Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb went off for 11 catches and 143 yards against the Jets. The 11 catches tied a career high. Top CB Sauce Gardner didn’t shadow him, and Dallas was wise to switch up Lamb’s alignment. We’ll see if Brandin Cooks (knee) misses another week, but regardless, Lamb will retain a top-5 ceiling for the road ahead. Next up is a matchup with Arizona.
Cowboys S Donovan Wilson is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Jets with the calf injury that has kept him off the field for weeks. Wilson did return for limited practice participation Thursday and Friday. Combine that with Dallas' decision not to put him on IR to open the year, and it's clear the team hopes to get Wilson back by at least Week 4. We'll see about his status for Week 3, though it'll be tough to trust Wilson in IDP lineups immediately upon his return.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb caught all 4 of his targets for 77 yards in Sunday night’s Week 1 win vs. the Giants. No other Dallas offensive player caught more than 2 passes. The Pro Bowl wideout saw a red zone target sail over his head in the second quarter but otherwise didn’t have much involvement in the blowout victory. Fantasy managers hoping for a bigger game from Lamb are assuredly disappointed, but the early blocked FG TD and a 22-yard INT return for a TD in the first half made it so that Dallas didn’t have to push very hard to earn the W. Hopefully, next week’s contest vs. the Jets can be a little bit closer. An intriguing item to remember is that while TE Jake Ferguson had a quiet 2 catches for 11 yards, he led the Cowboys with 7 targets in this contest.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed 13 of 24 attempts for 143 passing yards without any TDs or INTs in Sunday night’s win vs. the Giants. The veteran also added another 6 yards as a rusher in Week 1. An early blocked FG TD and a 22-yard INT return for a TD each occurred in primetime action before the end of the first quarter. The fact of the matter is that Prescott didn’t need to have a massive game for Dallas to pull out the victory. Considering how big of a blowout this 40-0 game was before halftime, it isn’t easy to take much away from the contest for fantasy purposes. Prescott and company are set to square off against the Jets in Week 2.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams led the backfield in snaps, carries, and targets in Week 1, his first regular-season game since October's multi-ligament knee injury. Williams played 48% of the offensive snaps, carried 13 times for 52 yards, and caught four of six targets for five yards. That's 19 total opportunities to RB Samaje Perine's 12 and RB Jaleel McLaughlin's one. It was encouraging usage for Williams coming off that devastating injury. His volume should only grow going forward.
Panthers RB Miles Sanders overcame a fumble to post 98 total yards on 22 touches. He lost out on 9 carries and 2 targets to Chuba Hubbard, who posted the more efficient day (6.7 YPC to 4.0). Still, we’re encouraged by Sanders’ use in the passing game, where he finished 2nd on the team in catches. He’ll need improvement from Bryce Young to boost the scoring outlook. But we expect the top pick to improve as he gains experience. Sanders will face a Saints run D that allowed 5.0 YPC to Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears in the opener.
Dalvin Cook is expected to open the season as the Jets' lead back, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "Dalvin Cook is expected to get the bulk of the carries for the New York Jets at least during the early part of the season," Rapoport adds. "My understanding is that they'll be extremely smart and safe with" RB Breece Hall. No surprises here. Cook figures to be the more reliable fantasy option early in the season. But Hall's touches should climb throughout the year.
Jets RB Dalvin Cook is a "full go" for Monday night's opener vs. the Bills, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports. "He's fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, and the early returns from last week's first practices were positive," Fowler adds. Cook is a full go from a health standpoint, but it's still unclear how big a role he'll be ready for on Monday after signing with the Jets on August 14 and practicing with the team for the first time on August 29. Cook is just a RB3 or flex option in Week 1 fantasy lineups.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams is not listed on the Week 1 injury report. He'll play on Sunday vs. the Raiders -- his first regular-season game since last October's multi-ligament knee injury. HC Sean Payton said Wednesday that Williams will have a "big role" this weekend. "I haven’t put together a [snap] number for him," Payton added. "He’s moving well. He’s strong and healthy." We're still expecting Williams to at least open the season in a fairly even committee with RB Samaje Perine. But Williams should see enough work to at least be a RB3 or flex play in Week 1.
The Cowboys released RB Malik Davis. They'll roll with RBs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn behind starter Tony Pollard to open the season. Neither Dowdle nor Vaughn figure to have fantasy value behind Pollard. And a Pollard injury would likely result in a committee backfield.
