Some of the top players in the NFL seriously underperformed during week one of the season, and I am going to be looking over some of the stars that were projected to do great, but absolutely flopped.
#5. Nico Collins – Texans
Nico Collins is the #1 Texans wide receiver and the 23rd-best fantasy WR in the league. He had a pretty dominant last season; he averaged 106.92 receiving yards per game and had 8 touchdowns throughout the season. He was a solid pick for this fantasy season, and was projected 17.4 points in week one. In the 5-point loss against the Rams, Collins had 5.5 points, on only 3 receptions with 5 targets for a total of 25 yards.
#4. Joe Burrow – Bengals
Joe Burrow was one of the worst quarterbacks to play this week, which is a complete surprise considering that he is surrounded by a solid offense that has proved to be good many times last season. He also played against the Browns, a team that is nearly impossible to be bad against. Burrow is the 3rd best Fantasy QB in the league, was projected to have a respectable 20 points week one, and somehow ended his game with 8.82 points and was only able to beat Cleveland 17-16.
#3. Mark Andrews – Ravens
Mark Andrews had an impressive year last season. He had 11 touchdowns in 17 games and proved to be a key part of the Ravens’ red zone offense. He was only targeted one time in Baltimore’s week 1 matchup against the Bills; he caught that one pass and gained 5 yards. That was all the action he saw throughout the game. He was projected to have 11.9 fantasy points during week one, and he ended the game with 1.5 points in the 41-40 loss vs. the Buffalo Bills.
#2. AJ Brown – Eagles
AJ Brown was Jalen Hurts’ main target throughout all of last season, even though he was out early in the season with a hamstring injury. Still, he averaged 77.3 receiving yards per game in 2024 and had 7 touchdowns in only 13 games played. Brown was supposed to have 17.2 fantasy points in the game vs. the Dallas Cowboys, but got completely shut down, as he was only able to secure 1 catch for 8 yards all game, only giving him 1.8 points on the week.
#1. Ja’Marr Chase – Bengals
Ja’Marr Chase was the most noticeable bust of week 1. He only recorded 2 receptions for a total of 26 yards and no touchdowns in the Bengals’ one-point win over the Cleveland Browns. Chase was ranked #1 for his position, as well as the top-ranked player in fantasy football. He was projected to score a solid 19.8 points and was only able to put up 4.6, meaning he is now the 74th best among wide receivers, but I have a feeling he will make his way back up to the top very shortly.
*All projections by ESPN
