VideoFrom Matt Harmon
Biggest Week One Surprises
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
39 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 15, 2026
Published
Tue, September 15, 2026
40
Player insights
40
Players mentioned
Topics
A.J. BrownAmon-Ra St. BrownAntonio WilliamsBryce YoungCaleb DouglasCalvin Austin IIIChris BellChris OlaveChristian WatsonColston LovelandDavante AdamsDeebo SamuelDenzel BostonDeVonta Smith
Player analysis
Player insights
A.J. Brown
PositiveProjection4:52
Matt Harmon uses A.J. Brown as an example of a slow starter who recovered, noting that despite a WR99 finish in week one, he ultimately finished the season as the WR12.
Insight pageAmon-Ra St. Brown
NegativeProjection4:46
Matt Harmon notes that Amon-Ra St. Brown finished as the WR4 after a slow week one.
Insight pageAntonio Williams
PositiveBreakout13:44
Antonio Williams finished as WR14 in Week 1. While he only ran routes on 44% of dropbacks, he was targeted on 36% of those routes, showing efficiency. Matt Harmon notes he is a crafty route runner but advises patience as he is not yet a locked-in starter.
Insight pageBryce Young
NegativeUsage8:36
Matt Harmon notes that Bryce Young was a top-six quarterback in air yards per attempt in week one, though he questions how much of this performance was due to the Bears' weak defense versus sustainable offensive improvement.
Insight pageCaleb Douglas
PositiveBreakout33:47
Caleb Douglas earned a full-time role for the Dolphins, finishing as the WR8 in yards for Week 1. He led all rookies in target share, catches, yards, and YAC, recording 119 yards—the most in a rookie debut since Puka Nacua. Harmon is encouraged by his 31% slot usage rate and immediate productivity, viewing him as a player to monitor.
Insight pageCalvin Austin III
NegativeBust5:24
Matt Harmon cites Calvin Austin III as a cautionary tale of week one volatility, as he finished as the WR12 in week one but dropped to WR77 in points per game for the rest of the season.
Insight pageChris Bell
NegativeDepth Chart34:02
Chris Bell served as the WR3 for the Dolphins in Week 1, running fewer routes than teammates Caleb Douglas and Malik Washington. He recorded a 25% slot usage rate and one catch for 25 yards.
Insight pageChris Olave
NegativeRole9:51
Matt Harmon notes that Devon Vele's role as a power slot receiver complements Chris Olave's game well within the Saints' offense.
Insight pageChristian Watson
NegativeUsage1:55
Matt Harmon notes that Christian Watson had a successful week one outing, specifically highlighting his frequent downfield routes against the Vikings defense. Watson is a primary receiver for the Packers, running more routes than Jaden Reed in Week 1 and operating alongside Matthew Golden as a key part of the passing attack. Harmon does not consider the performance a 'surprise' given Watson's draft capital.
Insight pageColston Loveland
NegativeUsage22:25
Matt Harmon expresses concern over Colston Loveland's lack of production in week one, noting he recorded zero catches on only two targets despite being a full-time player. Harmon notes the two targets thrown his way were Caleb Williams' most inaccurate passes of the game.
Insight pageDavante Adams
NegativeProjection4:47
Matt Harmon notes that Davante Adams finished as the WR8 after a slow week one.
Insight pageDeebo Samuel
PositiveRole5:37
Matt Harmon highlights Deebo Samuel as a WR13 in Week 1 who benefits from his familiarity with the 49ers' system. While he experienced a drop-off from WR5 in week one to WR36 for the remainder of the previous season, his role is currently secure for at least a month due to Don Stribbling's injury, making him a viable fantasy start against upcoming defenses like the Dolphins and Cardinals.
Insight pageDenzel Boston
PositiveRole35:45
Denzel Boston earned a full-time role as the X receiver, leading the team with a 97% route participation rate. Matt Harmon notes he is a great long-term dynasty asset despite the poor quarterback play from Deshaun Watson, whose performance Harmon describes as abhorrent.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveUsage18:53
Matt Harmon identifies DeVonta Smith as the clear-cut number one receiver for the Eagles, noting he commanded a 20% target share in week one.
Insight pageDontayvion Wicks
PositiveBreakout16:56
Dontayvion Wicks finished as WR15 and operated as a full-time player, running 31 routes. Matt Harmon emphasizes his ability to win on high-value routes like out-cuts and vertical routes, noting he is currently the Eagles' clear WR2. Wicks is a strong flex option for upcoming matchups against the Titans and Bears, citing his 82.4% success rate on out/corner routes and a high average depth of target (nearly 20 yards).
Insight pageGeorge Pickens
NegativeProjection4:34
Matt Harmon notes that George Pickens had a slow start in week one but ultimately finished as the WR6, serving as a reminder that early-season struggles do not preclude a great overall fantasy season.
Insight pageJa'Marr Chase
NegativeProjection4:44
Matt Harmon notes that Ja'Marr Chase finished as the WR3 after a slow week one.
Insight pageJalen Coker
PositiveBreakout1:54
Matt Harmon identifies Jaylen Coker as a top-tier breakout performer who finished as the WR1 overall in week one. Harmon believes this performance is sustainable due to Coker's role as a priority target and his proven ability to win against man and press coverage. He is considered one of the two true surprises among the top 12 fantasy wide receivers and remains a strong dynasty buy-low candidate.
Insight pageJaxon Smith-Njigba
NegativeProjection4:41
Matt Harmon notes that Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished as the WR2 despite a lower week one ranking.
Insight pageJayden Reed
NegativeUsage32:00
Matt Harmon admits he was wrong to prefer Jaden Reed over Matthew Golden coming out of Week 1. Reed was not a full-time player, running only 29 routes and finishing well behind both Matthew Golden and Christian Watson in route participation.
Insight pageJordyn Tyson
NegativeInjury9:26
Matt Harmon notes that rookie wide receiver Jordan Tyson is on IR with a hamstring injury, which has opened up playing time for Devon Vele.
