Through two weeks of your 2023 fantasy football season, and you have a general idea of what kind of roster you currently have. Whether a bonafide contender, wannabe playoff team, or a postseason contender, your roster certainly has some question marks on it.
Thankfully, Week 2 had a lot more scoring than the first week of the season, but with season-ending injuries to Nick Chubb and JK Dobbins, depth is key to help fill some roster gaps.
The following list of players are those who may have underperformed Week 2 or through the first two weeks of the NFL season. With three levels listed below, take a look and see if any of your players made this list.
No Need to Panic
It was the tale of two weeks for Calvin Ridley, who had a breakout Week 1 with the Jacksonville Jaguars but took a back seat to Christian Kirk in Week 2. With the Jaguars having struggled on offense, it was slim pickings all around to find a viable contributor from this roster last weekend.
While he did only haul in two receptions, Ridley earned a healthy eight targets against the Chiefs, a week after putting up 101 yards on 11 targets. The offense goes as Ridley does, so there should be no concerns about him moving forward.
Ja’Marr Chase
Unlike his quarterback, Ja’Marr Chase should be able to bounce back here after a slow start to his season, even if Joe Burrow takes a bit longer. Locked into his WR1 role, Chase is all about volume, and his 17 targets (3 behind Tee Higgins for team lead) are healthy enough to show that he is going to be just fine.
With matchups against a few easier secondaries upcoming (Rams, Titans, Cardinals), look for Chase to once again cement himself as one of the best in the league.
Some Panic
Cam Akers & Alexander Mattison
So here is the deal – after Wednesday’s trade of Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2026 pick swap, both he and Alexander Mattison are tied at the hip.
For Mattison, even after Dalvin Cook’s departure and no real threat in the backfield, he still struggled to produce. Week 2 saw Mattison handed a bad hand, as the Vikings pushed out their passing game script early and often. It’s tough to be even a little confident in Mattison moving forward, but he still technically holds the starting role, so he has some promise.
For Akers, finally getting that fresh start with the Vikings should help him recapture some fantasy football value. While holding the RB2 role in Minnesota, Akers could have a shot to take some of Mattison’s work away if the current starter remains inefficient. But with so many unknowns at this point, there is definitely a bunch of worry about Akers.
Joe Burrow
It may feel odd to be putting Joe Burrow in the some worry category, but he has not looked good to start the season. Seen by some as a potential MVP candidate this year, Burrow’s season has not gotten off to a good start.
His training camp injury derailed a healthy preseason, and the rust has carried into the regular season up to this point. Having only thrown for two touchdowns and completed less than 57 percent of his passes, Burrow has struggled – mightily. A get-right game in Week 3 against the Rams could be exactly what he needs, but even then, there still will be some question marks about if that game is just a flash in the pan or not.
Full Panic
Kyle Pitts
Eight targets through two games spells disaster for Kyle Pitts, a fantasy football weapon that we all want to be something but just won’t. The run-first offense down in Atlanta has been great at keeping PItts and Drake London out of fantasy relevancy, but London finally had a solid showing last week.
For Pitts, everything is there that points to him having a big role, and yet, the offense never features him enough. Things were the same way last year and they have no signs of improving, so if you can, cut your losses and move on from any shares of Pitts you may have.
The quarterback darling many touted as a bounceback fantasy football candidate this season, Justin Fields looks like a shell of his potential. Plenty of promise surrounding Fields and the fact that he had a full offseason with the offensive scheme, plus had a true WR1 in DJ Moore, but he still continues to struggle.
The Bears as a franchise really don’t have many things going their way at this point, and with the questionable resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams on Wednesday, things have gotten even worse. Fields needs to improve things and improve things fast – otherwise, he will be relegated to the waiver wire.
Najee Harris
It’s one thing to have control of a backfield and be touted by the offensive coaching staff, but it’s another thing to be touted up during the offseason, yet have your backup come in and begin to earn more and more work across the first two weeks.
Jaylen Warren is a serious issue for Najee Harris, and how both of these players fared in their Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup with the Browns is a perfect representation of their current roles in the offense.
While leading this team in carries (16). Harris is dead last on the team in receiving work (five targets, three receptions, two receiving yards). On the other hand, Warren has seven fewer carries than Harris but is second on the team in targets (12) and receiving yards (78) and tied for first in receptions (9).
Harris is very clearly on the outside looking in for the Pittsburgh offense, even though he still technically is the starter. Warren will continue to vulture work away from Harris, harming Harris and his high draft capital even more.
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