News Or Noise: Week One Edition

Welcome to over-reaction week 2022!

We all missed in our drafts. There were an over-abundance of players with high floors crashing right through them. Guys who weren’t guaranteed roster spots put up starting numbers. Two of the worst teams in football beat two of the best teams in football. It’s time to freak out!

On the other hand, you could react with thought and aplomb and make calculated moves. Have a guy in mind that you think just had one bad week? Make an offer. Own a guy that was a Week 1 stud that is going to regress to the mean? Make an offer. You had Elijah Mitchell and Dak Prescott? Stash them. You’ll have other guys go down and will need replacements later in the season.

Or if you prefer real football situations, you’re a Bears fan? Get that 2022 NFL Championship tattoo. Personally, I’m on the market for a Geno Smith jersey. Broncos fan? You can absolutely expect to fumble twice inside the five every week. Colts fan? There’s always next year.

None of this is realistic. Things happen. Especially in Week 1. Offenses have built new wrinkles in to throw off opposing defenses. A lot of the guys you saw playing in week one had seen no game action together as it is the norm to sit starters the majority if not all of the preseason. People get hurt. It’s the way football works.

Whether it’s the annual worst to first in the division that no one saw coming, or the breakout star that had the world on it’s heels in training camp and the preseason not seeing the field, you’re not going to be able to predict everything. Who saw Akers getting three touches? I sure didn’t. Who thought Joe Burrow goes out and throws twice as many interceptions s he did touchdowns? (To be fair he had three touchdown throws, just one of them was for the Steelers.)

Injuries have changed things. Maybe usage wasn’t what you expected, but it’s too early to know if that was a week one thing or a season long thing. Many things to think about but freak out you should not.

If you want to freak out even after taking a few deep breaths, it is what it is. Just remember that if the guys you get perform the way they were supposed to and the guys you sold low on perform the way they’re supposed to you’re going to be kicking yourself hard.

It’s only one week. Most of us have another 13 before the playoffs, so don’t get out of control. There was a reason you went out and got these guys. 0-1 isn’t the end of the world. Think calming thoughts. Whatever it takes. Just don’t overreact.

Without further ado…onto the News or Noise!

Cam Akers Will Return To Fantasy Relevance

So after that intro, I’m going to full blown overreact and say this is noise.

I Guess it comes down to what you consider relevance. Matching his ADP? No way. Flex if Darrell Henderson goes down? Probably. But if the other backs on the team stay healthy? Not worth rostering. Cam tore his Achilles in July of 2021. There were big plans for him in his sophomore season due to a strong finish the year prior. The Achilles changed all of that.

An injury of this type used to end players’ careers. Cam returned in five and a half. Notoriously stubborn about injuries Kobe Bryant was out eight before he forced his way back into the lineup. There’s no way that he was all the way right when he returned last year.

It appears that Cam is still not all the way back. From the three touches he got Thursday night, it’s hard to say. The usage that he received makes it appear that McVay doesn’t think he’s all the way back. There’s a reasonable chance that he never regains the quick feet and explosiveness he showed in the short burst at the tail end of 2020. Injuries can do that to you.

The Rams aren’t going to play the Bills every week so it’s possible there get to be more touches out of the backfield. With Kyren Williams going onto the IR, maybe they go to Akers. Odds are they’ll pick up another running back and split any carries that were going to Akers. If they pick up a guy that can do goal line pushes and some catching out of the backfield like a Malcolm Brown, a path to relevance is going to be hard to come by. If instead they just sign some depth, Akers could vulture some TDs and become a super deep league bye week flex player.

I’m all out on Akers. Achilles injuries scare me. Regaining your prior athleticism is not only incredibly difficult, but not guaranteed. Akers was being drafted as an RB2 in the middle of the fifth round. He’s going to have to get it together just to be a flex, much less your second running back.

Russ And The Broncos Are In Trouble

Noise.

There are a lot of things that went wrong for the Broncos on Monday night. Fumbles. Pass protection. Blown defenses. Just a lot of bad things. Adding up all those things makes for a loss against what was initially considered a bottom five team coming into the season.

It’s overreaction week. I get it. But hear me out.

There’s very little chance that the Broncos fumble twice inside the five going forward. Their running backs are too good. Gordon and Williams didn’t exactly blow away the world, but were effective and moved the chains. This was a bad showing but not going to happen again. The defense will learn from their mistakes. Geno was able to move the ball against them. Not a lot of movement, but enough to get in the end zone a couple times and win the game. DK Metcalf is a GROWN ASS MAN. Physically, the guy is one of the biggest receivers in the game right now. The Broncos D isn’t going to have to deal with that most weeks.

The Broncos were the better team in this game and it just didn’t go as planned. If you told me they were going to have 180 more yards in offense, a yard and a half more per play, only one punt, and a seven minute advantage in time of possession, I’d have back up the truck on a bet for them to come out on top. Geno and the defense came up big when the Hawks needed them to and they squeaked it out.

