In case you missed it: check out Faraz’s Top 20 fantasy takeaways from Week 1 on YouTube now! Is De’Von Achane a league winner after a huge Week 1? Can Kenneth Walker III scratch the top-5 this season? All those questions and more answered; WATCH NOW! ⬇️

• Packers HC Matt LaFleur doesn’t shut the door on QB Jordan Love potentially suiting up in Week 2, says the door is ‘pretty open’

  • This would be an incredible turn of events given that Love sustained what appeared to be a significant injury just under a week ago, but we won’t rule him out until the Packers rule him out. That being said, the Packers have already named Malik Willis as their starter for Week 2 against the Colts and Love has yet to take a practice snap this week ahead of Sunday’s game. The good news: the fact that Love is even being mentioned in conversations about starting for Week 2 would seem to indicate that his recovery timeframe could be on the shorter end of the 4-6 weeks originally estimated. It would be a genuine surprise should Love take the field on Sunday against the Colts, and fantasy managers should still treat Malik Willis as the likely starter. While Willis is quarterback, all of the Packers receivers should be downgraded while the overall scoring ceiling of the offense is reduced in Love’s absence. However, it sounds like Love could make his return sooner rather than later – much to the joy of his fantasy managers.

• Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker misses Wednesday’s practice due to oblique injury reportedly suffered late in Week 1

  • Walker left Sunday’s game against the Broncos late with what was called an abdomen injury at the time. Since then, they’ve specified that it’s an oblique injury for the Seahawks running back, which ultimately kept him from practicing to open the week. Walker told reporters that he felt ‘great’ despite missing practice, which would seem to suggest that there shouldn’t be too much concern regarding his status for Week 2 at this time. On deck are the Patriots, who allowed Zack Moss to have a serviceable day against them even in a low-scoring game against the Bengals in Week 1. Fantasy managers should expect Walker to be available at this point, but having a backup plan in place in the event that he’d miss the game isn’t a bad idea. Zach Charbonnet is rostered in just over 50% of leagues and should be pursued on the waiver wire if Walker would continue to miss practices and end up trending in the wrong direction. However, expectations should be tempered in what very well could become another low-scoring matchup (just a 41.5 point over/under).

Catch this week’s Buy/Sell episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast! 🎧

• Broncos WRs Devaughn Vele, Josh Reynolds miss practice Wednesday, leaving WR room thin

  • Vele was one of this week’s top deep waiver pickups after catching all of his eight targets in Week 1 as a rookie. Both he and veteran receiver Josh Reynolds earned eight targets apiece, while Courtland Sutton led the way as rookie QB Bo Nix’s favorite target with 11. However, both players enter week 2 nursing injuries that could threaten to tighten the target share even more than what we saw in Week 1. With a matchup against a stout Steelers defense on tap, neither Vele nor Reynolds were likely to be in fantasy lineups fresh off the waiver wire; however, with their absences, Courtland Sutton should once again be the first, second, and third option on every passing play for Bo Nix. Expect a high concentration of targets on Sutton should one or both miss time. Elsewhere down the depth chart, we could see names like Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin take the field with the Broncos dipping deep into their bag of tricks at WR this early in the season.

SELL RB Tony Pollard, TEN

I know, I know – Tony Pollard was one of the few pleasant surprises in Week 1, and we don’t want to panic sell or sell too early on since it’s only been one week. But we heard all offseason that this was going to be a 50/50 split from the Titans coaching staff, that they like the talent that both guys bring to the table – but it was the Tony Pollard show in Week 1. Pollard’s 20 opportunities more than doubled Spears’ 8 on the day, and Pollard’s 16 carries quadrupled Tjyae Spears’ 4. That doesn’t sound like a 50/split to me, and you’re probably wondering: Zach, why are you making this excellent case for Pollard? You just said to sell him?

It’s because both of these players are playing the roles we projected for them. Sure, Tony Pollard got the short down and distance snaps and was the primary back on early downs, but this was a game that the Titans were leading in and trying to milk the clock out of. Tyjae Spears played almost all of the long down and distance snaps (obvious passing situations), and also took 100% of the 2-minute snaps. He also ran more routes than Pollard, and at the end of the day, Pollard still only played 62% of snaps – hardly a full time role at all. 

Then you look at what Brian Callahan said following the game – he said he wants to get Spears rolling a bit more, make the division of labor closer to equal – and that he regretted not getting him more touches on Sunday. If those carries move any closer to even, suddenly Spears’ usage, considering his ability in the passing game, could be more attractive than what Pollard is getting in an exclusively early down role.

I’ll give it to him – Pollard looks better, looks healthier than he did last season with the Cowboys. But if I learned anything from Week 1, it looks like the Titans might have more trouble on offense than we would have liked to imagine. How often are they going to be in a positive game script moving forward? Look at the upcoming schedule. Really tough matchup against the Jets defense in Week 2, probably gonna be chasing points in Week 4 at Miami, you have his bye in Week 5, and then three consecutive matchups against the Colts, Bills, and Lions – not super favorable.