5 things I care about
I’m embarrassed for the Cowboys’ receivers
I had someone ask me if CeeDee Lamb is a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy and reality. I think so, but the truth is, it doesn’t really matter when the rest of the guys on the field might be No. 5 and No. 6 WRs … maybe.
Dennis Houston, Simi Fehoko, Noah Brown; who are these guys? That’s not a serious operation.
It doesn’t make a difference how good of a receiver Lamb is because the defense can squat on his short and intermediate routes when the outside players are no threat at all. You could see the Bucs doing that all Sunday night. Lamb handled 11 targets but had just 1.9 yards of separation on those looks. Those plays become so low-percentage like that when the defense doesn’t respect your ability to hit downfield passes. The other Dallas receivers can’t separate or win contested passes.
We knew wide receiver might be a sore spot for Dallas with Michael Gallup destined to miss time to start the season but it’s only gotten worse as time has gone on. James Washington’s injury created a depth issue and now, apparently, third-round rookie Jalen Tolbert (healthy scratch) isn’t ready to step up.
But your plan shouldn’t completely fall apart when the likes of Washington get hurt or a Day 2 rookie isn’t ready to play right away.
If that sends you off track, you didn’t really have a plan at all.
Don’t forget, they’re also playing with a hand tied behind their back with the offensive line issues they also didn’t properly design for. The Cowboys clearly didn’t have a Plan B ready for tonight. They just ran their same old plays with a completely depleted supporting cast. We saw the results.
Oh and now Dak Prescott will miss multiple weeks; Jerry Jones confirmed his starting quarterback will need hand surgery.
You can’t script a more troubling start for the Dallas Cowboys 2022 season.
Saquon Barkley is back
If Saquon Barkley gets the type of usage he saw in Week 1 all season long, he will be a top-five player in fantasy football. Period.
Barkley ran a team-high 21 routes and absorbed 33.3 percent of the targets. He also handled 78% of the running back carries for the Giants. He scored a touchdown and also slammed in a two-point conversion on a designed popgun pass for him.
It was unbelievably encouraging to see, especially in his first game of the season. Barkley was the engine of this Giants offense.
The rest of the offense, however, is a bit of a mess. Kadarius Toney has fallen way down the depth chart and ran just three routes. Daniel Jones ranked 28th out of 28 quarterbacks in EPA per dropback heading into Sunday Night Football. Sterling Shepard made a stunning return after a late-season 2021 Achilles tear and ran as a key player while scoring a long touchdown. but that was the only other shining light.
Despite all that, Barkley looked like a league-winner in fantasy. And for as long as he’s healthy, that shouldn’t change.
A.J. Brown shines in Eagles debut
It was a banner week all the way around for big-name wide receivers that changed teams this offseason. The most encouraging performance was that of A.J. Brown.
Questions surrounded just about all of the receivers who swapped jerseys but none more consequential than the subject of Brown’s volume. At least, that was the narrative when he was traded to Philadelphia. Then we got reports from Eagles’ training camp that Jalen Hurts was laser-focused on targeting his new No. 1 wideout.
Week 1 provided a resounding endorsement of Brown’s usage.
Brown maintained an absurd 44.8% target share against the Lions. He ran a route on 39 of Hurts’ 44 dropbacks. It was apparent from the jump that the now-Eagles receiver was about to have a massive game. Brown had the most receiving yards in the first half of a team debut by any non-rookie since at least 1991, per NFL…