The only thing that does worry me about the Broncos losing this game is with the AFC West being the way it is. It’s loaded. I have the Chargers winning the Super Bowl. Pat Mahomes just dropped five dimes. Davante Adams made 38 catches. That number is not accurate, but as it did many times with him in Green Bay it sure felt that way. Well, that and the play calling. 64 yards? Sheesh.

They have to win the gimmes if they want to get to the playoffs. This was a gimme.

AJ Dillon Is Going To Finish The Season With More Points Than Aaron Jones

I have this as noise.

As this is overreaction week, I’m going to attack one that I’m hearing a lot. Jones was outscored by Dillon 20.1-10.6. Jones had eight touches to Dillon’s 15. It looked like Dillon has usurped the incumbent and would be the focal back going forward.

Having two amazing running backs is something few teams can claim. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are another pair. There are some that are close. Rhamondre Stephenson and Damien Harris, Michael Carter and Breece Hall, maybe Ken Walker and Rashaad Penny. More holes with all of those pairs. Dillon and Jones are legit.

Jones is going to hot hand it this season. He will get featured. Especially with the state of the Packers’ receiving corps. Dillon is going to get his. Not saying that he’s going to fall by the wayside. Just saying the teeter totter is going to move back in Jones’ favor. At some point in time the Packers are going to want to take some of the pressure off Rodgers. As they were behind during this game, the script was changed as it went on.

It was strange that even though that happened, Dillon still saw so much action. This is probably why everyone is overreacting. You want to base season long usage on one game? Cool. I’ll take Jones off your hands. Jones and Dillon will finish close, but I’m taking Jones season long.

Give him the ball!

Kadarius Toney Will Be A Fantasy Starter By The End Of The Season

I mean, it’s gotta be news right?

For anyone out there that hasn’t seen Toney with the ball in his hands, go find a highlight. the guy is electric. He had a huge game going last season until he started punching defenders. As long as the temper is in check, he’s a weapon. So, why did he only hit the field for seven snaps? Who knows. Why did he get two rushes and no targets? Still can’t answer the questions. If I had a guy on my team that could jailbreak any play, I’d probably give him the ball. Toney is the guy you want to throw to in Madden because that juke stick will catch fire.

The same thing was said last year though and it never really came to be. The difference? Coaching. Brian Daboll has guts and will find a way to get the ball in his hands. Surefire way to be successful is to get the ball to your playmakers and let them make plays.

Another thing he has going for him–the receivers all seemingly in front of him will get hurt. Not could, will. WanDale Robinson is already banged up. Sterling Shepard? Ticking time bomb. Kenny Golladay? Injuries have sapped him of all the things that made him great in Detroit. Richie James? He had 38 career receptions through three seasons before this game. He’ll also get some more targets when Saquon inevitably goes down. And don’t forget Richie James you say? He had 38 career receptions through three seasons before this game. He hasn’t played enough to know how resilient he is.

Toney is by far the flashiest playmaker of the group. The Giants will see that and at some point in time he will be the WR2 at worst, whether due to injuries or performance. He’s probably not going to be a set and forget starter for your fantasy team, at least not for the next few games. But once the flies start falling, he will be there to light the field up in the best way possible.

Dak Prescott Will Be Back In Less Than Five Weeks

I think only Jerry Jones believes this is news. The reality is noise.

Dak Prescott broke his throwing hand in the ugly loss to the Bucs on Sunday. He had surgery to address it and has a plate and screws in there now. It’s going to heal, and it’s being taken care of by doctors at the top of their respective game. But let’s slow this down a bit. An NFL quarterback broke his throwing hand severely enough to need plates and screws. In case you missed it, it’s his THROWING HAND! And that same quarterback is supposed to heal enough to take his unprotected multi-million dollar hand into a game where giant monsters of men want to hit him very very hard and he’s supposed to come out unscathed? I think Jerry Jones is caught up with overreaction week.

Yes, the injury isn’t as bad as expected Jerry. He’s still going to miss at least four games though Jerry. What you’re asking is a virtual impossibility Jerry. Ok Jerry, we won’t put him on IR.

The problem with Jerry Jones is there’s no one in the organization willing to challenge him. He surrounds himself with people like his son, or Jason Garrett, or whoever else will collect a fat paycheck and keep their mouth shut. Then he makes bonehead calls like this one.

If Dak comes back too early, I don’t see him making it through the game. He’s going to re-break it. hit a helmet, or another player’s hand. It could get stepped on. He could just put too much pressure on it in the wrong way and poof, out for the season. While they might not tell Jerry, I feel like the rest of the team is preparing for something in the six to eight week territory. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Less than five weeks is more than you could hope for. I see him coming back in Week 6 six against the Eagles, and I would say a week later if it wasn’t a divisional game. Until then, it’s the Cooper Rush show!

Looking for a lineup question to be answered? Got offered a trade you’re just not sure on? Think fantasy football is neat and want someone to talk to about it? Get in touch with me @IHeartCaravans on Twitter, Medium, uStadium, TikTok, and the Fantasy Life App. Hope to hear from you soon!