Seven Players Who Exploded Onto The Dynasty Radar In Week One

Week one is in the books, and now is the time for dynasty managers to react, or overreact, to the results on the field. Every year, someone becomes the darling of dynasty fantasy football waiver wires. While it’s exciting to think you have used your FAAB on the next big thing, more often than not, things even out. Here are seven players who saw their dynasty stock go up in week one, and if we think they’re worth the hype!

Isaiah Likely, TE BAL

Likely was half a toenail away from one of the all-time tight end games in NFL history. Even without the final, potential game-winning touchdown, he dominated the position in week one. He was easily the TE1 for the week, going for 26.1 PPR points on 9 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. The final touchdown would have pushed him up another eight points, which would have made him the number-one scorer for the week. Likely was obviously already on the dynasty radar, but he’ll be a candidate for starting lineups going forward. He was on 91% of Sleeper dynasty rosters coming into the week, but he was only started in 7%.

With Likely’s outstanding game, Mark Andrews managers have to be panicking. He only caught two balls, on two targets, for 14 measly yards. It’s easy to overreact to this, but it’s worth diving into the tape. Andrews was clearly the focal point of the Chiefs’ defense, just as he has been every time these two teams have faced off. Steve Spagnuolo takes Andrews out of games, and he does it very well. He played more snaps than Likely on Thursday (59 vs. 53) and ran more routes (38 vs. 35). He also lined up in the slot 60% of the time, compared to Likely who was in the slot 52% of the time. They were on the field together plenty, it’s clear that tight end is going to be a key cog in this offense. It’s an upgrade for Likely and a downgrade for Andrews after one week, but it may be worth under-reacting to this game. Mark Andrews may be a good buy-low candidate.

Alec Pierce, WR IND

Pierce was on the receiving end of the best play of week one. It’s enough to take a name that has been mostly ignored in dynasty leagues over the past few seasons. After a decent rookie season, Pierce only scored 5.6 PPR points per game last year. He’s 52% rostered in Sleeper dynasty leagues, and that number will absolutely go up this week after this catch.

ANTHONY RICHARDSON 60-YARD DIME TO ALEC PIERCE.

📺: #HOUvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/p0xddm5Kl1

— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024

Pierce may be a deep threat only for the Colts, but Richardson is one of the best deep-ball throwers in the National Football League. Pierce had two deep posts that he caught in this game, the second one went for 57 yards. He actually had to slow down on the second one, or it could’ve been another long touchdown. He hit a top speed of 21.21 MPH on the touchdown throw, the second-fastest speed for a ball carrier in the league in week one, per Next Gen stats. With top-end speed, physicality at the catch point, and Richardson chucking him deep balls, Pierce should be a primary pickup in dynasty leagues this week.

Derek Carr, QB NO

Take this with a Panther-sized grain of salt, but after one week Carr is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He finished as the number six quarterback for the week, and they didn’t need him to do anything in the fourth quarter. It was a blowout win for the Saints, and Carr looked really good running this offense.

Quietly, Carr has been outstanding going back to the end of last season. Over his last five games, he’s thrown for 16 touchdowns and just one interception. He’s completed 77% of his passes and he’s averaged 21.88 fantasy points per game in that span. In 2023, Josh Allen was the only quarterback to average more fantasy points per game than that. In superflex leagues especially, he’s worth keeping on your trade radar going forward.

Devaughn Vele, WR DEN

Move aside Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin, Vele may just be the second Broncos wide receiver you want on your dynasty teams going forward. In his NFL debut, the seventh-round pick caught eight balls from Bo Nix for 39 yards. With his eight receptions, he’s actually tied with Chris Godwin for third in the league in receptions through one week, behind Cooper Kupp and Likely. He was the WR27 despite only averaging a tick below five yards per catch. He’s on 52% of Sleeper dynasty rosters, that number will shoot up this week.