Insight pageKalif Raymond
PositiveUsage22:17
Matt Harmon highlights Khalif Raymond's surprising week one performance, where he led the Bears in receiving while being targeted on 41% of his routes. While Raymond is a smart player who knows Ben Johnson's system well and will remain involved, Harmon doubts he will be the most productive receiver every week.
Insight pageKendrick Bourne
PositiveUsage25:56
Kendrick Bourne had a strong Week 1, catching all eight targets for 75 yards. Matt Harmon highlights his role as the team's primary slot receiver, noting he ran 64% of his routes from the slot. Harmon believes this role is sustainable due to Bourne's familiarity with Mike LaFleur's system and expects him to remain a consistent safety valve, though high production may fluctuate.
Insight pageKeon Coleman
NegativeBust5:44
Matt Harmon describes Keon Coleman's week one performance as the 'biggest fib of all,' noting he did little until a fourth-quarter surge and eventually finished the season as WR60 while dealing with multiple healthy scratches. Harmon uses him as a negative benchmark for performance consistency, noting his tendency to fade throughout the season.
Insight pageLuther Burden
PositiveUsage22:36
Luther Burden played 50 snaps in Week 1, and Matt Harmon expects him to out-snap Khalif Raymond moving forward, though he notes Burden was not consistently on the field in heavier personnel packages.
Insight pageMalik Nabers
NegativeProjection17:15
Malik Nabers had a disappointing debut, but Matt Harmon advises patience given he missed significant offseason time due to a hamstring injury. He ran 29 routes and received four targets, but is currently behind Wicks in the pecking order. His usage was inefficient with an average depth of target of zero yards down the field, suggesting his role is less valuable than Wicks' deep-threat usage.
Insight pageMalik Washington
PositiveUsage33:57
Malik Washington led the Dolphins' receivers with 37 routes run in Week 1 and a 46% slot usage rate. Matt Harmon notes he was not used as a 'Mickey Mouse' receiver, evidenced by his 17 yards per target, and suggests he is a player worth monitoring.
Insight pageMarquise Brown
NegativeBust5:18
Matt Harmon uses Marquise Brown as an example of a 'week one liar,' noting that despite finishing as the WR13 in week one of the previous season, he fell to WR55 in points per game for the remainder of the year.
Insight pageMarvin Harrison Jr.
NegativeUsage26:06
Marvin Harrison Jr. is utilized as the vertical threat in the Cardinals' offense, evidenced by his 24 air yards per target in Week 1. He ran only 12% of his routes from the slot, and while Harmon expects him to be volatile on a week-to-week basis, he remains confident in his long-term outlook despite a slow start for the offense.
Insight pageMatthew Golden
PositiveBreakout30:46
Matthew Golden saw significant Week 1 usage, leading the Packers with 40 routes (90%+ participation) and a 30% target share while operating as a pure perimeter receiver. Matt Harmon highlights his vertical route tree and productive role, noting that despite a few drops, his profile is far from a bust and he is a potential weekly WR3 candidate given the upcoming schedule.
Insight pageMichael Wilson
NegativeUsage26:06
Michael Wilson is a key pass catcher in the Cardinals' offense, recording a 31% slot route rate in Week 1. Matt Harmon notes that while Wilson had a contested catch win, he may be a risky start in Week 2 against the Seahawks as the offense experiences a slow takeoff.
Insight pageMike Evans
PositiveUsage20:47
Matt Harmon views the 49ers' usage of Demarcus Robinson as an on-ball X receiver as a positive development for Mike Evans, as it allows Evans to move into the slot. This positional flexibility is considered encouraging for Evans's season-long fantasy outlook, provided he stays healthy.
Insight pageNico Collins
NegativeProjection4:50
Matt Harmon notes that Nico Collins finished as the WR10 after a slow week one, serving as a reminder that early-season struggles do not preclude a great overall fantasy season.
Insight pagePuka Nacua
NegativeProjection4:34
Matt Harmon references Puka Nacua as a benchmark for a high-performing week one receiver, noting he finished as the WR1.
Insight pageRome Odunze
PositiveRole22:39
Rome Odunze played only 34 snaps in Week 1 while dealing with a calf injury. Matt Harmon expects his snap count to increase as he gets healthier and regains rhythm in the passing game.
Insight pageStefon Diggs
PositiveUsage15:13
Matt Harmon highlights Stefon Diggs' 60% route participation as an encouraging metric for his fantasy outlook.
Insight pageTee Higgins
NegativeProjection4:51
Matt Harmon notes that Tee Higgins finished as the WR11 after a slow week one, serving as a reminder that early-season struggles do not preclude a great overall fantasy season.
Insight pageTerry McLaurin
NegativeUsage14:45
Terry McLaurin faced a tough matchup against the Eagles' secondary, resulting in a low 5.5 average depth of target. However, Matt Harmon notes that his 31% slot route participation is an encouraging sign for his usage moving forward.
Insight pageTetairoa McMillan
PositiveProjection7:48
Matt Harmon believes Tetairoa McMillan will be a productive player and that the production gap between him and Jaylen Coker was vastly overstated by ADP and public perception.
Insight pageTrey McBride
NegativeUsage45:34
Matt Harmon includes Trey McBride in the 'circle of trust' for the Cardinals' pass-catching group. Despite a lost contested catch in Week 1, he remains a core part of the team's offensive future alongside Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00What's going on everyone? Matt Harmon here from Reception Perception with a look into some week one surprises presented by Lisa. Week one gave us some
0:08pretty shocking wide receiver performances. We're going to break that down here and try to make sense and find the truth in some of these week one
0:15surprises. Let's get into it.
0:26So, like I said, week one gave us some surprising performances here. There's no question about that. Let's take a quick look before we dive into some of these
0:3410 specific players that I'm going to dive into and get into here throughout the course of this video. Let's take a
0:40look at the top 12 current wide receivers in fantasy football heading into Monday Night Football. I do want to make that clear. We have yet to play the
0:49Chiefs Broncos game on Monday night as we are breaking down. This is I'm Listen, I'm recording this thing pretty early Monday morning for you guys cuz I
0:57care about you all so much. I want to get this video out there for you and the people to make sure we check this out.
