The Wire

By Tommy Harvey

After Week 1, these are the top performers who are less than 50% owned in Yahoo 12-team leagues.  

QB

Gardner Minshew JAX 26% owned

19-20 173 yards 3 TDs 5 carries 19 yards

-The great American treasure known as Gardner Minshew shined in the Jags Week 1 win over the Colts.  In a somewhat weak division, Minshew should continue to put up big numbers for a team with an unknown running game.

Mitchell Trubisky CHI 3% owned

20-36 242 yards 3 TDs 3 carries 26 yards

-Trubisky looked good against the Lions.  He has good games and bad games, but he is worth a look...especially as a bye week or injury fill in.

Teddy Bridgewater CAR 22% owned

22-34 270 1TD 4 carries 26 yards

-With the weapons Bridgewater has surrounding him, Teddy Two-Gloves could work his way into the top-12 QB discussion.  Pick him up now before your league mates catch on.

David Carr LVR 18% owned

22-30 239 yards 1TD

-Carr is as undervalued as undervalued gets.  He puts up solid numbers every week and doesn't turn the ball over very often.  If you are in need, you could do worse.

Kirk Cousins MIN 34% owned

19-25 259 yards 2 TDs 1 INT 4 carries 34 yards

-It was a tale of two halves for Cousins in Week 1.  In the 1st half, Captain Kirk only threw the ball 4 times.  After the Vikings went down in the 2nd half, he was forced into slinging the rock...and looked pretty good doing so.  The only issue with Cousins is the game script for Minnesota.  Will they be a predominantly run-first offense, or will they allow Cousins to be as effective as we know he can be?

RB

Malcolm Brown LAR 26% owned

18 carries 79 yards 2 TDs; 4 targets 3 receptions 31 yards

-Brown looked every bit the part of a starting RB for the Rams in their Week 1 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.  You obviously shouldn't count on 2 TDs every week, but he has definite upside.  Brown should be owned in every league at this point.

Adrian Peterson DET 46% owned

14 carries 93 yards; 3 targets 3 receptions 21 yards

-Father Time never seems to catch up to the ageless Adrian Peterson.  The ancient one just shows up and balls out.  I would trust him more than either Kerryon Johnson or D'Andre Swift.

Benny Snell PIT 13% owned

19 carries 113 yards; 1 target

-Snell suddenly became the bellcow for the Steelers in Week 1.  James Conner was highly ineffective before he left with an injury and Snell took advantage of the opportunity, logging over 100 yards on the ground.  He will need to be more involved in the passing game to be considered a higher value in PPR leagues.  He should be rostered in all formats, as he could become the RB1 for Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.

Nyheim Hines IND 20% owned

7 carries 28 yards 1 TD; 8 targets 8 receptions 45 yards 1 TD

-Hines was a major part of the Colts' offense with the season ending injury to Marlon Mack.  He will continue to have a big role along with rookie Jonathan Taylor.  He should be owned in all leagues now.

Joshua Kelley LAC 13% owned

12 carries 60 yards 1 TD

-Kelley was extremely productive in the Chargers Week 1 victory over the Bengals.  He should be owned in all formats.

Jerick McKinnon SF 11% owned

3 carries 24 yards; 5 targets 3 receptions 20 yards 1 TD

-Jet McKinnon looked explosive for the 49ers against the Cardinals.  He was sent on multiple deep routes and he should be a major part of the offense if SF wants to make it back to the Super Bowl.

Myles Gaskin MIA 1% owned

9 carries 40 yards; 4 targets 4 receptions 26 yards 

-Gaskin had a solid week for the Dolphins despite being down the whole game.  He will have an uphill battle to take a bigger role away from Howard and Breida, but he is worth a look.

WR

Scotty Miller TB 6% owned

6 targets 5 receptions 73 yards

-Tom Brady loves Miller.  It looks like he could become the Bucs version of Wes Welker/Julian Edelman and should be owned in all leagues.

Russell Gage ATL 2% owned

12 targets 9 receptions 114 yards

-Gage was targeted 12 times in the Falcons loss to Seattle in Week 1.  I would temper expectations for him, however, as the lion's share of the targets will always go to Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley.  TE Hayden Hurst will also become a larger part of the offense.  Add him, but don't expect that type of opportunity very often for Gage.

Robby Anderson CAR 31% owned

8 targets 6 receptions 115 yards 1 TD

-Anderson looked like the Panthers WR1 in the Week 1 loss to Las Vegas.  We all know DJ Moore will be the main WR, but if he continues to accumulate the targets, Anderson could leak into low-end WR2 to high-end WR3 range.  He should be owned in all leagues.

Corey Davis TEN 5% owned

8 targets 7 receptions 101 yards

-Davis' 8 targets were tied for the team lead with AJ Brown and led the Titans with 101 yards receiving.  Davis was underwhelming during his 1st 3 seasons in Nashville, but some of that could have been QB related.  With Ryan Tannehill now at QB instead of Marcus Mariota, Davis could prove valuable in terms of fantasy production.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling GB 7% owned

6 targets 4 receptions 96 yards 1 TD

Allen Lazard GB 42% owned

4 targets 4 receptions 63 yards 1 TD; 1 carry 19 yards

-Lazard and MVS both found the endzone for the Packers in Week 1.  Both are playable as FLEX options and should be owned in all leagues.

Parris Campbell IND 22% owned

9 targets 6 receptions 71 yards; 1 carry 9 yards

-Campbell was Phillip Rivers' favorite target in the Colts' loss to Jacksonville.  He is a FLEX option right away and should be owned in all leagues.

TE

Dalton Schultz DAL <1% owned

4 targets 1 receptions 11 yards

-With the season ending ACL injury to Blake Jarwin, Schultz could end up with some decent games if you are in a pinch.

Logan Thomas WAS 2% owned

8 targets 4 receptions 37 yards 1 TD

-Thomas had a solid game in Week 1 for the Washington Football Team.  If he can improve on his 50% catch rate, Thomas could become a decent TE2 option.

Dawson Knox BUF 3% owned

3 targets 2 receptions 26 yards

-Knox did not receive many targets in the Week 1 victory for the Bills, but he should be more involved in the offense moving forward.