To borrow a phrase constantly quoted by my eight-year-old son:

“Dad, I have good news, and I have bad news.”

The good news for all diehard NFL fans is that the league is officially back in full swing, with Week 1 almost entirely behind us. Football fills a void for many difficult to replicate. Since the season only lasts a few months, we would serve ourselves well by enjoying it while it lasts. For the next few months, weekends have immediately become much more enjoyable.

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On the other hand, due to teams’ proclivity to bench their starting lineup for the vast majority of the preseason, Week 1 this year (like many before it) was a chaotic mess. Offenses were largely out of sync. Quarterbacks struggled to progress through their reads, causing passing totals to plummet and receivers and tight ends to post subpar totals. It wasn’t pretty, to put it mildly.

That said, I wanted to highlight a few players in my new and ongoing ‘Studs and Duds’ article who are worth noting. Is it time to buy or sell? (Use our fantasy football trade analyzer tool to size up potential trades.) Could this be the start of a breakout or just a fluke? Is this a bad week that can be safely ignored, or the beginning of a decline for a particular player? Let’s find out.

Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 1

Quarterbacks

DUD: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN)

Drafted as a top-eight option at the position, Joe Burrow was hopeful to turn things around after injuries derailed his 2023 campaign. News broke on Thursday that wideout Tee Higgins was likely to sit this game out due to an aggravated hamstring. In his absence, second-year option Andrei Iosivas would inherit the majority of snaps. Additionally, the status of Ja’Marr Chase was questionable due to a lingering contract dispute, and illness picked up mid-week. Thankfully, Chase was able to play, but even his presence couldn’t put Cincinnati ahead.

Without any downfield threats available, Burrow constantly looked short, completing 21-of-29 passes for a meager 164 yards and zero touchdowns. Chase and Iosivas tied for a team-high six targets each, with newly acquired tight end Mike Gesicki right behind at four. It is worth pointing out that Gesicki also dropped a touchdown on a play that was eventually overturned.

Higgins’s status is uncertain for Week 2, and unless the team opts to get rookie Jermaine Burton more involved, they will continue to dink and dunk their way up the field rather than challenging safeties and cornerbacks on deep throws.

I’m not overly concerned for Burrow for the long term, but his lack of reps in the preseason, coupled with Cincinnati’s conservative playcalling, definitely caps his upside, placing him as a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 instead when it comes to fantasy start sit decisions.

STUD: Baker Mayfield (QB – TB)

Put some respect on that man’s name. Following a breakout 2023 season where Baker Mayfield finished as a top-10 option, many wondered if he could duplicate that level of success again. If Week 1 is any indication, it is an emphatic yes.

Mayfield finished Week 1 going 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards and a league-high four passing touchdowns — two to Mike Evans, one to Chris Godwin and one to rookie Jalen McMillan. He also generated additional fantasy value as a runner, scrambling for 21 yards on three attempts.

Similar to last season, Mayfield was able to concentrate the majority of his targets into a small pool of players — an asset many fantasy managers appreciate, unlike some (e.g., Jordan Love or Brock Purdy) who tend to be more liberal with spreading the ball around to a bevy of options. Godwin, Evans and Rachaad White soaked up 66% of Mayfield’s total targets, with a smattering going to tertiary players when personnel shifts were necessary.

Washington’s secondary is somewhat fallible, and Mayfield will face more stout competition shortly against the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles in the next three weeks. He should maintain solid passing numbers, but I wouldn’t expect this sort of output in every contest.

Running Backs

DUD: Travis Etienne (RB – JAX)

Travis Etienne was drafted at the top of the second-tier at the RB position due to a high volume of expected touches and fit the bill as an Anchor RB option for some. His skills as a receiving threat and a lack of competition made him one of the final “bell-cow” options worth acquiring early in drafts. Or so we thought.

Miami’s defense focused on limiting the damage allowed in the passing game, giving quarterback Trevor Lawrence fits all afternoon on Sunday. In a contest where Jacksonville only attempted 21 passes due to coverage schemes, they ran the ball 26 times for nearly 130 rushing yards. Unfortunately, the majority of that total came from backup Tank Bigsby and not Etienne.

Etienne salvaged his afternoon by scoring a touchdown in the first quarter but otherwise failed to capitalize on the opportunities he was provided, rushing for just 44 yards on 12 carries.

I’m a fan of Etienne’s overall skill set, but he does have a severe case of Saquon Barkley-itis, feeling the need to turn every play into a home run when possible rather than running through holes provided for him and right in front of his face. This boom-or-bust philosophy isn’t new and has been carried over since last year.

Unlike last season, when Jacksonville repeatedly stated they would attempt to ease the load on. There was a clear emphasis on dividing the workload more evenly in this game. That doesn’t bode well for his long-term outlook in 2024. If they keep to this philosophy, he will need to maximize his points per touch to justify his lofty draft average draft position (ADP) cost.

STUD: Joe Mixon (RB – HOU)

Saquon Barkley may well finish first in points at the position, but he has also drafted several rounds ahead of Mixon, and I’d prefer to concentrate on the latter.