1:02So, these are your current top 12 wide receivers in fantasy scoring, half PPR, which is with Yahoo. Of course, I work
1:07for Yahoo, so there you go. Uh, leave your debates in the comments, please, if you think half PPR, PPR, whatever. I It
1:14is what it is. Okay. Jaylen Coker, wide receiver 1. Christian Watson, wide receiver 2, Justin Jefferson, wide receiver three, Aman Rosane Brown, Zay
1:21Flowers, Chris Olive, Jackson Smith and Jigba, DJ Moore, Nico Collins, Parker Washington, Lad Mani, Devon Vele. Um, a lot of great performances here from guys
1:32in week number one. Christian Watson just running crazy downfield routes against the Vikings defense. Not a great performance by the Packers in week one,
1:40that's for sure. But they did have a successful outing there. We actually are going to talk about a Packers receiver, but we are not going to be talking so
1:46much about Christian Watson. For me, really the only two that stand out here as kind of surprising week one performances are actually the guys on
1:55the book end here. It's Jaylen Coker and it's Devon Bailey who we're going to talk about in this video. To me,
2:00everybody else doesn't really count as a big week one surprise. a lot of these players, uh, you know, obviously Christian Watson, Parker Washington,
2:08guys that were drafted in the sixth, fifth, seventh round range being this good right away. I wouldn't qualify that as a surprise. Okay, you're expecting
2:18these guys to have big weeks throughout the course of the season. Basically, everybody else was an early round draft pick that we expected to be good. The
2:27fact that they were good, not really a big surprise here. So, we are going to talk Coker, we are going to talk Vele.
2:33They're going to be in the very first segment here. But before we jump into some of these surprising fantasy receivers, I actually want to look back
2:39at last year, week one performances and some of the lying that we get out of week one [snorts] here. And this happens
2:47every single year, right? Like this is not a surprise to see that week one can lie to us. So, let's take a look at the
2:54top uh receivers here. In week one last year we had Z Flowers, Quinton Johnson, Amecha Ibuka, Keon Coleman, Debo Samuel, Garrett
3:03Wilson, Puka Nakua, Michael Pitman, Kenan Allen, Marvin Harrison Jr., Courtland Sutton, Calvin Austin, JSN, Maris Brown. Okay, those are our top 13.
3:12I'm I'm putting Brown in here because he fits the narrative. All right, so you look at some of these guys, major
3:18falloffs in week one liars. Maris Brown was wide receiver 13 in week one. He was wide receiver 55 in points per game over
3:24the rest of the season. Calvin Austin week uh wide receiver 12 in week one, wide receiver 77 over the course of the
3:32NFL season in points per game. We had some other guys fall off like Pitman, Keenan Allen, you know, but they were
3:37still solid performers. Debo Samuel, same thing. Wide receiver five in week one, he drops down to wide receiver 36.
3:44I mean, Keon Coleman, that was the biggest fib of all the fibs that have ever fibbed in week number one. did
3:51basically nothing through three quarters. He goes off in the fourth quarter as the Bills have this crazy comeback against the Baltimore Ravens
3:59and it was a complete and utter lie. He finishes the season as wide receiver 60 in points per game and was healthy
4:05scratched by the Bills multiple times.
4:07Did not play a big role for them as a receiving option in their first game this season in a win over the Houston
4:14Texans. So, look, this happens every single year. Like I said, some guys pop off in week one and it's not sustainable. That's what we're going to
4:22try to figure out here in this particular video. And just as a reminder on the inverse of this, too. All right,
4:27so let's look at the season rank here on the inverse of this. Puka Nakua, JSN, Jamar Chase, Ammon Ross. Brown, George
4:34Pickins, like some of these guys started off not Puka Nakua, he's wide receiver one in week one, but um or wide receiver
4:41seven. JSN was 13, he finishes as two.
4:44Jamar Chase 76, wide receiver three. St.
4:47Brown 48, wide receiver four. George Pickkins 61, wide receiver six. Devonte Adams wide receiver 45. He finishes as wide receiver eight. Nico Collins 68.
4:5710. T. Higgins 57 11. AJ Brown 99. Wide receiver 99 in week one. He finishes as wide receiver 12. Okay. So, it's on.
5:09We're not going to talk about these guys that didn't perform in week one. We'll do that on reception perception the show. We'll do that over the course of
5:16the charting notebook on the website.
5:18But it's just a reminder that some of these guys that don't pop off in fantasy in week one, it does not mean that they
5:23still cannot go on to have really great seasons. All these guys had slow week ones. They had great rest of the season
5:31production from a fantasy standpoint.
5:32Okay, so that's just a little quick reminder about what a liar week one can be. Let's look now at five surprising
5:40fantasy performances here. And we already talked about it. Number one surprising performance has to be Jaylen Coker wide receiver one overall. Yes, I
5:49know RP gang uh cokeheads the listen Jaylen Coker Nation of which I am you know the president of Jaylen Coker Nation self-appointed. I am the
6:00president of Jaylen Coker Nation. It still counts as a surprise. I get it. We love Jaylen Coker. We know Jaylen Coker
6:05is good here. Of course. I mean, we've been talking about I feel like the last three or four videos I've put on this
6:11channel have somehow been at least in reference to or about Jaylen Coker. I am addicted to Jaylen Coker. All right, full stop. This is a great player. It's
6:21still a surprising performance that he is the most productive receiver in the NFL in week number one. All right, totally there. Now, I think this is an
6:29extremely sustainable performance for Coker. Even all obviously I I love the player. I'm a big fan of him. That being said, everything about his role in week
6:41one was totally believable. Everything that we saw about him as an individual player was totally believable. The one thing that is maybe the, you know, liar
6:52here in week number one is that I think that Bears defense is just going to get worked all season long.
