If slow starts are cause for concern in the real NFL world, they are even more anxiety-inducing in fantasy football, where teams usually get just 12 to 14 weeks to win enough games to reach the playoffs. Those feelings of consternation are only heightened when the poor numbers are being posted by high draft picks, players expected to be the pillars of fantasy success.
With that in mind, let’s look at several players, all of whom were drafted around the fourth round or higher, who may well be inspiring outright panic in their owners. And if you’re looking for Le’Veon Bell, please refer to last week’s article on that matter.
For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll ignore guys who are or have been dealing with injuries (Leonard Fournette, , Joe Mixon, , ), although that’s never fun, and players who had alarming outings in Week 1 but seem to have righted the ship (Kareem Hunt, , ).
, RB, Cardinals
Overall average draft position: 3rd; Positional rank through Week 2: 26th
It’s been a rough start in general for RBs named Johnson — Kerryon (31st) and Duke (58th!) haven’t exactly lit the world on fire, either — but the would-be stud from Arizona is without a doubt the most vexing commodity in Fantasyville these days. Last seen dominating through land, air and in the end zone in 2016 (leaving aside a 2017 season that ended abruptly in his first game), Johnson has accounted for just 85 yards on 22 carries and 33 yards on six receptions, with one touchdown.
At least as troubling as his overall stats is his usage thus far by first-year Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and offensive coordinator . As noted by my colleague Neil Greenberg — who went so far as to advise benching Johnson this week against the Bears — the RB’s share of the touches in Arizona’s offense has dropped from 48 percent in 2016 to 42 this season, and his snaps per game have plummeted from 60 to just 36.
In addition, he has been used far less in the passing game, and even his carries (as depressingly demonstrated in the Next Gen charts at NFL.com) have mostly consisted of him futilely slamming into the middle of the line. All this has occurred in the context of a Cardinals offense that has been an absolute train wreck overall, posting an atrociously low 175 total yards per game (by comparison, the woeful Bills are next-lowest at 223).
The only good news for Johnson owners is that Arizona’s attack has been so terrible, it really does have nowhere to go but up. Plus, there’s always the hope that rookie QB Josh Rosen, waiting in the wings as has somehow yet to get injured, can eventually provide a spark.
Oh, and Wilks acknowledged Monday that he and McCoy need to get Johnson “out in space” more, promising to have him run pass routes from the slot. That sounds promising, but at the moment it’s just talk, and not nearly enough to bring Johnson owners off the ledge.
, RB, Bills
ADP: 26; Positional rank: 39
Where to begin with McCoy, previously presumed to be the only enticing fantasy asset associated with the aforementioned woeful Bills? He has 89 total yards, five receptions, no touchdowns and a painful rib injury he’ll reportedly try to play through in Week 3. It’s worth noting that Buffalo’s third game involves a trip to Minnesota, which hardly seems like the place for QB Josh Allen to figure out how to play football at an NFL level.
And that’s all before mentioning McCoy’s ongoing legal issues, which have taken a couple of recent turns that can’t be described as “for the better,” as far as he’s concerned. Drafted as an RB2, Shady is essentially un-startable this week, with an outlook that seems to offer a greater likelihood of him being hurt, suspended or trapped in a league-worst offense than of him regaining his past effectiveness.
, RB, Broncos
ADP: 39; Positional rank: 36
If only his main obstacle to success was relegating to a lesser role. Thought to be the case in the preseason, that has happened, but lo and behold, Freeman himself has been shunted aside to an unexpected degree by . The first undrafted free agent to gain at least 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his first two NFL games, Lindsay has burst onto the scene and ranks 13th in fantasy scoring among RBs.
Freeman, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly been terrible, but he’s been a non-factor thus far in the passing game, and his owners’ dreams of a bellcow back appear likely to go unfulfilled. It’s possibly Lindsay is just having a hot start that will later prove to have been an aberration, but it’s also possible Freeman is limited to a Derrick Henry-like role.
Derrick Henry, RB, Titans
ADP: 40; Positional Rank: 55
How’s that for a segue? Yes, the role for Henry looks like a big lug who can run on first and second down, and if/when his team gets to the goal line, but who is otherwise useless on passing downs and/or when his team is playing from behind.
Henry is averaging 2.9 yards on 28 carries, with one touchdown and one reception for five yards, as teammate has looked much more like the back to own in Tennessee. Henry’s situation wouldn’t seem so dire if the Titans gave evidence of being a team likely to take leads into second halves, making use of Henry’s skill set, but that sadly does not seem to be the case.
, QB, Seahawks
ADP: 52; Positional Rank: 16
Given Seattle’s weakened receiving corps in the absence of Doug Baldwin and the departures of and , Wilson’s passing numbers — 524 yards on a 59.4 completion percentage, with five touchdowns and three interceptions — don’t seem bad at all, especially considering he just had to take on ‘s Bears in Chicago. Heck, Wilson has even managed to make a thing out of Will Dissly, for Pete Carroll’s sake.