It was reasonable for those fantasy managers who selected Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy to leave Week 1 concerned about his statistical prospects for the season considering the ghastly state of his team. As the theory goes, if the Bills are going to give up gobs of points quickly every week and force a raw quarterback to play from behind, it rarely bodes well for the team's star running back. In addition, McCoy has played in the league for a while and handled a large workload along the way, creating significant angst among those who chose him.
OK, so what does that mean for David Johnson?
After all, as awful as the Bills have looked through two games, the Arizona Cardinals have managed to score on only one of their drives and 94 snaps. The Cardinals scored six points at home in Week 1, losing badly to the Washington Redskins. Johnson scored the points, albeit late in the game, but 14 touches for 67 yards was a bit concerning, especially since he suffered a back injury and was limited in practice. Things managed to get worse on Sunday as the Cardinals failed to score in a 34-0 drubbing against the Los Angeles Rams, and Johnson managed a mere 14 touches for 51 yards. He caught one pass.
There are myriad differences between Johnson and McCoy, of course, and one of them is that Johnson was the best player in fantasy his sophomore season of 2016, sailing past 2,000 total yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. He is 26, with 565 career touches. McCoy has logged 2,365 touches. Then again, McCoy was healthy last season, while Johnson's third season lasted mere minutes as he broke his wrist early in Week 1. Expectations were high for 2018. With Le'Veon Bell scaring many a potential investor, Johnson rose to the No. 2 spot in most drafts, behind only Rams star Todd Gurley II.
Johnson investors are going to ask questions about whether their first-round pick is worth keeping active in Week 3, and my answer will be, without hesitation, yes. Sure, Johnson's 6.1 PPR points on Sunday were disappointing, but something has to change with this offense for home games against the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks the next fortnight. Perhaps Sam Bradford and his negligible threat of downfield passing is the problem, making defenses key easier on the star running back. Will rookie Josh Rosen be better? Perhaps Johnson will simply take over games as he did in 2016.
Be patient with both Johnson and McCoy, the latter scoring 10.8 PPR points on Sunday, as rookie quarterback Josh Allen at least looked competitive. McCoy was the No. 7 running back scorer in PPR formats last season, so as I waxed poetic about last week, he did not suddenly get too old to remain a reliable option. He just needs a bit of help around him. Johnson is in a somewhat similar situation, unless he is playing hurt and that is the problem. I will not be benching Johnson in Week 3. I will not be trading him for the likes of Matt Breida, Phillip Lindsay and Austin Ekeler, either.
One more thing on McCoy, and this is a potential concern: Before leaving the loss prematurely after one of his own linemen fell on him and injured his rib, bulkier Chris Ivory stole a goal-line touchdown. If you recall, this was a mild concern for McCoy investors a season ago, and Mike Tolbert ended up scoring a grand number of one touchdown, though he had chances. McCoy scored six TDs rushing and two receiving. He might not get to eight this season, or 1,500 total yards, but those panicking on his potential, even as he approaches the dreaded (for running backs) age of 30, are misguided. Track record matters, and as long as they remain healthy, McCoy and Johnson will come through.
Second down: Quarterbacks were most of the rage on Sunday, as three of them passed for more than 400 yards, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, for the second consecutive week, while five passers reached four touchdown passes. One of them was Kansas City Chiefs sophomore Patrick Mahomes, who threw for six scores in toppling Ben Roethlisberger and set an NFL mark with 10 touchdown passes through two games. It should come as little surprise that Mahomes has emerged as a fantasy starter at this point, though intriguing tests in the coming weeks loom with a road tilt in Denver and a home matchup with the mighty Jacksonville Jaguars, who certainly kept Tom Brady in check. As for Fitzpatrick, I admit I will have a difficult time ranking him in the top 10 for Week 3, but a home game with the Steelers does not appear as difficult as one once thought.
Then there is Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers, who played through a knee injury that might have kept mortal players out of action several weeks and had to face the imposing Minnesota Vikings defense. Rodgers threw for 281 yards and a touchdown in the annoying 29-29 tie, and wide receiver Geronimo Allison was, just like in Week 1, one of the top targets and producers. Do not worry about Rodgers or his receiving options. They are just fine. I do not know if running back Jamaal Williams performed well enough to hold off Aaron Jones, who becomes eligible to play off his suspension in Week 3, but if pass protection is critical, it would favor Williams.
Third down: The three 100-yard rushers for the week entering the Sunday night Cowboys-Giants tilt were certainly surprising. San Francisco 49ers sophomore Matt Breida led the way with 138 rushing yards on a mere 11 carries, one of them a 66-yard touchdown jaunt, and tepid play by veteran Alfred Morris the first two weeks has made him expendable to fantasy managers, though I would try to keep him around a few more weeks just in case.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Falcons backup Tevin Coleman, who is probably just as good as starter Devonta Freeman and will get to prove it a few more weeks as the starter, surpassed 100 rushing yards for the second time in his career. Denver Broncos rookie Phillip Lindsay continues to look quite a bit better than fellow first-year option Royce Freeman, though the latter converted a short touchdown run. Lindsay was one of the most added players of the week, and he should be at least a flex choice in Week 3, ahead of Freeman.
As for the strugglers at this position, Pittsburgh's James Conner found rushing attempts rare as the Steelers trailed early against the Chiefs, but one of his 17 rushing yards turned into a touchdown run, so his afternoon was more than salvaged. Washington's Adrian Peterson, however, continued a disturbing trend from last season when he followed up a big game with a rather small one. Peterson rushed 11 times for 20 yards in a home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and that defense rarely earns plaudits for stopping the run. Peterson likely will continue to be an inconsistent option and quite a bit behind teammate Chris Thompson for fantasy value.
Fourth down: Jaguars sophomore wide receiver Keelan Cole caught 116 yards worth of passes, and a touchdown, in the 31-20 home win over the New England Patriots. Among the seven catches was a highlight-reel contender you should check out. The Jaguars answered some questions in beating Brady's Patriots for the first time in nine tries. For one, Blake Bortles, while often derided for what he does not do well, continues to show he is not so bad. Bortles had four touchdown passes for the fifth time in his career, and let us remember he has been a top-10 performer in several of them, and he just missed last season. Bortles has a diverse group of young, speedy receivers, and while few in fantasy will buy in, he could end up a top-10 option yet again.
Meanwhile, running back Leonard Fournette missed the contest with a hamstring injury and T.J. Yeldon stepped right up with an efficient 71 total yards on 12 touches, while third-string Corey Grant turned his 10 touches into 69 yards. That is not to say the Jaguars do not need Fournette, a top-10 PPR running back last season, but they have options for when the LSU product misses games. Fournette missed three of them last season, so Yeldon might head back to fantasy free agency this week after being the most added player, but I would keep that handcuffed just in case. These Jaguars boast depth, and the team's vaunted D/ST unit should enjoy home games the next few weeks with the Titans and Jets.