6:59There's no doubt about that. I mean, the the the Bears defense is a travesty. The Bears are going to be the carnival team
7:07of the 2026 NFL season. Shout out Scott Pianowski, my colleague at Yahoo, for coming up with that term. That's a team
7:12that like the offense is going to go crazy and the defense is going to let every other offense go crazy. So, yeah,
7:17Jaylen Coker being wide receiver one overall. Part of that does have to do with the fact that he went against that
7:23Bears defense. That being said, again, making plays downfield as an outside receiver, being a priority target in this offense, those are all things that
7:34we know via his reception perception charting that he can do. You look at his success rate verse man coverage and press coverage from last year. They're
7:42high-end marks. Um, I'm not going to get into the narrative of like, oh, Jaylen Coker is actually the wide receiver one.
7:49Chedro McMillan's the wide receiver, too. You know, we'll see about like production and how that plays out, but I had the bold prediction on reception
7:56perception of the show with James Co that their yardage total would be within 100 or 150, one of the two of each
8:03other. Like they're going to be close in production this year. They've been close in production uh over the last, you know, games they played together. Last
8:11eight games together, including that playoff game. Catches 39 to Jaylen Coker, 26 to Tedo McMillan. I still think T-Mac is going to be good, but I
8:20think the gap between him and Coker was vastly overstated by ADP and vastly overstated by people who just do not watch the football games when it comes
8:30to Jaylen Coker. So, the biggest variable for him is how much of the week one performance by Bryce Young was all
8:38related to that Bears defense. You know, I think part of it is, part of it's not.
8:42The cool thing that you saw from Bryce Young and the Panthers offense in week one was that he was pushing the ball
8:48down the field. He was a top six quarterback in air yards per attempt in week one. Um, can that continue with
8:54Brad Edick now calling the plays? That's the biggest sustainable variable for Jaylen Coker. But, uh, for me, I think this performance is sustainable for him,
9:01not being a top 12 receiver rest of season, but being a guy that consistently you throw out there and he has big games. I'm a believer in the
9:07talent. I stand by the Chris Godwin comparison. Uh, the guy's a stud.
9:11Period. end of story. He still remains one of the bigger dynasty by lows, but I don't know for how much longer based on
9:16that performance in week number one.
9:18Again, let's go back to that top 12 performance and talk about Devon Vele, wide receiver 12 in week number one. Lot
9:26to unpack here with the Devon Vele performance. Of course, as we know, Jordan Tyson, rookie wide receiver, is not going to be on the field for quite
9:34some time. He's on IR with the hamstring injury, which is a bummer because hamstring injuries bothered him basically throughout the course of the
9:42leadup to the season, everything there.
9:44But this this was a decent role for Vele in week one. He ran out as the power slot receiver for this team. He
9:52compliments Chris Olive's game really well. And we just saw what can happen with a Saints team that just runs a ton
9:59of plays, plays with great pace, uh when they get into a a shootout type game script, which man, I mean, it started
10:06really bad for the Saints early in this game. I I was looking at the box score and watching this game. It
10:12was one of my uh games on the quad box here for the main TV. I'm like, what is going on with Tyler Shuck and this
10:18Saints offense? It was not a good start.
10:20legit stats-wise, eye test-wise, it was not a good start for Tyler Shuck. It did improve though, it did get better, and I
10:28think that we can still continue to see some decent moments here for Tyler Shuck in this offense throughout the course of
10:32the season. So, Vele, as long as he holds down a role in this offense, he's going to be in kind of that flex
10:39consideration, a guy that could be a wide receiver three for this team and kind of going forward. So, I mean, again, is is he going to be a top 12
10:47receiver? No. But a tougher matchup in the next game of the season, the Ravens.
10:52But they play the Raiders in week three, the Falcons in week four. There's going to be moments for Devon Vele to start
10:58the season, I think he will continue to have some solid moments. He's a a relatively interesting dynasty receiver because he's older, but he fits the
11:05offense well. They've targeted him, and even if he became a punchline for the the trade compensation that they gave up for him, totally useful player who
11:13should continue to get some work.
11:15Speaking of continuing to get some work, let's get to the third surprising player here. That was Debo Samuel, wide receiver 13 on the week heading into
11:24Monday Night Football. Obviously, this one's a little bit easier to explain here. Debo Samuel knows the San Francisco 49ers offense. And you know,
11:33you can look at his charting last year.
11:34He kind of has become the extreme version of what he was as a player throughout the course of his career where doesn't really beat man coverage,
11:44but he is a solid zone coverage receiver still. Is it some of the elite success rates that he's had early in his career?
11:52No. But 53rd percentile success rate versus zone. He can still get it done particularly on quickouts, dig routes, screens, stuff on the underneath game.
12:01And he can still break some tackles after the catch. That's what I wrote in his profile from the 2025 season with
12:07the Washington Commanders. Now that he's back with San Francisco, he knows the offense. He he can just easily drop right into a role here. Again, some of
12:14this is a little bit, hey, it's it was a surprising week one blowout over the Rams and the whole deal. But at the same
12:22time, I do think he's going to continue to hold down a role here because Don Stribbling, their rookie receiver, h what a bummer. he's going to miss at
12:29least a month with his injury that he suffered over there in Australia. So, Debo now is the favorite to maybe not be
12:37the second wide receiver in snaps because Demarcus Robinson actually played a pretty decent role for them in week one. And Demarcus Robinson's like a
12:44capable exceiver in this system.
12:47Actually allowed them to move move Mike Evans into the slot, which I think was really encouraging for Mike Evans's seasonl long outlook. as long as he can
12:54stay healthy that um Demarcus Robinson can kind of play not a not a sacrificial exceed role but like a on ball X allow
13:00them to move Mike around. I think that's pretty encouraging for Mike Evans's outlook. So Debo will remain kind of the wide receiver three and maybe give you
13:08some moments throughout the early part of the season before Stribbling comes back. I do think once dribbling gets back like he'll he'll push Debo and he
13:14was actually leading the team in snaps before he went down. But I mean, man, the next two matchup for matchups for
13:22San Francisco, Dolphins defense, Cardinals, obviously Cardinals. Hey, shout out to the Cardinals. Curious among us. We're going to talk about a
13:29Cardinals player on this very video here in a moment. But, uh, you know, still a defense I think probably we can target.