The hype for Vele grew in the preseason as it became clear that he was the preferred rookie wide receiver in Denver over Franklin, who was inactive in week one. He was even on the field more than Mims, who only played 12 snaps in week one. Sean Payton is a coach who has ‘his guys’, and it appears that Vele is one of his guys. After a standout camp, it’s clear that Vele will be very involved in the wide receiver rotation in Denver alongside Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds.

Bucky Irving, RB TB

Irving has officially put Rachaad White on notice one week into his rookie season. While White didn’t disappoint for fantasy managers, Irving was the more explosive runner, taking nine carries for 62 yards while White only managed 22 yards on 13 carries. White is coming off of a season where he was incredibly inefficient. He had another inefficient game on Sunday. If Irving continues to be the more explosive runner, it may be tough to keep him off the field.

Bucky Irving had 11 touches vs. the Commanders, while Rachaad White saw 21.

The rookie's 31-yard run highlighted his explosiveness.

White ran 19 routes to Irving's 7. Both eclipsed 75 scrimmage yards.

Curious to see how Irving's role develops:pic.twitter.com/hzlH2D84z3

— Moody (@EricNMoody) September 9, 2024

Irving is on 92% of dynasty rosters heading into his rookie season, so he was already on the dynasty radar. But, just like Likely, his dynasty stock went way up in this game. He can now be considered a desperation flex play going into week two, and he could continue to advance into RB2 status. The Bucs offense looked like one of the best in the league yesterday, and it looked even better when Irving was on the field. The buy low window for Irving isn’t quite closed yet, it might be worth making an offer for him.

Colby Parkinson, TE LAR

Going into Monday Night Football, it has been an atrocious week for fantasy football tight ends. Likely went off on Thursday night, but Kyle Pitts and Brock Bowers are the only tight ends in starting lineups who came through with double-digit fantasy points. Of the top tight ends in scoring this week, Parkinson is the one who stands out as an interesting add off of dynasty waiver wires, especially considering the devastating impact of another Puka Nacua injury in LA.

The Rams gave Parkinson a massive three-year, $22.5 million dollar contract, and it looked like a sound investment right away when he caught four balls for 47 yards in week one. He ran more routes than any other tight end in the league (42) and was on the field for 87% of the team’s offensive snaps. Other than Bowers, he was the highest scoring tight end who did not score a week one touchdown, overall he’s the TE7 for the week. Parkinson has topped out at 25 receptions in a season, but he appears to be a focal point of the Rams passing game after one game. With injuries to David Njoku and Jake Ferguson, plenty of dynasty managers will be desperate for tight ends this week. Parkinson, at 61% rostered on Sleeper, should be one of the first players you check on to see if he’s available.

Tank Bigsby, RB JAC

After an atrocious rookie season in Jacksonville, Bigsby had a career game in week one. He set career highs in snap rate (32%), rush yards (73), attempts (12), YPA (6.1) and fantasy points (7.3) in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. It’s eye-opening usage for Bigsby, especially after all of the talk about getting him more involved in the offense this off-season.

#Jaguars RBs yesterday:

SNAPS
1. Travis Etienne 37
2. Tank Bigsby 17

ROUTES
1. Travis Etienne 15
2. Tank Bigsby 4

OPPORTUNITIES
1. Travis Etienne 15
2. Tank Bigsby 12

* After this back-breaking fumble late in Q3, Bigsby out-touched ETN 5-3. pic.twitter.com/8agoz9RexH

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 9, 2024

It’s possible that Bigsby’s usage jumped because of Etienne’s horrible fumble that basically jump-started the Dolphins comeback victory. From that point on, Bigsby had five touches to Etienne’s three, but, even if that is the case, he showed up well enough on the ground to earn a bigger share of the running back pie in Jacksonville. Etienne is still the unquestioned leader, but Bigsby may become one of the most valuable handcuffs in the league. His 81% dynasty rostership should go up into the 90’s after his week one performance.

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Tim Riordan

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Tim has spent over a decade in sports radio as a host, analyst, play-by-play broadcaster and a producer. He’s been called the Tom Brady of dynasty commissioners and an expert of player values.