Fantasy Football takeaways from Chiefs-Lions Week 1 matchup

Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season is officially underway, with the Kansas City Chiefs dropping a home decision to the Detroit Lions 21-20. The game was projected to be one of the highest scoring slates of the week, but scoring was instead limited by incredibly sloppy offensive play from both sides, much to the dismay of pretty much all fantasy football players.

The very obvious lowlight of the Chiefs' opening game has to be Kadarius Toney, who probably couldn't have infuriated fantasy owners or Chiefs fans more if he tried. The former New York Giant dropped three balls completely uncontested, one of which resulting in a pick-six for the Lions and arguably being the difference between a win and a loss for his squad.

Second-year receiver Skyy Moore was equally disappointing for his fantasy owners, scoring just 0.4 points on a four-yard rush. Moore clearly had a disconnect with Patrick Mahomes because a 7.7 percent target share without Travis Kelce playing is just pitiful. It is true that No. 24 did not take advantage of the opportunities he was given, and he should only be in fantasy lineups under the most dire circumstances until he earns his keep.

Mahomes was the team's leading rusher with 45 yards, and only Isiah Pacheco had more rushing attempts (8). The Chiefs had pretty much nothing going on the ground, totaling just 90 yards on 23 attempts - good for 3.9 yards per carry. Clyde Edwards-Helaire started the game for Kansas City as part of a three-man rotation for the Chiefs. Edwards-Helaire took 23 percent of the snaps, Pacheco got 47 percent , and Jerick McKinnon played 31 percent. The Chiefs backfield is not one I currently feel great about for fantasy football purposes heading into Jacksonville for a Week 2 matchup with the Jaguars. However, it is encouraging that Pacheco paced the RB group in targets.

Mahomes was 2/12 passing in the second half when targeting wide receivers, with Richie James and Justyn Ross being the only two to come down with their targets. Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a nice first half but faded into obscurity as he does. Justin Watson and MVS definitely looked the best, and rookie Rashee Rice scored his first NFL touchdown in the first half on a one-yard pass from Mahomes. Perhaps Ross can take some snaps given his colleagues' struggles, but right now it would be wise to avoid having Chiefs receivers in fantasy lineups at all costs.

Jared Goff was Jared Goff tonight - hot and cold. Still, the former Los Angeles Ram was at least able to consistently find his outlets and feed the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown as much as possible. Most of the Lions' receivers were able to post respectable lines, and Josh Reynolds suprisingly led the team in receiving yards with 80. St. Brown closely followed with 71 and a score, and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta was able to post 39 on five catches.

"We might use [Jahmyr] Gibbs in some ways that people don’t quite think we might."

- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions

The Lions' ground game was a lot less glorious with David Montgomery unexpectedly (?) hogging 21 carries for 74 yards and a dastardly 3.5 YPC. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs was far more effective, converting his seven carries into 42 yards. Gibbs also caught two passes for 18 yards, but usage between these two backs is going to be a major concern. Montgomery outsnapped Gibbs 54-19, giving him 77 percent of the offensive snaps compared to the 27 percent of Gibbs. Lastly, Montgomery ran 20 routes to Gibbs' nine, which is frankly a gross mismanagement of the backfield.

To sum it up, only St. Brown and LaPorta were fantasy winners after this first game. Pretty much everyone else, aside from Mahomes and Kelce, will see their stocks suffer dramatically once fantasy owners can make roster moves at the end of the week. When it comes to guys like Moore and Gibbs, it's more wait-and-see, but it would come as a shock to no one to see Toney's playing time drastically reduced or benched altogether. Game one of Week 1 was a fantasy dud.