13:35Those two matchups there. I think Debo is going to have some viability in both of his next two games. Okay. Fourth
13:44surprising fantasy finish of week number one. Antonio Williams. Antonio Williams, baby. Shout out. Washington Commanders rookie wide receiver was wide receiver
13:5414 on the week. Man, incredible to see this from Antonio Williams who was a really nice prospect for this team. Um I
14:04I mean it was bizarre that you didn't really hear a lot from him and you started to kind I mean I remember seeing
14:11that he played super late in that first preseason game and people were like ah it's not going to happen for Williams as
14:17a rookie. Well, it sure happened in week number one. Okay, sure happened for Antonio Williams in week number one. We saw him uh not really run out
14:25necessarily as a starter, which is why I'm I'm just going to kind of file this one away. I'm not saying it's an instant
14:31fantasy success like, oh, let's we got to get Antonio Williams into our fantasy football lineups. We got to pick him up
14:38off waiverss because we do need him to play a little bit more than what he did in week one. Um, again, like we still
14:45have Terry McLuren who predictably was kind of just thrown to the Wolves and thrown to the coverage of the Eagles
14:55backend defenders. You know, listen, that's going to happen. Vic Fanjo, you're not going to get those deep passes on his defense. And that is what
15:04happened in week one against the team. I mean, 31% routes in the slot for Terry McLuren. That's a good sign. Steph Diggs
15:1460%. Okay, so that's th those are encouraging numbers for McLuren.
15:18Definitely encouraging for Diggs. It was again kind of predictable that it wasn't going to happen for McLuren here in this particular game. 5.5 the average depth
15:28of target for McLuren too. That was a little interesting to see. Meanwhile, Antonio Williams, the guy we're actually talking about here, um he only ran a
15:34route on 44% of the dropbacks according to Sumer Sports, which was actually fifth among the wide receivers. Now, the good news is he was targeted on 36% of
15:45those routes. He played and got the ball when he was on the field. That was really encouraging to see some short
15:53stuff, but also some deeper things as well for Antonio Williams. 55 airs was behind Deami Brown and Stefon Diggs, but pretty compressive considering that he
16:03was only on the field for a few snaps.
16:04So, he's definitely somebody I want to take a look at on tape, see a little bit more from, but just what I saw of
16:10Williams in week one. I mean, crafty route runner, knows how to get open, and that's a tough defense that he was
16:17playing in week one. So, encouraging debut for Antonio Williams. I think if you have him in Dynasty, you're feeling like, all right, let's let's let's hang
16:24on to this and see what happens on a depth chart with a couple veterans and the whole deal. Am I projecting him for
16:30a big week two? Probably not. probably not for Antonio Williams, but this was really encouraging again for a guy that, like I said, man, you you had to be
16:39pretty nervous about what you saw, uh, you know, through the training camp reports and the whole deal. I'm feeling a whole hell of a lot better about
16:47Antonio Williams right now. Okay, let's talk about the Philadelphia Eagles here for our fifth in the same game. Fifth surprising fantasy receiver, my boy
16:57Dantavian Wixs, wide receiver 15. You'll never be able to take this away from us.
17:02Okay, you'll never be able to take this away from Wix Nation. Now, again, let's go pros and cons on this whole deal.
17:08Let's go pros and cons on this whole deal. Uh Wix was definitely a full-time player for this team. He ran 31 routes,
17:15which was second on the team behind Dvonte Smith. Mai Lemon was the wide receiver three. He ran 29 routes. Now, um look, it was not a great debut for
17:25Mai Lemon, but he's a guy I'm just practicing patience with in general.
17:30We're going to give it some time on the Mai Lemon thing because he missed a ton of offseason activities, training camp,
17:35the whole deal with the hamstring injury. We'll give it some time with Lemon. That being said, until Lemon, you know, officially pops like Wix is going
17:42to be out there. And if he's going to put Mikey Sanders, Mikey Sanders still in the blender like he did as a route
17:48runner in week number one. He's not going to just give that job up just because Mai Lemon is a first round pick.
17:53And and like I said, Lemon played a decent bit here, too. And we know based on Wix's charting early in his career,
18:00he can win on the routes that really matter to this offense, particularly the outcuts. This is something I've talked about with Wix in the deep sleepers
18:06video. Um, you know, 82.4% success rate on out routes, corner routes. Like you saw that's how he scored the touchdown was he sold on the inside like
18:15threatened there and then snapped it out. What did Dantavian Wix? He also scored a big play on a vertical route.
18:21like he knows how to get off the line, stack defenders, and make plays down the football field. I look, he's got to
18:28continue the consistency. He's got to continue catching the ball, sure. But what we saw in week one was the number two receiver for the Philadelphia
18:36Eagles. Uh Mai Lemon also had four targets just like Dantavian Wixs did, but a lot of those were designer targets. Average depth of target was
18:44literally zero yards down the field for Mai Lemon. Meanwhile, Dantavian Wixs was almost 20 area yards per target. So, definitely if that continues, there's
18:53going to be volatility for Dantavian Wix behind Devonte Smith, who's the clear-cut number one receiver, 20% target share in week number one. Uh, but
19:01I think the role can sustain for Wix.
