RADIO
The opening Sunday of the 2023 NFL season has come and gone. Hopefully, you woke up on Monday morning feeling very good about how your matchup went. However, this week's slate of games was certainly stress-inducing for many fantasy football managers.
Part of that stress was caused by a group of players who drastically underachieved in Week 1. These players simply did not meet fantasy expectations, and it cost their managers in a big way.
Let's take a look at the biggest busts from Week 1, as well as whether or not we can still have some trust in these players moving forward. All point totals are based on the PPR scoring system.
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Fantasy Football Quarterback Busts
Lamar Jackson, 6.6 FPTS
The Ravens may have taken care of business against the Texans, but Jackson still struggled, tallying one interception and two fumbles while failing to find the end zone. Fantasy managers invested in Jackson's success are surely hoping that his most-trusted receiver, tight end Mark Andrews (quadriceps), returns to action next week.
Joe Burrow, 3.2 FPTS
The Bengals were stunned on the road, falling to Cleveland by a score of 24-3. Burrow didn't turn the football over, but he also failed to score. Oh, and he tossed for just 82 yards. Fortunately for fantasy managers, the Bengals have a history of starting slow before getting back on track in a grand fashion. Burrow will be fine.
Fantasy Football Running Back Busts
Najee Harris, 5.3 FPTS
The Steelers could not get anything done on offense Sunday. They were completely stifled by the 49ers, Pittsburgh mustered just seven points on a Pat Freiermuth touchdown. Harris and fellow running back Jaylen Warren were supposed to have a productive day splitting touches, but instead, they combined for just 37 rushing yards.
D'Andre Swift, 1.3 FPTS
One would have figured that Rashaad Penny (coach's decision) being inactive was great news for D'Andre Swift. As it turns out, it was actually great news for Kenneth Gainwell, who had 18 touches for 74 scrimmage yards. On the other hand, Swift had two touches for three yards in his Eagles debut.
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts
Tee Higgins, 0.0 FPTS
Yikes. Higgins entered the year as a fantasy WR2 with WR1 upside. In Week 1, he laid the ultimate goose egg, finishing with zero receptions and zero yards. Don't lose faith just yet, though. After all, his production can only improve from here.
Tyler Lockett, 3.0 FPTS
Seattle's veteran wideout underwhelmed in our first glimpse of a Seahawks receiving corps that featured DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Lockett. With so many mouths to feed in the passing game, weeks in which all three hit their projection will be few and far between. Just consider this Lockett's dud week. He'll bounce back.
Drake London, 0.0 FPTS
The Falcons beat the Panthers somewhat handily, but their passing game wasn't much help. Not only did London finish with zero catches, but he was targeted just once in the contest. He will have his ups and he will have his downs. Fantasy managers should prepare for a frustrating, inconsistent season from Atlanta's second-year pass-catcher.
Skyy Moore, 0.4 FPTS
Moore was primed for a big game with Travis Kelce (knee) inactive. Instead, he mustered just four yards and had a costly drop on a potential fourth-down conversion late in the game. Fantasy managers need to wait for real progress and improvement from the second-year wideout before they can trust him in their lineups again.
Fantasy Football Tight End Busts
Dallas Goedert, 0.0 FPTS
The Patriots did a good job defending Goedert on Sunday, and when he did get open, Hurts looked elsewhere. Despite showing that he isn't immune to an occasional bad game, Goedert is still a top-six fantasy tight end. Start him next week versus Minnesota.
Isaiah Likely, 1.4 FPTS
When Andrews was ruled out ahead of kickoff, fantasy managers scrambled to get Likely, who had top-12 tight end upside. He looked great when Andrews missed time last season but couldn't get much done on Sunday, logging just one reception for four yards.
Chigoziem Okonkwo, 0.0 FPTS
Okonkwo is a YAC machine, but it's hard to make something happen after the catch when you don't register a catch. The young tight end had nothing to show for his two targets and will fall to the mid-range TE2 tier ahead of Week 2.
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