NFL Player News

Meyers (knee) caught four of six targets for 55 yards in Sunday's 20-7 loss to Miami.

Meyers showed no sign of the knee injury that landed him on the injury report throughout the week, as he led the Patriots in catches, targets and receiving yards. While New England's offense remains run-first, Meyers appears to have retained his role as the top target for game manager Mac Jones despite the offseason addition of DeVante Parker. The Patriots will travel to Pittsburgh in Week 2.

Claypool caught four passes on six targets for 18 yards and ran for 36 yards on six carries against Cincinnati on Sunday.

Claypool's awkward usage was one of the fruits of Mitch Trubisky's mediocre quarterback play, leaving Claypool with a lack of pass-catching opportunities. To get Claypool the ball, the Steelers instead had to give him carries, which yielded better results than Claypool's targets. It's not Claypool's fault, but it's a problem that might persist as long as Trubisky struggles behind center. The Steelers face New England in Week 2.

Chark caught four of eight targets for 52 yards with one touchdown during Sunday's 38-35 loss to the Eagles.

A couple of drops early on wasn't the start he wanted, but Chark ultimately put together a respectable performance in his regular-season debut with the Lions. Only Amon-Ra St. Brown was targeted more, and the highlight of the day for the passing game may have been the touchdown that Chark brought in despite solid coverage from cornerback Darius Slay. The question going forward is whether Chark will continue seeing heavy targets after averaging 6.1 targets per game during his time in Jacksonville. Given the number of weapons that Detroit has on offense, it's possible his fantasy production could be more streaky than reliable.

Smith failed to bring in any of his four targets in the Eagles' 38-35 win over the Lions on Sunday.

The speedster had a catch wiped out by penalty and ultimately didn't record an official reception for the first time in his young career. Ironically but perhaps not coincidentally, the closest Smith came to a shutout in his rookie campaign was against this same Lions squad back in last season's Week 8 meeting, so perhaps there is a schematic factor at play. Nevertheless, Smith is hardly a candidate to be sidelined much longer in the Eagles' air attack irrespective of the outsized presence of A.J. Brown, so a bounce-back effort could well be in store during a Week 2 home matchup against the Vikings on Monday night, Sept. 19.

Cooper secured three of six targets for 17 yards in the Browns' 26-24 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Cooper's final line underscores how modest his role was in his first taste of regular-season action with the Browns, but the veteran had a key nine-yard reception on the team's final drive to put the ball in position for a subsequent game-winning 58-yard field goal by rookie Cade York. Cooper's fantasy upside is likely going to be capped by Jacoby Brissett's typically cautious style of play for the time being, but fantasy managers will hope for an appreciable boost in a Week 2 home matchup against the Jets.

Johnson caught seven passes for 55 yards on 12 targets against Cincinnati on Sunday.

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky had trouble generating offense, as he completed 21 of 38 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown. As inefficient as Johnson's box score might look at a glance, it's somewhat impressive that he was able to catch those seven passes with such mediocre quarterback play. It's difficult to imagine Trubisky starting all year if he continues to play like this, but whoever is at quarterback for Pittsburgh will frequently throw the ball in Johnson's direction.

St. Brown caught eight of 12 targets for 64 yards with one touchdown during Sunday's 38-35 loss to the Eagles.

Many were pessimistic about St. Brown sustaining the production he had down the stretch of last season when both of T.J. Hockenson and D'Andre Swift were banged up and DJ Chark wasn't on the team. However, the second-year receiver kept on rolling in the season opener, matching the most targets he saw in any game last year while finding the end zone for the fifth consecutive game dating back to last season. With that said, St. Brown's 5.3 yards per target wasn't great, especially since he had yet to dip below 6.1 YPT since becoming the focal point of the passing game in 2021. Next up for St. Brown and the Lions is a home matchup against the Commanders.

Cooks secured seven of 12 targets for 82 yards in the Texans' 20-20 overtime tie with the Colts on Sunday.

Cooks' reception, receiving yardage and target totals were comfortably team highs, with the veteran unsurprisingly serving as Davis Mills' security blanket most of the afternoon. Cooks finished last season with a flourish that included at least seven receptions and a pair of 100-yard efforts in three of his last four games, and the rapport he built with Mills through the latter's rookie season paid off nicely Sunday. Cooks will next aim to produce against a tough Broncos secondary on the road in Week 2 next Sunday.

London caught five of seven targets for 74 yards during Sunday's 27-26 defeat against the Saints.

London started slow by failing to haul in his only target in the first quarter, but he caught all three of his targets for 46 yards in the second quarter, including a 31-yard reception that set up a last-second field goal from Younghoe Koo. The rookie first-round pick was certainly Marcus Mariota's favorite target in the season opener, leading the team in receptions, targets and yards. He'll look to build off his solid start against the Rams in Week 2.

Bateman caught two of five targets for 59 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-9 win over the Jets.

After watching Devin Duvernay score touchdowns of 25 and 17 yards, Bateman got behind the Jets secondary for a 55-yard touchdown in the third. Baltimore traded away Marquise Brown in the offseason and should consequently give both Duvernay and Bateman plenty of opportunities deep downfield. In Week 2, Bateman will take on shutdown cornerback Xavien Howard and the Dolphins.