal. In the offseason, it was reported that Watkins held off Mecole Hardman for the No. 2 receiver job. After one week, it’s impossible to confirm this, but monitor him closely in the coming weeks for signs of a usage pattern.

Fantasy gamers should forget about DeSean Jackson and instead consider the oft-neglected Marvin Jones at home against the Bears for $5,500. With a 10.8 Weekly Volatility mark last season, Jones ranked No. 6 among receivers with at least 40 catches. Kenny Golladay earned a 21.1-percent (No. 33 among qualified wide receivers) Target Share in 2019, while Jones posted a 20.2-percent (No. 39) mark. If Golladay fails to suit up, Jones’ ownership percentage may creep into unplayable territory, so it’s a situation to monitor.

Henr Ruggs projects to carry a high degree of Weekly Volatility this season, to be sure. Dial him up against the Panthers in his first NFL game action before the masses become infatuated with him. He oozes with upside and the Raiders will move him all over the field and design plays to get him the ball in space. That’s why he will find the end zone in his first NFL game. The price is right on DraftKings ($5,100) and he doesn’t figure to garner huge ownership.