19:03And look, the next two matchups for the Philadelphia Eagles, Titans, Bears. Um, yeah, those are two matchups where I think that Dantavan Wixs is going to be
19:13on the flex radar, especially if you start three plus receivers. Like, he's going to be a guy that you're going to
19:19want to get into lineups against those two defenses. It was a little bit up and down for sure for the Eagles offense,
19:24but I think we saw some encouraging parts in the passing game in particular, and Wix was one of those very encouraging
19:33parts of the passing game. Oh man, it feels it feels good to talk positivity about Dantavian Wix, even if it's just
19:39for one week, but I think it's going to be for a couple more weeks here with that schedule. Now, let's take a quick
19:44break to talk about our sponsor, Lisa, who makes mattresses that you can count on. They're not going to fade like some
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20:05doing this just because they're a sponsor. Legitimately, it is an amazing mattress. Week one was last night. Okay, Sunday night. It is a full day of work
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20:20feel bad for me and my job. I have the best job in the world. I would not trade this for anything else. That being said,
20:25you know, it's a long day. Get up early on Fantasy Football Live with Yahoo. I'm I'm watching games all throughout the
20:33day. It's a long day. Get late a little late at night. Recap shows in. Solo recap show is in over there on the Yahoo
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20:43It's a long day. You know what I'm looking forward to? The end of that long day sliding into my Lisa mattress and
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21:01Uh my wife is loving it. I'm loving it.
21:04We're both just crushing the sleep now at this point. And she's a nursing student as well. She's she's in nursing school, so she actually needs the sleep
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21:33Okay, so we love Lisa. Shout out to Lisa. Thank you to them for sponsoring this. Look at some week one surprising
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22:03Offers are subject to change. Okay, let's get back to some of these week one surprises. And now we're going to take a
22:09look at some week one surprising roles for some guys throughout the course of the NFL. Okay, number one, little two-parter here. We got five and five.
22:17One is Khalif Raymond, Bears wide receiver. He was targeted on 41% of his routes and he led the Bears in receiving. I know there is just a ton of
22:25weeping and nashing of teeth right now about the Chicago Bears and how they scored 59 freaking points. And Coulson Lovelin, two targets, zero catches, no
22:36production. Luther Burton, fine day.
22:39Roman, one big catch, but that was it.
22:42What are we talking about here? H how could this happen? How could this happen? that Khif Raymond 35% target share catches 89% of his passes. He
22:53leads the team in receiving.
22:56That's concerning. I get that people are freaked out about it. I I will say on the Coulson Lovelin part of this, two
23:01targets, that's obviously concerning, but was a full-time player. And I I will say the two targets that went to Coulson Loveland's way during this game were
23:08probably Caleb Williams' two worst just most inaccurate throws of the day. Oh, big deal. Two throws. They they smoked the Panthers, scored 59 points. I'm not
23:15crushing Caleb for that. I thought he looked awesome in week one. Looked fast as hell, too. That's kind of the big
23:20overarching takeaway here from all these Bears guys in week number one is that like Caleb looked awesome. The offense was just like it's running downhill on
23:30the Panthers. This looked like the exact offense that I expected it to be, which is one of the best in the NFL. The
23:37quarterback looks like he's, as Ben Johnson said, ahead of the offense. He's in full command of this whole thing.
23:43He's finding checkdowns. He's finding outlets to scramble when they're there.
23:48And like I said, my god, he he said he lost weight this off seasonason. He said he got in better shape. He looks it he
23:52looks like the most explosive player on the football field right now. I thought Caleb was incredible in week one. So, yes. Did that go to Khalif Raymond? Did
24:01Cole KT score a sick touchdown? Did Jay Walker, who I kind of think Jay Walker is like a little bit good. I'm not
24:07saying he's going to be this massive breakout or anything, but like a useful player for the Chicago Bears as a rotational guy. Like every time I'm
24:13watching a Bears receiver, I see Jay Walker make a cool play in tight coverage. He scores a one-y touchdown.
24:19Was that tilting? Totally. That being said, am I freaking out about these Bears wide receivers? No. Especially because Roma Dunay, he only runs a route
24:26on uh you know, he doesn't play a ton of snaps. He played 34 snaps in this game.
24:30Burden was 50. Clear was 42.
24:33I I think that's going to change when Roman Dun is a little healthier. He came into this one with a calf injury. Uh I
24:39talked to Rome back in February and he mentioned the biggest hurdle for him was when he's not getting the full practices
24:45in like falling out of rhythm in the passing game. So I expect his snaps to come up. I wouldn't worry about that. Uh
24:51Khalif Raymond, here's the deal. Like he's a guy that knows the offense. He was with Ben Johnson in Detroit. Ben Johnson loves Khif Raymond. Like he's
24:58not going to go away. He's not going to disappear. But will he be one of the guys that is the most productive
25:03receiver in the offense every single week? No. I I don't think so. The one thing I am monitoring is just like who's
25:10the clear-cut third receiver here. Is it in terms of snaps, like is it Raymond or is it Luther Burton? I mean, I think
25:17Burton will out snap. Again, 50 snaps in this game, but he wasn't consistently on the field in some of the heavier
25:23personal packages. That's the split that I think is most interesting here. Uh, but overall I'm coming out of week one feeling exactly as I did with the Bears
25:31pass catchers coming in, which is you want all these guys and the fact that the offense looked sick in week one and
25:36could access some of these ancillary players like that just gives them more answers. That's more for other teams to prepare for. So feeling good about
25:44Lovelin Burden and Odunay not worried about it too much. I think Raymond is going to continue to be a part of the
25:50offense because he's a good smart player and knows the system. But will he be mo this productive every single week? I do
25:56tend to doubt that. Okay, number two surprising week one role here was Kendrick Bourne. Kind of along the same vein, he was targeted on 27% of his
26:06routes. He outproduced both Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson. Um Bourne caught eight passes, all eight of his targets for 75 yards. Was a consistent
26:17chain mover for this team. And you know, I do think there is some sustainability with Kendrick Bourne's role. He ran a
26:25route on over 70% of the drop backs and he's again very similar vein to what we just talked about with Khalif Raymond
26:31where you know this guy has played with Mike Laflur before they were together from 2017 to 2020 with the San Francisco
26:4349ers when Mike Laflur was uh involved in the pass game was the wide receivers's coach. So Kendrick Bourne was definitely a nice signing for this
26:50team and he's playing the slot role in the offense. There's no doubt about that. We see over the course of the game
26:58that Kendrick Bourne ran 64% of his routes from the slot. It was 12% for Marvin Harrison and 31% for Michael Wilson. So that is obviously a key role
27:09in this offense. You're going to get a ton of looks there. And he was the safety valve of the offense. I do think
27:15the air yards are not perfectly like they're not going to look like this every single week is what I mean to say,
27:21but they're directionally accurate in that it was Kendrick Bourne, five air yards per target. He was kind of the layup receiver. Marvin Harrison Jr. 24
27:29yards per target. He's going to be the vertical guy. He will be volatile on a week- toeek basis. you know, he had a
27:34one kind of all of McBride, Wilson, and um and Marv, they all had like one kind of you could chart I'd have to like go
27:43back and watch on film charted as a drop or like lost contested catch, something like that. Depends on how you grade it,
27:49but all of them had a play where they lost the the catchoint battle in week number one. That's not going to
27:55obviously be the case every single week.