Following seven productive years in Cincinnati, Mixon joined Houston in free agency in a move that was largely under the radar. His aptitude as a receiving threat, coupled with a violent running style between the tackles, is a wonderful compliment to C.J. Stroud and the Texans’ trio of talented wideouts.

Of Houston’s 33 rushing attempts by running backs in Week 1, Mixon finished with 30. He routinely punished the Indianapolis Colts linebackers and safeties up the middle, pummeling them for 159 yards and a touchdown. Even more noticeable was the Texans’ willingness to let him ice the game away late by picking up several critical first downs in the final few minutes of the game.

Mixon should be treated as a mid-range RB1 moving forward, and he has several games against mediocre defenses in the first half of the year he can exploit to his advantage. Barring health issues, he can finish as a top-seven option for the third time in his career.

Wide Receivers

DUD: Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – ARI)

There were plenty of candidates for dud of the week at this position, thanks to the struggles at the quarterback position I outlined earlier. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Chris Olave and Calvin Ridley were alternatives, but their struggles can be partially forgiven due to the game script. I’m more concerned about Harrison overall.

Now, I’ll caution people about my meaning of “concerned.” I don’t think Harrison is droppable, or he can’t still have a fantastic rookie season — far from it. There were just certain things about this game that gave me pause worth bringing up.

First, in a game where Kyler Murray attempted 31 passes, I’d expect the majority of those to be funneled toward Trey McBride and Harrison instead of Greg Dortch. That was puzzling.

Second, it wasn’t as if Harrison was blanketed and not open — several times during the game the feed would cut away to show him standing alone without any defensive attention. Murray just never looked his way when progressing through his reads.

One catch for four yards on three targets is hopefully an anomaly, given the expectations placed upon Harrison and the draft cost sunk on him for fantasy managers. He’s still a rookie, so I’d implore you to have patience. But that wasn’t pleasant.

STUD: Jameson Williams (WR – DET)

Jameson Williams’ ascent came at the cost of both Amon-Ra St.Brown and Sam LaPorta during Sunday night’s overtime victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

Known for his top-flight speed and quick-strike capabilities, Williams has been a tantalizing and frustrating fantasy asset since Detroit drafted him 12th overall in 2022. Through the first 18 games of his career (a total that took two years to accomplish), Williams totaled just 25 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns — not the return the Lions envisioned.

Finally healthy and with a full training camp under his belt, Williams came into 2024 with renewed confidence, and it showed on Sunday. He led the team with nine targets and converted them into five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown, including a 52-yard scamper.

Williams is a key element that the team needs to complement St.Brown and LaPorta, who primarily work underneath and close to the sticks. Defensive coordinators must respect his ability to take the lid off a defense and not have him perpetually burn them deep. Bringing back cornerbacks and safeties, even slightly, allows the other options to feast.

I don’t view this week as a fluke per se, but as with all deep threats, one needs to be prepared for their volatility. Players like Williams carry a tremendous amount of upside and the ability to put up a donut when it matters most.

Tight Ends

DUD: Travis Kelce (TE – KC)

This might have been one of the most pathetic weeks I’ve ever seen from the tight end position in fantasy. And that says a LOT, considering how long I’ve played fantasy football.

Two.

That is the number of players that eclipsed the 12-point mark in a full PPR format at the position this week.

Two.

So why pick Travis Kelce when so many others faltered?

Primarily because I don’t anticipate his name making the “duds” portion of this list again anytime soon, so I wanted to use it while I had the opportunity.

Kelce finished with just 34 yards on three receptions and four targets in the NFL opener last Thursday, with Kansas City leaning upon Isiah Pacheco and the ground game and slants over the middle of the field with Rashee Rice.

Given his rapport with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ sky-high expectations, I don’t envision this becoming an issue. However, it is essential to note Kansas City has more alternative pass-catching options than ever before.

STUD: Isaiah Likely (TE – BAL)

Was there any alternative this week? No.

Isaiah Likely finished with a team-high 12 targets for nine catches and 111 yards with a touchdown. Those numbers could have been even better if he fit into slightly smaller cleats. An overturned last-second touchdown grab to tie the game with zero time left on the clock would have propelled Likely into not only the top tight end of the week but the top Flex play as well.

Now comes the critical question: Is this a fluke? I don’t think so. Maybe not to this degree, but it isn’t a fluke.

Mark Andrews is still a top-five talent at the position. I don’t think stating that takes anything away from the rise of Likely, but rather compliments his emergence as a dynamic threat. Drafted in the fourth round during 2022 from Coast Carolina, Likely’s elite athletic traits made him a tantalizing fantasy asset — he always just needed to deal with the immediate roadblock in front of him with Andrews.

Looking at the game tape, it was evident Kansas City did everything in its power to remove Andrews from the game. He faced constant double teams, especially on third downs and in the red zone. Consequently, Lamar Jackson pivoted and took the open option in Likely, not trying to force the ball into non-existent windows of opportunity.

Placing that much defensive attention on both players isn’t feasible when Jackson and Derrick Henry‘s rushing threat looms large. I’d treat Likely as a 1B option to Andrews’ 1A for the time being.