Sunday Aftermath: Caleb Williams’ struggles, Puka’s injury and much more

The No. 1 overall pick didn’t throw a pick as the Bears won their opener. Mission accomplished, right? You know where this is going. Caleb Williams appeared physically ready for the NFL on Sunday. His frame plays big, and his athleticism is going to make the leap from the PAC-12 to the big leagues just fine. This is not a Bryce Young situation where the young man doesn’t look like he belongs on the field.

But the game simply moved too fast against the Titans. The passes Williams didn’t get batted at the line of scrimmage tended to be inaccurate down-field. Not laughably so, but enough that you could label the rookie passer out of rhythm. He never found the beat even as the Bears stormed back from a 17-0 deficit to spring a back-breaking 24-17 defeat on the visitors from Nashville. Williams’ lone completion to fellow first-rounder Rome Odunze was a freak batted ball the wideout had to field like a second baseman.

So where does the good news come in? It wasn’t on the field Sunday. It remains on the page. Williams’ size and arm strength are going to play. He has the supporting cast to help translate his physical gifts. He simply has to slow the game down. That’s a process that no longer begins in the NFL until the regular season starts. There are fast learners and slow. Whereas Sunday was a slog with another struggling offense, Week 2 will likely be a track meet with the ascended Texans. It won’t be slow for Williams, but it better be slower.

Five Week 1 Storylines

Puka Nacua immediately re-injures right knee. Nacua entered the season with an increasingly lengthy injury history but was removed from the Rams’ final report on Friday. The tranquility didn’t last long. Nacua made it just one quarter and four targets before leaving Ford Field on a cart. The initial reports suggest it is not a season-ending ailment for Nacua, but it could be for fantasy managers. Even a minimum stay on injured reserve would cut out a massive chunk of the roto campaign, returning Nacua after the Rams come off bye in Week 7. That means you would have four catches from your first-round pick in six weeks. Rough stuff, but that’s the game we play. Already shockingly involved in the Rams’ offense, DeMarcus Robinson is the next man up opposite Cooper Kupp.

Jordan Addison injures “other” ankle. The initial belief was that Addison rushed back too soon and re-injured his troublesome left foot. If only. Instead, he added a right high-ankle sprain to his growing collection, leaving him doubtful for Week 2 against the 49ers. Addison was able to limp out of MetLife Stadium unassisted, but you’re going to need some time if you’re tending to tendon issues in both feet. The hope now is that Addison avoids injured reserve and returns some time this month. His loss leaves the Vikings’ skill corps hopelessly thin, with best-ball hero Jalen Nailor and tight end tandem Josh Oliver/Johnny Mundt now fighting for the scraps behind all-world alpha Justin Jefferson. It should also ensure change-of-pace back Ty Chandler sees more targets.

Anthony Richardson reminds “oh, that’s why.” In addition to making one of the throws of the decade, Richardson also added six carries for 56 yards and a touchdown as he finished as the QB4 on the week. Yes, he completed only nine passes, but as Kyle Dvorchak reminded me on the Rotoworld Football Show: One reason you might only complete nine passes? Three of them go over 50 yards. That’s still a hard way to make a living, as is Richardson’s reckless disregard for his body. But the bull case was plain for all to see on Sunday. This is why Richardson was going 4-5 rounds before Jayden Daniels (more on that in a minute). Now he gets to face a Packers defense that bled big plays in Week 1.

Jayden Daniels finishes as the QB3 in his NFL debut. So, yeah, Daniels was out-pointed by only Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. Pretty amazing, right? Yes and no. We knew all along Daniels was probably going to be a better player in fantasy than real life to begin his career. But to this degree? Yes, Daniels posted the second most rushing yards in a quarterback debut since at least 1950, but he also … “threw short of the sticks a league-low -7.8 yards on third downs.” That’s probably Kliff Kingsbury’s fault, but Daniels didn’t break the mold and show what he can do by adlibbing down the field. It’s a shame since it’s such a critical part of Daniels’ toolbox. It’s a crying shame because the Bucs were literally out of corners, having to roll safeties over to the position. Hopefully Kingsbury makes some quick adjustments — cue laugh track — but this ride is probably going to be more volatile than anyone expected.

