Fantasy Takeaways from Thursday and Friday Games: Saquon Barkley the RB1?

Saquon Barkley has a very possible chance of finishing as the RB1

Eagles fans and fantasy players all felt a surge of excitement when former Giants RB Saquon Barkley joined Philadelphia in the offseason, but I don’t think anyone expected his impact to be so dominant so quickly. In only his first game on the squad, Barkley was a one-man show.

Barkley opened his scoring with a nice 18-yard wheel route, allowing QB Jalen Hurts to slot the ball perfectly in his arms for the first touchdown of the game. Later, Barkley made a nice cut to beat a defender and waltzed in 11 yards for his second score of the day. And to cap it off, the former Penn State back fought through contact to seal his hat-trick of touchdowns late in the third quarter.

While he won’t consistently repeat his three-touchdown performance, Barkley appeared to be the missing puzzle piece for this elite offense - he received almost all the rushing volume. Only 1 running back (Kenneth Gainwell)received any carries, while Barkley logged 24 rushes on the night. This offense was fluid and flashy, and Barkley made his impact felt constantly throughout the night. He’s a perfect fit for Philadelphia. Combining this top-tier offensive system with Barkley’s blend of athleticism and intelligence, fantasy managers might have a real RB1 contender on their team.

Two top tight ends might be taking a step back

Fantasy managers who started Mark Andrews were definitely not pleased with his performance. He caught just 2 passes for 14 yards, which was equivalent to less than 4 PPR points. But that’s not what made this case so devastating for Andrews owners. Isaiah Likely, the second-string tight end, caught 9 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown (he was a toe away from catching a second one).

I don’t think Andrews’ value has completely plummeted, but it’s definitely concerning how involved Likely was in the offense. Andrews only garnered two targets, while Likely had the ball thrown his way 12 times. With Andrews closing in on 30 years old, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh might have decided that it’s time for a new change at the position. Likely looked experienced, composed, and just flat-out world-class on Thursday night.

On the other side of the field, Travis Kelce’s struggles from last season spilled into 2024. In the second half of the 2023 season, Travis Kelce saw a downwards trend in fantasy output, failing to reach 10 points in any of his last 3 games. On Thursday, this pattern continued as the Chiefs star only managed to catch 3 passes for just 6.4 fantasy points. Younger, speedier offensive weapons such as Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Isaiah Pacheco seemed to command a much bigger role in the offense. It’s very possible that Kelce finishes outside the top 5 tight ends in 2024.

Lamar Jackson might be launching another MVP campaign

The addition of Derrick Henry did nothing to change Lamar’s playstyle, as evidenced by his monster performance to open the season. The Louisville alumni rushed for 122 yards while adding 273 yards and a touchdown through the air, which corresponded to 25 fantasy points.

Before the season started, it was reported that Lamar had lost weight and was in much better shape to prepare for the 2024 NFL season. I don’t know exactly what he did, but so far it’s worked. No matter how they adjusted, the Chiefs’ defense was no match for Lamar once he picked up momentum. He was especially savvy against the face of pressure from the Chiefs blitzes. There were countless times where the offensive line was breaking down, defenders surrounding him from all sides, and Lamar managed to detect an open running lane and take of for a first down to create a play out of nothing. His elusiveness was on full display on his touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely, and he nearly made a perfect throw under duress to tie the game at the end.

Unfortunately for Lamar, the Ravens were unable to take down the repeat super bowl winners in Arrowhead, but Lamar was a top player in the matchup. He’s unquestionably a top 5 QB for the rest of the season and is a good bet to finish as the top scorer in his position.

Green Bay’s offensive highlights derailed as Jordan Love goes down with injury

It was extremely unfortunate to see Jordan Love fall to the ground at the end of the game against Philadelphia, as an Eagles defender fell on his leg and he struggled to get back up. Fortunately, he was able to limp off the field, but it was apparent from his reaction he was in a lot of pain. As I’m writing this, I am unsure how serious the injury is, but I pray he returns to action as soon as possible.

If not for the injury, the headlines regarding Jordan Love would have been mostly mixed on how he played. He made a nice play to evade the defender and make a pass on the run to Jaylen Reed, which resulted in Love’s longest career touchdown. However, he only completed around 50% of his passes and threw an interception. In fact, Love was fortunate to escape with just one turnover, as he made several risky throws throughout the night that could have resulted in possession flipping. It will be interesting to see how he pans out for fantasy as the season goes on, so hopefully his injury is not too serious.

Josh Jacobs had a sneakily efficient performance. While he was mostly average from a fantasy outlook, he showed promising signs of what might be to come in his 104-yard performance. Jacobs averaged over 5 yards per carry for his 16 rushes against a top-tier Eagles defense, which is not an easy achievement. After having some struggles on the ground to open the night, Jacobs really started to heat up in the second half, making several impressive plays to beat out defenders and help the Packers sustain drives, including a nice 22-yard rush at the end of the 3rd quarter.

While Jacobs and Love both had their shining moments, the true highlight for this Packers offense was Jayden Reed. On just 4 passes, Reed accumulated 138 yards and a touchdown, adding another 33 yard score in the run game. He finished the night with 33 fantasy points. This massive night won’t be sustainable, as 70% of his fantasy production came across two plays, but it will be interesting to see how the offense relies on Reed as the season goes on. The WR1 spot for this team is still up in the air, but this big performance may give Reed the boost he needed to work towards a bigger role.

Rashee Rice is still the WR1 in Kansas City

After the controversy that Rice had in the offseason, many expected him to be suspended or punished. Even if he wouldn’t receive any official reparations, nobody expected the receiver to maintain the same level of success as he did near the end of last season as he battled legal issues. They were wrong.

Rashee Rice was undoubtedly Mahomes’ favorite target throughout Thursday night. He caught 7 of 9 targets for 103 total yards, while no other Chiefs player logged more than 3 receptions. While rookie Xavier Worthy did score twice, he seemed to be more of a gadget player rather than a consistent, four-down player that Rashee Rice seems to be for this team. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the Chiefs did use a first round pick on Worthy, so his usage will almost certainly increase as the season goes on. Whether or not Rice will remain as the top target, only time will tell.