RADIO
Quite a few NFL players drafted highly in fantasy drafts have shockingly busted after 2 weeks. John Johnson dives in to sound the alarm or calm your nerves about these five players.
Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season is officially over, and a huge number of players look set to be massive busts. Every year players bust in fantasy, but this year it seems like there are a ton of big names that have been hugely disappointing after the first two games.
The worst position by far has been tight ends. The consensus top-5 tight ends have shown almost nothing so far. For example, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, Lions TE Sam LaPorta, Ravens TE Mark Andrews, and Bills TE Dalton Kincaid have been mostly worthless for fantasy managers.
Other players have also disappointed at other positions, but will it get any better for the biggest busts through two weeks, or is it hopeless for fantasy managers praying for them to step their game up? Let's dive in.
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Travis Kelce, TE - Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce started slowly in Week 1, catching just three passes on four targets for 34 yards and no touchdowns. Fantasy managers who were hoping he was just getting into his groove were shocked when Kelce caught just one pass for five yards. This is bottom-tier fantasy production, and massively alarming for a player drafted so high.
Travis Kelce at half vs CIN:
• 1 Reception
• 5 YardsTHERE’S A “BLANK SPACE”… ON THE STAT SHEET 🔥🤩🎉 pic.twitter.com/ycJS10Oq5z
— NFL Hater Watch (@NFLhaterwatch) September 15, 2024
As much as his lack of performance stings, the age cliff comes for everyone, and Kelce is 34 years old. He was showing signs of clear decline in 2023, regressing strongly from his 2022 season, and there's not much reason to think he'll be highly productive this season. He's not reportedly suffering any major injuries.
The NFL puts an absolute beating on players' bodies, and Kelce is in his 11th season of playing. All good things must come to an end, and QB Patrick Mahomes wasn't looking his way much in Week 2. Kelce likely coasts through the regular season, then turns it on for the playoffs one last time before retiring.
Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
Tight end is a factory of sadness this year in fantasy football. After a stellar season as the TE1 in 2023, LaPorta has just 58 yards through two games in 2024 with no touchdowns to show for it. The emergence of WR Jameson Williams has put a serious damper on LaPorta's prospects of a repeat of 2023.
Lions targets this season:
Amon-Ra St. Brown (25)
Jameson Williams (20)
Jahmyr Gibbs (13)
Sam LaPorta (8)— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 16, 2024
LaPorta was nursing a hamstring injury late in the preseason, and it's possible that this could be affecting him, but with target competition from Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jahmyr Gibbs, it will just be more difficult for LaPorta to produce unless he massively increases his efficiency.
It's hard to imagine he'll be this bad all season, but there's little chance he will put up his 2023 numbers again. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is probably happy to run a more balanced offense as it keeps his players healthier if the volume is more evenly distributed among the playmakers.
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
Yes, another tight end. This time the most overhyped and under-accomplished of the top tight ends this year. Kincaid was touted as an elite NFL tight end despite only catching two touchdowns in his first season as a pro. He was also projected by many analysts to have a huge increase in volume.
This hasn't materialized, and Kincaid, like last season, has looked far from elite. He's had just five receptions for 44 yards through two games. Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator during the 2023 season and implemented a run-heavy offense with low passing volume.
James Cook has been the biggest beneficiary of the new scheme, lighting up the fantasy scoreboards in Week 2. Defenses have also made it a point to stop Kincaid, as they may view him as the only threat in the passing game, so the passing work has been mostly distributed among the WRs.
“Yeah but why didn’t Dalton Kincaid have more targets?”#Bills #BillsMafia #GoBills
— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) September 10, 2024
It may not get much better for Kincaid. The offense is predicated around the run, he's facing tough coverages, and Allen is spreading the ball around.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Finally, someone other than a tight end! Pittman Jr. has been awful when you consider where he was drafted. You wouldn't think his target numbers have been good, but he's actually racked up 15 targets across two games already. The problem is this hasn't translated to yardage. Pittman has just 52 yards to show for all that volume.
This might have been one of the worst collective performances from the Colts WRs I've seen. Multiple drops, like this one from Michael Pittman Jr: pic.twitter.com/i80R2Gkz0r
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 16, 2024
Pittman Jr. just has been very inconsistent. He's made nice plays but struggled with drive-killing drops. The chemistry with Richardson also hasn't been there. To Pittman Jr.'s credit, Richardson has had a rough start to the season, throwing inexplicable interceptions.
AD Mitchell wide open with the comeback route. Anthony Richardson throws to the extremely covered Michael Pittman Jr. next to him instead pic.twitter.com/Ogs6lkR0qT
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 15, 2024
Richardson hadn't played football for nearly a year before Week 1, so it's possible he could just be shaking off some rust, and he and Pittman Jr. will eventually connect more, but it's worth noting the Colts also drafted WR Adonai Mitchell and WR Josh Downs will return from injury soon. It's unlikely Pittman Jr. will return to 2023 form.
Zamir White, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Possibly the least surprising bust of 2024, Raiders running back Zamir White has disappointed to the tune of just 10.40 PPR points through two games. White was viewed as a workhorse running back for the 2024 season, but that role has failed to materialize, with him logging just 11 carries and 2.5 receptions per game so far.
I talked about Zamir White not fitting a zone scheme a lot on TDL.
Looks like mid zone here and he has the lane to bounce this especially with the leverage Mayer has on 40. He just runs forward and gets two. Not reading it well. pic.twitter.com/m8h6aSk13O
— Marcus Johnson (@TheMarcJohnNFL) September 16, 2024
White seems to be struggling in the zone scheme. Additionally, in general, the best predictor of volume in a subsequent season for running backs who had limited volume in a season is extreme efficiency. He had some nice fantasy days in 2023, but those were buoyed almost entirely by huge volume with Jacobs injured.
The Raiders brought in Alexander Mattison to serve a passing down role, though interestingly he wasn't targeted in Week Two while White received 4 targets. If there's a silver lining for the silver and black RB1, it's that head coach Antonio Pierce has committed to getting him more involved.
#Raiders HC Antonio Pierce on Zamir White:
“I’m gonna keep pumping him up. Our goal is to get 20+ touches with him. That was the goal this week, didn’t happen. That’s gonna be the goal this week and every week while he’s the starting running back and I’m here.”
Pierce has a 90%… pic.twitter.com/xLEbPRMs4a
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 16, 2024
White might have a chance of coming through for fantasy managers after all.
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