Jameson Williams continues to break out. A lot of times summer hype is just that. But Williams’ started earlier and never let up. It just kept going on Sunday, where Williams’ 121 yards were a new career high by 52. He was so explosive in the process of blowing by Tre’Davious White on his 52-yard touchdown in the second quarter that White tried to tackle him and simply missed. Williams’ eruption coincided with one of the worst statistical performances of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s career and signaled changing times in the Lions’ receiver corps. This is still ARSB’s group, but Williams is finally ready for his WR3 closeup, while ARSB’s PPR money printing might be more scattershot than fantasy managers have grown accustomed to.

Don’t forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter.

Five More Week 1 Storylines

Deshaun Watson shows he still has further to fall. This was a bad game against an elite defense. The problem for Watson remains … he’s hardly had a good game against anybody in Cleveland. The frustration was palpable on Sunday, with Watson looking out of ideas and his supporting cast seeming to accept he wasn’t about to come up with any new ones. Part of this is the fault of coach Kevin Stefanski, who refuses to abandon the notion Watson should be a button pusher instead of the big-play freelancer he was in Houston. The biggest problem now is, even if the Browns’ attack becomes more Watson friendly, who is going to bust those big plays? David Njoku is one possibility, but he suffered a high-ankle sprain Sunday. The schedule immediately lightens with the Jags, Giants, Raiders and Commanders all on tap, but Watson is looking like a spent fantasy force.

The Falcons’ Kirk Cousins-led offense fails to launch. If Watson looks spent, Cousins somehow seemed even more exhausted in his Falcons debut. Oh, and, uhh, he couldn’t move at all. The Falcons kept Cousins totally stationary on either pistol or shotgun snaps, and literally did not use play-action. Again literally, Cousins never once sprinted and had visible trouble planting his surgically-repaired right foot. The statistical results were utterly abysmal, with Cousins delivering Ridder-ian statlines to players like Drake London and Darnell Mooney. The charitable interpretation is that Cousins needed to knock off the cobwebs and regain his regular season confidence following a traumatic injury. The more ominous outlook is that 36-year-old Cousins is going to be a shell of his former self working to render his supporting cast irrelevant and getting himself benched for rookie Michael Penix.

J.K. Dobbins and Ladd McConkey make the first chess moves in Chargers skill corps. When you start the season with a rotation in any position group, you’re just praying someone rises above it. Dobbins and McConkey were the initial standouts for the Chargers, though Dobbins did so in more ways than one. There was his sterling 10/135/1 rushing line, but also his getting easily run down from behind on his 61-yard second half rumble. The good news is that he got into the open field at all, but it was a reminder of Dobbins’ physical limitations coming off back-to-back major orthopedic injuries. This probably is not a player who can ascend to every-week RB2 status. McConkey’s ceiling is higher, but he’s not yet in the WR3 mix as we wait for more data to roll in from this conservative, run-based attack.

Blake Corum doesn’t get off the bus in Detroit. Corum handled zero touches in his NFL debut. He was behind Ronnie Rivers for No. 2 duties. Bad. Very bad. Kyren Williams remained essentially an every-snap player, albeit an inefficient one behind atrocious line play. The only thing that matters for now is that Williams escaped healthy. That’s never the case for long with Kyren — there are many, many reasons not to “victory lap” after only one game — but we now have a data point that Corum wouldn’t simply assume all of Williams’ lost work in the event of an injury. There are legitimate reasons to still hold onto Corum in 12-team re-draft leagues, but just as many to make him one of your first cuts as you embark on your waivers journey.