RB Dalvin Cook practiced with the Jets for the first time on Tuesday. He signed a little over two weeks ago but still needed to be medically cleared from offseason shoulder surgery and was away for the birth of his first child. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Cook is expected to play in the season opener vs. the Bills. How snaps are split between Cook and RB Breece Hall is one of the biggest fantasy questions of Week 1.
Broncos OC Joe Lombardi "indicated Javonte Williams' load could be limited a bit at the start of the season," according to the Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson. Lombardi added that Williams will eventually settle into an expanded role. Williams has beaten all expectations by presumably being ready for Week 1, so it's no surprise that his volume will be limited out of the gate. Consider him a risky RB3 or flex play in Week 1 fantasy lineups. And we'll keep a close eye on how his usage trends.
Panthers RBs Miles Sanders (groin) and Chuba Hubbard (ankle) were on the practice field on Monday, according to The Charlotte Observer's Mike Kaye. Sanders had been out since August 9, while Hubbard hurt his ankle in Friday night's preseason game. Both guys are on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams played in Saturday night's preseason game -- his first live action since last October's multi-ligament knee injury. He carried three times for 12 yards and caught four of five targets for 18 yards. Williams didn't do anything spectacular but certainly didn't look limited coming off the injury. "I just wanted to get tackled again and see how it goes," Williams said afterward. "That’s the biggest hurdle I feel I have left.” He added that he feels "100 percent" and is "good to go" for Week 1. Williams still figures to be limited at least early on this season. But he continues to trend in a positive direction.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott talked about the growth he's seen from second-year TE Jake Ferguson. “I think he’s close to becoming a big-time guy," Prescott said, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "As far as a playmaker, he’s there. ... And then you see him make a great catch in that preseason game, with a back-shoulder (catch). I think that just shows you, ‘Hey, you throw it to this guy, he wants to make the play and he expects to make the play.’ I think that’s where he takes this next step from just a playmaker to becoming a big-time player in this league.” Ferguson has taken full advantage of rookie TE Luke Schoonmaker's absence for much of the offseason and is primed to enter the season as Dallas' lead TE. He's a worthwhile late-round target in fantasy drafts.
The Athletic's Mark Kaboly lists WR George Pickens as one of the winners of Steelers training camp. "That proverbial next step by a second-year receiver appears to be in progress," Kaboly writes. "He’s no longer just a deep-ball or highlight-catch guy like we saw last camp and last season. He has transformed into a more polished receiver with an expanded route tree, and that will do nothing but help [QB Kenny] Pickett and this offense." Pickens made plenty of highlight-reel contested catches as a rookie last season. But the knock on him was that he didn't create much separation, leading to a relatively low target-per-route rate. It sounds like Pickens is on track to earn more volume this season, which would be a big boost to his fantasy production.
Chargers LB Kenneth Murray has looked like a bust through three NFL seasons, after the team drafted him in Round 1 in 2020. The Chargers declined the fifth-year option on Murray's rookie contract this April. But new DC Derrick Ansley is hopeful. “This is really going to be the year, I think, he can break out,” Ansley told The Athletic's Daniel Popper. New LBs coach Jeff Howard also made a point of connecting with Murray early, and they've made a point to simplify Murray's duties within the scheme. The LB, meanwhile, is coming off his first full, healthy offseason since entering the pros. That can only help. And veteran LB Eric Kendricks has reportedly mentored Murray since arriving as a free-agent this offseason. Murray should be so far down IDP draft boards -- likely even going undrafted in many leagues -- that he carries only upside as a fantasy prospect. We've added him to our IDP rankings after initially leaning toward rookie Daiyan Henley as the likely starter next to Kendricks.
Panthers HC Frank Riech said Wednesday that RB Miles Sanders is "getting close" to returning from his groin injury. Reich added that Sanders probably won't play in either of the remaining two preseason games. But it sounds like he'll be ready to roll come Week 1. We haven't moved Sanders down the 2023 fantasy football rankings.
Per The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf, Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson “has done nothing that would cause him to relinquish” the starting job. Rookie Luke Schoonmaker has enjoyed “some solid moments” since returning from a foot injury, but a big early-season role isn’t likely. Consider Ferguson a deep sleeper to star on your fantasy cheat sheet.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that new Jets RB Dalvin Cook is still "at least a week away" from being cleared to practice after undergoing shoulder surgery in February. It sounds like Cook should be ready in time for Week 1, but the missed practice time isn't ideal as he works to settle into a new offense. We'll see when he's able to get on the field. Teammate Breece Hall, of course, remains on the PUP list.
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