Fantasy News

Kyler Murray runs often in Week 1.

Murray did a lot of heavy lifting on offense for the Cardinals in their upset victory over the 49ers to open the season, going 26/40 for 230 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while leading Arizona in rushing with 13 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. The former Heisman Trophy winner looks more comfortable scrambling around like he did at Oklahoma after it took him some time to get going as a runner during his rookie season, and that’ll be huge news for his fantasy outlook in 2020. Going against a dynamic Washington pass rush next week will be a challenge, but Murray just showed he can perform against a similar San Francisco rush in Week 1.

9/14/20 - 09:01 AM ET

Joe Burrow runs for one touchdown in first NFL game.

Burrow was 23/36 for 193 yards and one interception along with eight carries for 46 yards and his first-career rushing score in the Week 1 loss to the Chargers. The No. 1 overall pick did miss on a couple of deep balls, and he admitted that he needs to be better after the game, giving himself a D grade. However, Burrow did put Cincinnati in position for a near-go-ahead touchdown and then a potential game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter, and he looked sharp on quick throws in Zac Taylor’s offense. The decline in relative talent level he had at LSU, which was vastly superior to almost everyone they went up against last season, will probably take some getting used to. From a fantasy perspective, the rushing upside helps, but Burrow might take some time to develop into a strong QB1 option.

9/14/20 - 08:58 AM ET

Joshua Kelley excels in NFL debut.

Kelley carries 12 times for 60 yards and one touchdown in the Chargers’ close Week 1 victory against the Bengals. The rookie runner from UCLA showed impressive vision, patience, burst, and power throughout the game against the Bengals, and it appears that he’s already won a large role in the Chargers offense. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that he doesn’t think they would have won that game without Kelley, which speaks to how highly the former NFL running back thinks of the rookie. You don’t want to overreact too much to one game, but a strong FLEX option could be the floor for Kelley this season—and the upside could be in the RB1/RB2 mix if he eventually takes the full role left by Melvin Gordon.

9/14/20 - 08:54 AM ET

Cam Newton plays well in Patriots debut.

Newton was 15/19 for 155 yards while carrying 15 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns in New England’s 21-11 win versus Miami. As you’d expect from an organization that always gets the best out of its players, the Patriots are going to utilize what Newton is good at, and that includes running the ball—particularly deep into scoring territory. It’s a very deep quarterback group in fantasy football, but a healthy Newton will obviously be in the QB1 discussion in 2020, thanks mostly to his rushing upside.

9/14/20 - 08:51 AM ET

Russell Wilson in MVP form to kickoff the 2020 season.

Wilson was 31/35 for 322 yards and four touchdowns against the Falcons, and the veteran quarterback also led Seattle in rushing with 29 yards on three carries. Two touchdowns were on short passes to running back Chris Carson, one was on a deep ball to D.K. Metcalf, and one was on a red-zone throw to Greg Olsen. Wilson wanted to open things up a bit with the Seahawks offense this year, and the early returns look promising in that regard—it’ll be difficult to top Lamar Jackson if he stays healthy, but Wilson has overall QB1 upside this season.

9/14/20 - 08:48 AM ET

Mitchell Trubisky leads Bears comeback in Week 1.

It was not a good start for Trubisky and the Bears offensively against the Lions, but Trubisky led Chicago to 21 fourth-quarter points in an impressive comeback victory to open the year. Trubisky started 7/17 passing, and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the Bears went to former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles at quarterback; but Matt Nagy stuck with Trubisky, who tossed three fourth-quarter scores and finished 20/36 for 242 yards and three touchdowns while adding three carries for 26 yards. Trubisky and the Bears will look to keep the momentum going into a Week 2 matchup with the Giants.

9/14/20 - 08:44 AM ET

Adrian Peterson leads Lions backfield in team debut.

Peterson carried 14 times for 93 yards and added three receptions for 21 yards in Detroit’s Week 1 loss to Chicago. AD had more carries than Kerryon Johnson (seven for 14 yards) and D’Andre Swift (three for eight yards) combined, and it appears the future Hall of Fame running back will be the leader of the committee, at least early in the season. Peterson is worth a pick up in all leagues he’s available in.

9/14/20 - 08:40 AM ET