Fantasy Football Storylines: Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp, Kirk Cousins (Week 2)

Week 1 answered many questions. However, in the always-changing landscape of the NFL, it also raised some intriguing new questions. It’s important not to overreact to one data point in a long NFL season. Nevertheless, ignoring new info and handwaving it away as unimportant for one reason or another is equally ill-advised. After Week 1, the following three storylines are the ones I’m the most interested in heading into Week 2.

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Fantasy Football Storylines

Will the New-Look Saints Continue to Pull the Correct Levers?

The Saints beat the brakes off the Panthers, defeating them 47-10. Derek Carr efficiently completed 19 of 23 pass attempts for 200 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and ran for 13 yards. Alvin Kamara had 15 rush attempts, 83 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, five targets, five receptions and 27 receiving yards. Rashid Shaheed was the other fantasy-relevant player with a stellar showing, hauling in three receptions for 73 receiving yards and a touchdown on five targets.

Sadly, Chris Olave had two targets, two receptions and 11 scoreless yards. Taysom Hill ran five times for 35 scoreless yards and had two targets, one reception and one receiving yard. So, it wasn’t a banner day for Olave or Hill. Nevertheless, Olave will have better days if New Orleans continues to play well, and Hill could pop up occasionally. Although, his underlying data wasn’t optimal.

The instant reaction might be to dismiss the outburst as unimportant because it was against the lowly Panthers. However, the offense had tangible changes under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Namely, they ditched a stagnant offense that didn’t utilize play-action under previous offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael into something entirely different.

Pre-snap motion can help get Olave and Shaheed free releases. Furthermore, Carr and the deep passing game can benefit from the uptick in play-action. Among 34 quarterbacks with at least 250 dropbacks in 2023, Carr had Pro Football Focus’s (PFF’s) 16th-highest pass rating (80.5). He also completed 71.1% of his passes at 8.8 yards per attempt on 87 play-action dropbacks last year versus 68.0% and 6.8 yards per attempt without play-action. He completed seven of nine pass attempts on 10 dropbacks using play-action in Week 1 for 58 yards and a touchdown. The Saints won’t maintain this pace, but the stock of their fantasy assets is up based on tangible changes to the offense.

Will the Falcons Assuage Concerns After a Dreadful Showing in Week 1?

While one team from the NFC South shined in Week 1, the division’s offseason darlings were dreadful. The Falcons spent significant money in free agency on Kirk Cousins, added field-stretching wideout Darnell Mooney and spent a top-10 draft pick on quarterback Michael Penix. In addition, booting former head coach Arthur Smith was supposed to fix the offense. Instead, they had 226 total yards and 10 points at home against the Steelers in Week 1.

Cousins and the starters didn’t play in the preseason. Thus, it would be understandable to chalk up the slow start to a lack of preseason reps. However, a deeper dive is downright terrifying.

Did the Falcons live in shotgun and pistol because Cousins wasn’t fully recovered from his Achilles injury? Was offensive coordinator Zac Robinson oblivious to how apparent the tendencies were when the team had zero designed runs out of shotgun and ran at such a high rate out of pistol? No matter the explanation for last week’s offensive tendencies, it’s terrifying for Atlanta’s offensive outlook.

Bijan Robinson‘s bell-cow role is optimal and elevates his floor. Still, his ceiling is capped if the offense can’t score touchdowns. Kyle Pitts had a touchdown, covering up his mediocre three targets, three receptions and 26 yards. Sadly, Drake London had only three targets, two receptions and 15 scoreless yards. Frankly, gamers with viable alternatives should sit London until the offense has a better showing.

Can the Rams Overcome the Cluster of Injuries and Absences on Their Offensive Line?

Matthew Stafford was outstanding in an overtime loss against the Lions. Unfortunately, LA’s offense has systemic concerns after the injury bug ripped through their offensive line. Starting left tackle Alaric Jackson was suspended two games before the season, and starting right tackle Rob Havenstein was inactive in Week 1 because of an ankle injury. McVay said of Havenstein, “I think Rob’s return is sooner than later.”

Sadly, they desperately need Havenstein back. Tackle Joe Noteboom was carted to the locker room on Sunday night with an ankle injury. Starting left guard Steve Avila sprained his MCL, and starting right guard Kevin Dotson had a boot on his left foot after spraining his ankle.

Per PFF, AJ Arcuri allowed two quarterback hits, five hurries and seven pressures on only 33 pass-blocking snaps after entering the game at left tackle. He was a turnstile. The offense fell apart in 2022 after suffering multiple injuries along the offensive line, so it doesn’t take much squinting to envision issues with moving the ball and scoring points. And, of course, Puka Nacua is headed to Injured Reserve for at least the next four weeks after aggravating his knee injury, adding another layer of concern to LA’s offensive outlook.

Fortunately, the Rams have a favorable matchup this week. The Cardinals coughed up 34 points to the Bills in Week 1. The Rams are 1.0-point underdogs, but the game’s total is a shootout-friendly 49.5 points. Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams are must-start players.

If the Rams can function with their banged-up offensive line, Colby Parkinson could play himself into low-end starter territory. A wideout could also emerge as a viable flex option if Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson or Jordan Whittington emerge as a clear-cut No. 2 wide receiver.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.