Week One of the NFL season is in the books and week two is already underway. Subpar week one performances have led to panic setting in on fantasy owners across the world. In this edition of the Fantasy Spotlight we look at four players looking for a week two fantasy bounce back performance.
2018 Fantasy Spotlight: David Johnson, Deshaun Watson Top Bounce Back Candidates
David Johnson
As a consensus top four overall pick in fantasy drafts this Summer, a lot is expected from David Johnson. The Cardinals star running back failed to live up to expectations in his first game since week one of 2017. Finishing with a line of 9/37/1 to go along with five catches for 30 yards, he managed to put together a 17 point PPR performance in week one. However, the yardage numbers and touches are something that fantasy owners want to see increased. It may have just been a case of the coaching staff easing Johnson back into things, but the Cardinals should make a concerted effort to get Johnson 25 touches in week two.
Deshaun Watson
Another player coming off a serious injury, Watson was drafted as a top-six quarterback this summer. Watson struggled to get on track against the Patriots week one, completing just 50 percent of his passes for less than 200 yards. He did manage 40 yards on eight rushing attempts which certainly was a positive sign, but fantasy owners need to see more from their top quarterback. He and the Houston Texans face a Tennessee Titans team that he torched for 283 yards and four touchdowns in a 57-14 win last October.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy G as they call him in the trade, was the talk of the league late last season after leading the San Francisco 49ers to a mini-resurgence in the leagues final weeks. With that came a lot of fantasy hype for this season. Drafted between rounds nine and 11, Garoppolo is the guy leading teams that believe in the trend #WaitOnQB. His stat line of 15-33/261/1/3 was not one to make fantasy owners happy. Yes, the Minnesota Vikings defense is very good, however, Garoppolo at times looked lost on the field. Things should turn around nicely for Garoppolo and the Niners in week two as they face a Detroit Lions team that was shredded for 48 points by Sam Darnold and the New York Jets on Monday night.
Sammy Watkins
The Kansas City Chiefs scored 38 points in their win last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. Patrick Mahomes threw for four touchdowns, Tyreek Hill caught two of those and returned a punt for a score. Missing from the fun was Sammy Watkins. Watkins brought in this offseason to solidify the receiving corps opposite of Hill, was targeted only five times, catching three passes for 21 yards (5.1 FP). As a fifth-round pick, Watkins is expected to put up mid-high WR2 numbers in fantasy. While it is only one game, owners are hopeful that a better week is ahead for Watkins against a Pittsburgh Steelers secondary that gave up 106 yards receiving to Jarvis Landry in week one.
Amari Cooper
The Oakland Raiders top wideout had an extremely disappointing week one performance Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. He struggled to get open while being followed by elite cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. He only saw three targets, cacthing one pass for nine yards. The entire Raiders offense struggled, so it’s not all on Cooper but he will need a huge performance in week two, if not fantasy owners will be looking to sell low and sell fast.
Spotlight Says…
David Johnson: 19 carries, 88 yards, one touchdown. Six catches for 55 yards. (26.3 PPR Points)
Deshaun Watson: 295 yards, three touchdowns, one interception. Seven carries for 51 yards (28.6 PPR Points)
Jimmy Garoppolo: 255 yards, two touchdowns, one interception. (21 PPR Points)
Sammy Watkins: Five catches, 67 yards, zero touchdowns. (11.7 PPR Points)
Amari Cooper: Four catches, 51 yards, one touchdown. (15.1 PPR Points)
Main photo:
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