27:57All those guys I I have as a circle of trust player in terms of catching the football really. really. I mean,
28:02Brousette was just in control of this offense in week one. And you guys can go back and watch the Cardinals Curious
28:07video that I did with Jordan Rodriguez to why I was not surprised that the offense looked this good in week one.
28:12The there's talented players and like Laflur knows what he's doing. And Kendrick Bourne is one of those talented players. We actually talked about
28:18Kendrick Bourne in that video and Jordan, you know, made clear like don't forget about this guy. Mike Laflur loves him. He's smart. He can play in the
28:26slot. He can be a part of like the motions and shifts. That's one thing to note about a guy like Kendrick Bourne.
28:31And you know, if you think about how disorganized the Chargers offense looked, you think about how disorganized the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense looked
28:37at times this week. Those are two teams breaking in a new play caller that has all these shifts and motions and the
28:44whole deal. That's a lot on some of these young players early on. Uh you saw this last year with the Bears and the
28:50Jags. Like they were just getting pre- snap penalty, pre- snap penalty, pre- snap penalty cuz there's so much to kind of handle pre- snap. When you have a vet
28:58like Kendrick Bourne, it helps settle the wide receiver room down. And again, if you just watch this game, and I watched this game from start to finish
29:04on Sunday with Jakob Ret, like he was in control of the whole offense, and it was because they weren't getting a bunch of
29:09dumb penalties. They weren't getting off schedule here where the Arizona Cardinals. And a big part of that was like Kendrick Bourne was a safe outlet
29:16receiver against a defense in LA that obviously in previous seasons under Jesse Mter. We'll see what it looks like over the course of the year with Chris
29:24Olirri. Like they run a ton of zone coverage. you do not push the ball deep into the teeth of that defense. So
29:32was just taking what was there and what was there was Kendrick Bourne. So is Bourne going to be this productive every
29:36single week? Uh yeah pro probably not probably not but he can win contested catches. Marv had a contested catch win.
29:46Michael Wilson had a contested catch win. I think these guys are going to be fine over the course of the season. Not
29:52too worried about that. I think the fact that the offense looked really good, that's where I'm going here. But that being said, that being said, week two
30:01against the Seahawks, it's going to be tough for the Cardinals. Okay? And that is going to make me nervous to start
30:05guys like Marv and Michael Wilson, especially if Kendrick Bourne's role continues to ascend here. So, I kind of maintain that my thought with all these
30:13Cardinals pass catchers is it's going to be like a slow takeoff this year for this offense and then next season we
30:20really see it all come together for these guys. But um Kendrick Bourne's not going to go away. He's definitely going to be a part of the proceedings. Really
30:27interesting player for the Arizona Cardinals. Man, Cardinals curious. We love to see it. Okay, third surprising role and output really. Matthew Golden, wide
30:37receiver, seven on the week in yards and 90 plus% of the routes in week number one. He was out there for basically
30:46every single play was Matthew Golden.
30:50And he was really productive as well.
30:52Basically no slot work either for Matthew Golden. Like he was a pure perimeter player for them. 40 routes led the team as I mentioned. Um target on
31:0330% of his routes, 30% target share, led the team. Now it was definitely a weird game script uh for the Packers. Uh
31:10Matthew Golden also had a couple of drops in this game as well. So, you know, I would not say this was like a
31:15perfect showing, but you know, part of the thing that you got to like about Golden is the vertical route tree. Like
31:20even in this rookie year, and I've kind of considered myself to be a Matthew Golden Centrist coming out of his rookie
31:25year where I didn't think the profile was so bad that it's like, oh my god, this he's an instant bust. Can't do
31:30anything. Um, and I also wouldn't say that it was so good. I was like, what the hell were these guys doing? Like,
31:37what? They weren't playing this guy enough. The one thing I think that is really key difference in week one versus what we saw last year, like some of this
31:45alignment data that's in the profile here, 54% of his sample snaps on the outside, 38% in the slot, and almost 8%
31:53from the back field, dead even rate on and off ball. I think Matthew Golden having a more clear role as a strict
32:02boundary receiver is much better for him than what we saw last year where he was kind of sort of playing Jaden Reed's
32:09role and that's just like not the routes he's good on. You want him to really be able to unfurl his routes and we're
32:15seeing that on this route chart. Nines, posts, corners, outs. Uh really interested to go back and chart Matthew Golden. He will absolutely be a part of
32:24the week one notebook. And you know, my instinct coming to this year was that we'd see Jaden Reed play more. We did
32:30not say play. We did not see Jaden Reed play more uh this year. He was not a full-time player. He was well behind
32:36Matthew Golden in routes and Christian Watson. 29 routes. We'll see if that changes. Um but man, you know, I will definitely say it's looking very wrong
32:47to have preferred Jaden Reed to Matthew Golden coming out of week one. Uh, so my centrism on Matthew Golden here, I'm
32:54moving a little bit closer to the pro Matthew Golden side, but I want to see more from him, of course, but definitely
32:59somebody that I'm open to being a good player because that was kind of what the profile was pointing us towards. So,
33:06yeah, we'll see about Matthew Golden.
