What might be under the Radar after week 1

By Martin Richardson

Week one is in the books, and what a week it was. We’ve had the Cowboys dispel rumours of fading away by putting the Browns to the sword. There are more issues with the Browns on offense, in more ways than one. The Packers have lost that Love-ing feeling after an injury to their QB. Daniel Jones did Daniel Jones things and somehow made those things even worse. Kyler Murray apparently forgot that he had a stud at WR and didn’t throw to him. And Jim Harbaugh stared down the Raiders with a running game that brought JK Dobbins back to life.

But in all of that, there were some things that I think have gone a little under the radar. Let’s have a look.

THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS:

How can anyone on the Chiefs possibly have gone under the radar? Well, it starts with the most famous name on their team: Travis Kelce. The Taylor Swift fan boy was limited on Thursday’s season opener to a meagre 34 yards all game, with Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy taking most of the limelight. Nothing under the radar here, but, what is going unnoticed is that back up Tight End Noah Gray was more productive on offense in that game, with 37 yards from three reception, an average of just over 12 yards a carry.

Now, why am I drawn to a backup TE making just over 3 yards more than Kelce as something under the radar? Well, hours before the season started, Gray signed a very healthy new three year $18m contract that promises a $10.1m signing bonus. You don’t dish out those deals if you are not going to use Gray a little more this season. Now don’t get me wrong, Travis Kelce is still going to get targets in a game, and he will have his fair share of touchdowns in the season. But at 34, it makes sense to manage the Hall of Fame player given that they will most likely make the business end of the NFL season.

With that in mind, enter Noah Gray. I’m not saying pick him up off waivers just yet, but I would certainly be keeping an eye on him and how he does over the next few weeks. Worthy was electric with his first play on offense in the NFL, and that’s not going to change any time soon. Rashee Rice seems to have evaded a potential suspension, for now, and he moved the chains so well on Thursday, so maybe the Chiefs can dial back the previous need for Kelce. Teams will be ready for him and always try to stop him, but having an eye on the heir apparent to Kelce might be worth doing, just in case the Chiefs do manage his workload throughout the season.

THE LA RAMS

This time last year, Puka Nacua was a name that was floating on waivers. 12 months later and he’s a top WR who has just been placed on IR, which has a huge impact on your fantasy prospects. However, what has perhaps gone under the radar in all the upset is that the Rams have a knack of unearthing these talents time after time.

This time, it is preseason sensation Jordan Whittington. With 126 yards from 11 catches, the 6’1’ 200lb sixth round pick is certainly going to be seeing an increase in his targets over the next four weeks and I would be looking to pick him up on waivers and see what he’s about. With a touchdown called back for a hold, he is clearly in the plans of McVay going forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up some decent numbers on Sunday against the Cardinals.

If a sixth-round rookie is a bit of a stretch for you, then the Rams picked up TE Colby Parkinson on a chunky, three year $22m deal in free agency from the Seahawks. He already has 4 receptions for 47 yards and that’s in the middle of a game that saw Cooper Kupp do his thing. Without Puka Nacua, Stafford could well turn to a different option and lean on the giant 2m tall mountain at TE.

THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Right, after one week I’m going in- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may well be going under the radar with just how productive they really are. Future Hall of Famer Mike Evans snagged two touchdowns, Godwin looked like how he was pre-injury and rookie Jalen McMillan recovered from an over throw/missed catch to get his first touchdown in the NFL.

All this came from a Baker Mayfield clinic on offense. With a QB rating of 146.4, Mayfield looked comfortable throwing the ball as well as moving out of any pressure that came his way. Prior to waivers, Mayfield was on a meagre 34% of rosters, and even after waivers, he is on 56% of them. Now, unless you’ve got Jordan Love, you may not be making moves. But, even after waivers Mayfield is only rostered 1% more than Kirk Cousins, who could not have looked any more uncomfortable on his debut for the Falcons.

If you’ve read a few of my articles, you’ll know I’m a big Rachaad White fan. Knew he would be a top RB for the Bucs in the right situation and last season he showed his class: 1500 total yards and 9 touchdowns (more than Bijan Robinson, but I’ll leave that there). Against a Commanders team that looked a little confused and all over the place, White ran for 30 yards and had over 70 receiving yards, but no touchdowns. So, whilst productive, Coen needs to work out how to get White into the end zone. But, now comes the bit that does concern and excite me; which is an interesting juxtaposition- Bucky Irving. Irving excites me because of how much of an impact he made on his debut last weekend. He rushed for more yards than White and was showing signs that he was just a touch more explosive when given the chance. This concerns me because how much I want Rachaad White to do well. If Irving continues to impress, it will not be long before shared snaps become more snaps then into the dreaded ‘committee’ situation. If I was a White fantasy owner, I wouldn’t be opposed to stashing Irving on your bench, just to see what happens.

Finally, on my buccaneering look at the fantasy outlook of the Bucs players after week one, I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. Would you believe that 8% of leagues on ESPN had not drafted Chris Godwin. Did I expect an increase post waivers, of course. But it was a measly increase of 1%, which to me is just unbelievable given how good he will be. To put that into what I believe is a viable comparison, WR2 at the Dolphins Jaylen Waddle is drafted on 97% of rosters.

Jameson Williams

Drafted in less than 70% of leagues on ESPN prior to Sunday, people seem to still not be convinced by Williams going forward. Even after waivers, Williams was on 80% of teams, so there is still 20% of leagues that have people who are not convinced enough to take him on. But look at the situation Williams and the lions are in: Amon Ra St Brown is pushing his way up to be a top five fantasy WR, and year two Sam LaPorta is probably on for another big year because of how successful he was last year.

After that comes Williams as WR2 on a very dynamic offense. Add to that a run in that has a depleted Bucs secondary, a Cardinals team that ran out of juice on defense against the Bills and the Seahawks who made the Broncos seem competitive. I think that with all this in mind, Williams now has chance to, quoting Channing Tatum’s Gambit, make a name for himself this season.

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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