Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season saw a lot of duds produced by some stars on the offensive side of the ball. With your fantasy football seasons also kicking off this past week, there are some causes for concern for a few players.

The first week of the season was a weird one, as scoring felt like it was at a premium and the superstars that usually have big games struggled, with some laying goose eggs. Weather may have impacted a few contests, but it is far from the main reason why they struggled.

The following list includes players who failed to live up to expectations in Week 1, and if you should be worried about them already. While being in a full panic doesn’t necessarily mean you have to drop them from your fantasy football rosters, it certainly could be an option that you can easily justify.

No Need to Panic

Tee Higgins

While it was close to setting an NFL record, Tee Higgins and his catchless eight targets failed to do anything to help the cause for the Cincinnati Bengals. The entire offense struggled mightily on Sunday in the rain, and that includes Joe Burrow and his 82 passing yards on 14 completions.

There really isn’t a lot to worry about here for Higgins, as his eight targets was only second to Ja’Marr Chase in the afternoon. The Cincinnati offense is a high-powered unit that showed a lot of rust (something that could have been fixed if the starters played together in the preseason), and Higgins’ role is the partner in crime to Chase, so he will be just fine.

Geno Smith

The Seattle Seahawks came into Sunday’s game favored by 4.5 points, and left their Week 1 game having lost by 17. While Geno Smith did only throw for 112 yards, he did connect with DK Metcalf on a red-zone TD and had a turnover-free contest.

Week 1 for Smith should just be seen as a fluke, and having lost Tyler Lockett to a potential concussion took Smith’s safety valve out of the game. While Metcalf and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njiba both had down games, a second-half negative game script likely played a role in Smith not looking all that good. But Week 2 against the Lions should produce a better Smith.

Daniel Jones

It is tempting to rant about how poorly the New York Giants looked as a whole in this section in their Sunday Night Football game, but that point has already been thrown around social media far too much. The microscope still remains on Daniel Jones, however, after his dreadful performance.

It could be considered borderline concerning to discern any sort of positives from his performance, but Jones was forced to run for his life on many plays due to the poor play of his offensive line. Seven sacks, two interceptions, and two fumbles (both recovered by Jones) paints a very warning-filled picture, but this performance looks to be mostly on the shoulders of his blockers, not Jones.

Some Panic

Christian Kirk

With the off-season addition of Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk is no longer Trevor Lawrence’s top wide receiver. Sunday’s disappointing performance (one catch for nine yards on three targets) could be seen as a sign of things to come, especially since Kirk was out-targeted by Ridley, Zay Jones, Evan Engram, and Travis Etienne Jr.

You don’t just throw a 1,000-yard receiver away because you have a shiny new toy, but Kirk’s usage on Sunday suggests that maybe even Jones has passed him up in certain situations. Kirk is very talented and was given a contract that says so, but with Ridley in town and Kirk looking relegated to working out of the slot, something's got to give.

Najee Harris

Off-season comments about the staff wanting to get Jaylen Warren more involved started to come to fruition Sunday, as he earned only eight fewer snaps than Najee Harris in the game. Playing from behind limited any sort of consistent running game they planned to incorporate, but Warren still held a vulture-like role.

While Harris earned the start and doubled Warren’s carries (6 to 3), it was Warren who tripled Harris in the passing game, earning six targets compared to Harris’ two. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada was on thin ice last season and still is this year, so predicting how much of a lead-back role Harris will have is tough – so tread lightly with him, and even begin to look around and see if you can offload him now.

George Kittle

Sticking with the San Francisco – Pittsburgh affair, tight end George Kittle produced a mixed bag in the passing game on Sunday.

On one hand, Kittle’s six targets put him at third-most on the day, behind Brandon Aiyuk (8) and Deebo Samuel (7). But on the other hand, Kittle only earned one more target than Christian McCaffrey (5), and Kittle’s 3 receptions for 19 yards highlighted quite the inefficient game.

There are a lot of mouths to feed in the passing game for the Niners, and with both Aiyuk and Samuel earning the lion’s share of the receiver touches and McCaffrey constantly running routes, it will be tough to pencil in Kittle for a regular amount of targets, limiting his potential impact for your fantasy football roster.

Full Panic

D’Andre Swift

Putting D’Andre Swift in the ‘Full Panic’ section of this list comes with a caveat – as long as Kenneth Gainwell continues to earn the lead-back workload, then Swift’s chances at fantasy football relevancy are grim.

But with Gainwell showing up as not participating in two practices this week on a short week, Swift could be in line to show that Week 1 was a fluke. Even with all that said, there is too much uncertainty working against Swift at this point to have confidence in the former Lions running back.

Put in an interesting situation after having been an important off-season addition, Swift seems to be on the outside looking in. Even if Gainwell misses a week and Swift is Philly’s starter, the odds of Swift remaining the full-fledged starter moving forward would be tough to guarantee, not giving your fantasy football roster a steady contributor.

Drake London

One of the cardio leaders from Week 1, Drake London put on a lot of steps on his smartwatch but had no receptions to pay the bills. One lone target and no receptions was the worst on the team, even worse than quarterback Desmond Ridder, who hauled in one pass for negative six yards.

Both London and Kyle Pitts struggled on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, but at least Pitts hauled in two passes. It was actually rookie running back Bjian Robinson who led the team in receiving, as he hauled in all 6 of his targets for 27 yards and his first-career NFL touchdown.

London was drafted as a top-25 wide receiver for your fantasy football team, so things are looking pretty concerning at this point. If you can somehow offload London now for near his draft cost, then you should be looking to do so.

Cam Akers

It may, once again, be an uphill battle for Cam Akers in Los Angeles. Sean McVay and the Rams still seem to not want to feature Akers as their lead running back, this time choosing Kyren Williams instead.

Granted, Akers did earn 22 carries, but with a lot of that work coming once the Rams were already winning by a bunch. 22 carries turned into only 29 yards, but Akers did find the end zone.

On the contrary, Williams turned 15 carries into 59 yards and 2 TDs, and he also earned two targets on the day in the passing attack, compared to Akers’ zero. It will be incredibly tough to trust Cam Akers for any role on your fantasy football roster moving forward, so the red sirens are in full bore right now for Akers.