For the third straight year, let’s take a look after each week at the players who performed well in fantasy despite being mostly unowned. In order to be eligible to be included, the player must have been owned in less than 25 percent of ESPN fantasy football leagues. One quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, and one tight end will be highlighted every week.
QB - Jared Goff, Lions (5.6%) - 338 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 14 rushing yards
After trailing 38-10, Goff and the Lions got on track about halfway through the third quarter as he threw two touchdowns in the last 19:23. Goff only equaled or surpassed his yardage and touchdown totals once last season (Week 11 - 376 yards, three touchdowns).
Jared Goff’s debut with the Detroit Lions did not go as planned. Despite that, his leadership characteristics were on display as the #Lions tried to comeback. And several people with the team saw it. WSN #Lions beat writer @KoryEWoods details more here:https://t.co/4d5y6kZNkG
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) September 13, 2021
RB - Elijah Mitchell, 49ers (0.7%) - 104 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
With Raheem Mostert suffering a knee injury early in the game on Sunday and third-round pick Trey Sermon a surprising scratch, sixth-round pick Elijah Mitchell became San Fransisco’s bell-cow back. A 38-yard score early in the second quarter gave Mitchell his first career touchdown.
Major shakeup in the 49ers backfield
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 13, 2021
Should you target Elijah Mitchell or Trey Sermon? 🤔 @PFF_NateJahnke:https://t.co/RjMu1WuCWF
RB - Mark Ingram II, Texans (11.0%) - 85 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
No one was quite sure how the playing time would be divvied out between Houston backs Mark Ingram II, Phillip Lindsay, and David Johnson. For Week 1 at least, Ingram received 26 carries (the other two combined for just 11), and Ingram got the scoring started with a first-quarter touchdown in the Texans’ win.
“We don’t care about none of them people”. 👀 A fired up Mark Ingram on the #texans making a statement today against the Jags. How has Tyrod Taylor handled this awkward QB situation? He also really loves this RB room. Our one on one on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/V75W13zlfD
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) September 12, 2021
WR - Sterling Shepard, Giants (24.8%) - 7 receptions, 113 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
With the big free-agent signing of Kenny Golladay and selecting Kadarius Toney in the first round, it was assumed Shepard would see fewer targets than previous seasons. Instead, the nine targets he received in Week 1 were higher than nine of his 12 appearances in 2020.
Giants: Spend $72M on Kenny Golladay in free agency and use a first-round pick on Kadarius Toney
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 13, 2021
Also Giants: Keep Sterling Shepard as their WR1 https://t.co/Kn6ZdFfN7P
WR - Christian Kirk, Cardinals (3.6%) - 5 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
Much like Shepard, Kirk was expected to not be as involved in Arizona’s offense due to the signing of A.J. Green and their second-round choice of Rondale Moore. Both of Kirk’s touchdowns came in the third quarter in what was a fabulous performance by quarterback Kyler Murray (four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown).
A look at some interesting snap counts for the @AZCardinals against the Titans; as well as the top PFF grades -- Chandler Jones had a big number, and Christian Kirk had one of the best games of his career, PFF-wise.https://t.co/u8PuMBOhtS
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 13, 2021
TE - Juwan Johnson, Saints (1.3%) - 3 receptions, 21 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
The day before his 25th birthday on Monday, Johnson had a breakout performance as an early birthday gift. He had just four catches in seven games last year, but Jameis Winston connected with him twice for scores (first two career touchdowns). Johnson’s 86.4 grade by Pro Football Focus was the second-highest by a Saints player in Week 1 only behind Winston according to USA Today.
Juwan Johnson, the Saints' "baby Megatron," showed the difference a year can makehttps://t.co/mQUFTbkquy
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) September 13, 2021