Jake Ferguson’s knee injury further thins Cowboys’ skill corps. The good news is it’s “just” an MCL issue, but it’s an MCL issue that will likely cost Ferguson multiple weeks. Even if he suits up for Week 2 against the Saints, it’s difficult to believe he would operate in his typical role. Even if short-term, it’s an issue the Cowboys simply could not afford as they attempt a grab-bag approach behind all-world alpha CeeDee Lamb. If you need a Week 2 fill-in, we would like elsewhere from in-house options Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford.

Questions

1. How did this movie end in Sean Payton’s mind?

2. Can the Titans go ahead and explain this one?

3. Was Blake Corum ever really real?

Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)

QB: Baker Mayfield (@DET), Geno Smith (@NE), Sam Darnold (vs. SF), Derek Carr (@DAL), Justin Fields (@DEN)
RB: J.K. Dobbins, Tank Bigsby, Bucky Irving, Jaleel McLaughlin, Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, Zach Charbonnet, Emanuel Wilson
WR: Brandin Cooks, Greg Dortch, Adonai Mitchell, Jakobi Meyers, Xavier Legette, Wan’Dale Robinson, Ray-Ray McCloud, Alec Pierce, Quentin Johnston, DeMarcus Robinson, Jalen McMillan
TE: Isaiah Likely, Tyler Conklin, Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson, Zach Ertz
DEF: Chargers (@CAR), Seahawks (@NE), Broncos (vs. PIT), Jaguars (vs. CLE), Commanders (vs. NYG), Titans (vs. NYJ)

Stats of the Week

One. How many game-winning touchdowns Kyler Murray didn’t see Marvin Harrison Jr. open for. Also how many receptions the No. 5 overall pick tallied in his NFL debut. It’s proving frustratingly difficult to take the horizontal raid out of Kyler’s game, but worst case, MHJ simply acclimates into it.

Per Josh Norris, 42 of Bucky Irving’s Bucs-leading 62 rushing yards came with the Bucs up 16 points late, but … let’s be real, Rachaad White doesn’t run the ball like that in any situation. The early-down timeshare is coming. Passing game, no, which should be enough to keep White RB2 afloat.

36-23. That was Alexander Mattison’s snap advantage over Zamir White. Not what you want to see in game flow (trailing, but close) that is going to be common for the Raiders.

19-8. That was Tony Pollard’s touch advantage over Tyjae Spears. The tiebreaker all along was Pollard’s early-down experience. The trump card might be Pollard looking far healthier on Sunday than he did in 2023.

The Chargers’ 176 yards rushing were already the sixth most of the Justin Herbert era. Notice no frantic comebacks were needed? It stinks for fantasy, but is very, very good for Herbert.

Via The Associated Press’ Josh Dubow: “Since signing a four-year, $160 million contract with Giants before last season, Daniel Jones has thrown more TD passes to the opposition (3 pick 6s) than to his own team (2 TD passes).”

Via Gregg Rosenthal: “Bo Nix on throws over 10 air yards: 2-for-12 for 42 yards and two picks.”

Awards Section

Week 1 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Josh Allen, RB Saquon Barkley, RB Joe Mixon, WR Jayden Reed, WR Cooper Kupp, WR Tyreek Hill, TE Isaiah Likely

Week 1 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Caleb Williams, RB Blake Corum, RB Jaylen Warren, WR Chris Olave, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Drake London, TE Every Tight End

Tweet of the Week, from Conor Orr: Sweet baby Jesus, the Seahawks were flagged for a holding call in the end zone (safety), and got the ball back on the one-yard line again — and ran out of the shotgun. You’re never going to guess what happened next.

The Literally Impossible Award: Chris Olave catching two passes for 11 yards in the Saints’ 47-10 victory.

The, Ok, So This Coaching Hire Isn’t Going To Work Award: The Raiders punting on 4th-and-1 from the Chargers’ 43-yard line down 16-10 with 7:15 remaining.