33:08Really impressive week one. Uh, and I do think he's going to be in, you know, wide receiver three consideration. his a, you know, to be clear, like I'm I'm
33:15flogging myself and and saying like I was wrong about Jaden Reed and Matthew Golden, but I wasn't out on Golden by
33:20any means. I still had him ahead of ADP from an overall standpoint. They play the Jets and the Falcons the next couple
33:26weeks. They'll play the Bucks and then the Bears. Like, it's a nice schedule and I could see a path here for Matthew
33:30Golden emerging as, you know, an every week wide receiver three, maybe at worst, especially if the Packers continue to throw the football around
33:37the yard. Okay, two quick rookies to talk through here before we wrap this one up. Caleb Douglas was wide receiver eight on the week in yards and he really
33:49played a full-time role for the Miami Dolphins. Now, that's not totally surprising, is it? That Matthew go, excuse me, that Caleb Douglas was a
33:57full-time player. 37 routes for Malik Washington, 32 routes for Caleb Douglas.
34:02Those were top two on the team. Chris Bell predictably was the wide receiver three. You know, that's not totally surprising. whatsoever, but it was how
34:09productive Caleb Douglas is in week one.
34:12Number one among rookies in target share, catches, yards, yards after the catch. Most receiving yards in a rookie debut since Puka with 119 yards. Okay,
34:23that's pretty surprising there for Caleb Douglas, the third round receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Now, in fairness, I've been talking about Caleb Douglas as
34:32a guy that like people don't want to pay attention to because he was a surprise draft pick. You know, everybody loves
34:37Chris Bell and I think Chris Bell is a really enticing and intriguing player.
34:41You know, he had one catch in this game for 25 yards, but it was Malik Washington and Caleb Douglas were the
34:46top two receivers on the team. Pretty interesting. Malik Washington got 17 yards per target. Like wasn't just used as a Mickey Mouse receiver. He's
34:52somebody maybe I can go take a look at, but Caleb Douglas downfield receiver, outside receiver, did run 31% of his snaps routes from the slot. Everybody
35:03kind of got a decent bit of slot work here. 25% for Chris Bell, 31% for Caleb Douglas, and obviously Malik Washington,
35:0846% led the team. That's good to see.
35:11Um, I'm really encouraged by the fact that Caleb Douglas has earned this role, got this role early, and was productive right away. Now, it's a game against the
35:18Raiders for the Dolphins. It's going to get a little bit more difficult, but I do think he's an interesting player heading into week two and somebody that
35:24could continue to hold down a role for a team that is looking for pass catchers.
35:29So, people have been very slow to buy into the Caleb Douglas experience. I am not going to be slow to buy into the
35:35Caleb Douglas experience. I think he is an interesting player and somebody that certainly will be one of the rookies I want to chart on the site
35:42receptionperception.com throughout the course of the season.
35:45Last one is another rookie here who was wide receiver six in routes, excuse me, wide receiver six, Denzel Boston in route percentage. 97% route percentage
35:55for the Cleveland Browns second round rookie receiver that actually led the team. Ran more routes than Jerry Judy.
36:02ran more routes than Casey Conpsion.
36:05Now, he did score a touchdown in this one.
36:08Oh my god, it was so late in the game.
36:10The Jags just obliterated the Cleveland Browns. Deshun Watson is abhorrent. It's like offensive to watch Deshaawn Watson play quarterback at this point. He
36:18doesn't care. We don't care. Give me a break. They were they were completely disorganized on this offensive perform.
36:24It was it was rough. It was really rough to watch Deshawn, which is not surprising at this point in his career.
36:30Uh, but he did unfurl a deep pass to our guy Denzel Boston who averaged 29 airs per target in this game. You know,
36:39Boston had a lot of rave reviews from training camp. Uh, he was clearly earned the job as the X receiver. Jerry Judy is the Z and Casey
36:51Conpsion is the slot. Uh, they did design some stuff for Casey. They got him plays underneath. You know, I think when we get a quarterback change, all of
36:59these guys will be more interesting here. Um, average depth of target though, it wasn't just Mickey Mouse stuff for Casey Conpion. It was 13
37:06almost area yards per target. Uh, Denzel Boston and Casey Conpion are a great rookie duo for the long term. I don't
37:13know how much we'll see from them because even I mean Watson, they can't they might start him again in week two.
37:18My thought has been they're just waiting till that week three home debut against the Panthers to start Shador Sanders and they'll go from there. I don't even know
37:26if Shadore is the answer. Obviously, the fact that he couldn't just like shut the door on Watson is is discouraging. So,
37:32yeah, there's there's a lot going on here, but if you have Denzel Boston at Dynasty, awesome to see him earn a role
37:38right away as the full-time exceiver for this team because like Jerry Judy can't play X. They found that out last year.
37:44Their wide receiver coach even talked about that a little bit. Very mystifying usage from Judy for the 2024, excuse me, 2025 Cleveland Browns. Really like what
37:52we've seen so far from Boston's usage, from Casey's usage. Just got to get better quarterback play. Don't know if we're going to get that this year, but
37:57good to see him earn a full-time role immediately. All right, that is going to do it here for this edition on the
38:04channel. Week one surprises in the books. We had 10 for you. We had five with surprising roles, five surprising production, and you know, a little bit
38:13of a mix along the way, right? For some of these guys, they mix it together.
38:17Shout out to our sponsors, Lisa, for helping us with this episode. We love Lisa. We think you guys will as well.
38:23Remember, you can find in the description and the pinned comment the code to get a discount on your mattress today. That's going to do it for us on
38:30this one. Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already for more wide receiver content. We're going to be doing a ton of stuff on the channel this
38:36year. And definitely check out receptionperception.com. The week one charting notebook will be on the site by the end of the week and every single
38:42week I'll be updating that bad boy with more and more wide receivers. All right, I will check you guys out in the next
38:48video.
