Studs of the week
Rob Gronkowski (New England): The Gronkasaurus Rex performed Gronktacular in Thursdays opening game against the Steelers. The big tight end hauled in 5 receptions for 94 yards. He found the end zone three times and continues to be a huge matchup problem for opposing defenses. He faces a stout Bills defense this week but is a no brainer start at TE against any defense.
Carlos Hyde (San Francisco): If the 49ers had any questions at running back, the answer was presented Monday night. 29 fantasy points off of 168 yards, 2 TDs, and a nasty spin move made Hyde the scoring leader in all non PPR leagues.
Notable performances: Julio Jones (Atlanta): 27 points, Marcus Mariota (Tennessee): 24 points.
Waiver wire add of the week
James Jones (Green Bay): The Packers newly added receiver linked up with Aaron Rodgers just like old times. It seemed Sunday like he never left the team. After being cut by the Giants less than two weeks ago he outperformed all Packers receivers on Sunday despite being owned by less than 20 percent of fantasy owners on standard fantasy websites. Jones scored 17 points in week 1 against the bears after making four catches for 51 yards and two scores. He’s going up against a tough Seattle defense this week but should be a good deep WR 2 or normal WR 3 for the season as long as Rodgers remains healthy.
Other adds: Dion Lewis (New England): 11 points, Nick Foles (St.Louis): 18 points.
Busts of the week
Dez Bryant (Dallas): The Cowboy who got paid this offseason did not play well whatsoever and broke his foot. Bryant had dehydration issues that caused him to miss parts of the game before leaving the game for good after breaking his foot. Bryant scored a mere 4 points on 48 receiving yards and had a few drops. He looked to have been held in the red zone on a look from Romo but the call wasn’t made. He will miss 4-6 weeks meaning Terrance Williams will shift to the number one receiver spot and Cole Beasley should get more looks.
Adrian Peterson (Minnesota): A top 5 pick in most leagues this season the comeback of the 2013 NFL MVP turned out to be a sour one. I didn’t expect him to do spectacular but didn’t think he would score a paltry 5 points on 31 rushing yards and 21 yards receiving. Peterson ran the ball only 10 times and averaged 3.1 yards per attempt.
Other Busts: Odell Beckham Jr. (New York): 4 points, Calvin Johnson (Detroit): 3 points
Fantasy Aggies
Ryan Tannehill (Miami)- Scored a disappointing 11 points in a comeback victory over the Dolphins. Threw for 226 yards and a touchdown. Usually contributes a few points rushing but only managed to rush for seven yards. Should bounce back against Jacksonville this weekend but a note of caution is that the Jaguars are allowing only a little bit over 15 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs since the start of last year.
Johnny Manziel (Cleveland) – Aggie fans wanted to see Manziel in action, and they were able to earlier than anyone expected—during the first quarter of week 1. Manziel entered the game after Josh McCown was concussed, and he did not disappoint. Manziel threw a 54 yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin. He scored 8 fantasy points on 182 passing yards and 1 touchdown. After the 54 yard TD, Manziel had a total of 23 passes for 128 yards. He threw a pick in the third and fumbled twice in the fourth which hurt his points. He takes on fellow Heisman winner Marcus Mariota this week in what should be a fun matchup. As long as McCown is out, Manziel will remain the starter. He could even wrestle away the job with good play.
Martellus Bennett (Chicago): The former A&M tight end had a good showing this weekend against Green Bay. Bennett scored 11 points from 55 receiving yards and a touchdown. The future looks good for Bennett this season; he was targeted seven times by Jay Cutler. The departure of Cutler’s favorite target Brandon Marshall leaves Bennett with plenty of opportunities to score points. Alshon Jeffrey and Bennett seem to be the trusted targets Cutler has this season.
