Ja'Marr Chase
vs Jeremiyah Love

“The underlying story is a game of contrasting approaches: Cincinnati leaned on a clean, mistake-free connection between Burrow and his two clear top targets (Chase and Higgins combined for 19 of Burrow’s 31 attempts with Chase scoring both touchdowns). Burrow himself turned in a mistake-free day (0 INT, 105.2 rating) despite 5 sacks. Burrow went 20-of-31 for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns.”

“Early in the game, Chase made a highlight-reel touchdown catch, pinpointing the ball over his shoulder, then spinning around to catch it next to the pylon and tap his feet in the process. Social media rightfully went insane, oogling over the play. Chase added another touchdown reception later in the third quarter, and he led Cincinnati with seven receptions.”

“Cincy’s offensive line held up well, too, and Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase will have better days ahead, make no mistake about that. 9 — Chicago Bears (1-0, UP 3) Last week: W 59-37 vs. Carolina Panthers I don’t care what the defense looked like — put up 59 points in an NFL game and I’ll talk about you glowingly.”

“Even with that accounted for, Chase is averaging 19.9 PPG in his last 49 regular-season games. Relax, Chase will be fine. If his manager in your league is panicking, this may be your only chance to buy (somewhat) low.”

“Ja’Marr Chase is projected as the WR1 this week, with the WR1 value score at both DFS sites. In 34 games with Burrow playing at least 20 snaps since 2024, Chase has tallied 7.2 receptions per game, 91.7 receiving yards per game, 26 receiving touchdowns, 22.15 DraftKings points per game, 20.12 expected DraftKings points per game, 17.48 FanDuel points per game and 16.48 expected FanDuel points per game.”

“Mike takes the layup with Chase at the 1.03. If you are not getting one of the top RBs in Jahmyr Gibbs or Bijan Robinson, how can you go wrong with a player who has finished as WR1 and WR4 the last two seasons? Chase should be operating as the top target for a fully healthy Joe Burrow, at least to start the season, and that has always been a recipe for success.”

“To start, I went with Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals have (at least on paper) one of the easiest schedules in the NFL this season, and Chase should have a target share of 30% or higher.”

“Chase is the WR1 in my rankings. Last year, he finished as the WR4, averaging 19.6 PPR fantasy points per game despite missing one contest with an injury and playing without Joe Burrow for half the season.”

“For two consecutive years, Chase has led the league in targets with 175 and 185, respectively. Chase also has two years with 1400 or more receiving yards, and his consistency is worth paying for.”

“Scoring less than 10 minutes into his professional debut, it seemed as if Love would instantly be living up to the pre-season hype and hefty draft capital that had been placed on him by the fantasy community…but almost as soon as Arizona’s new #4 found the end zone… Tyler Allgeier decided to play the villain and out-touched Love on his debut, 17 carries to 11. Ok, maybe we are just letting the newbie find his feet; we don’t want to throw him into the deep end too early…right? Well, kinda.”

“Unfortunately, a bell-cow role for Love might not be on the horizon, either. Mike LaFleur’s explanation for keeping Allgeier on the field for the game’s final drive voiced trust in Allgeier’s pass protection. However, Love also mentioned the team having a plan to manage his workload.”

“The Ballers are convinced of Jeremiyah Love ’s breakout for this season, but Love’s dynasty stock is back on track after taking a slight dip in the first two weeks of the season.”

“Be Patient with Rookie RBs Jeremiyah Love played 55 snaps to Allgeier’s 31, but the touches were much more lopsided: 26 to six. Allgeier still handled passing-down work, particularly pass protection, but received just two carries. Love getting five carries on the opening drive also tells us ARI wanted him involved immediately.”

“Two games into his NFL career, Jeremiyah Love’s usage has been absolutely nothing to write home about. He has been out-carried by Tyler Allgeier 22 to 20. That’s not too surprising, but what is borderline shocking is that the boring veteran has run more routes than the dynamic rookie, 32 to 23.”

“Love has yet to see more than 13 touches or top 13 PPR points in a game.”

“We were unsure if Love was going to start in Game 1, and if he did, what would his role look like alongside veteran RB Tyler Allgeier ? After their win against the Los Angeles Chargers , it looks like the team will take a conservative approach with Love. He had 11 carries for 41 yards, caught two targets for nine yards, and hauled in his first NFL TD.”

“As the season goes along, Love will undoubtedly take on more of the workload.”

“Running Backs Rankings & Tiers 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros ECR – Expert Consensus Rankings Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love is expected to play despite a high-ankle sprain sustained in the Cardinals’ preseason opener. Love was electric in that game before the injury. He’s going to be a gem.”

“Unfortunately, Jeremiyah Love was a victim of a rug pull, seeing his touches drop dramatically from Week 3, and that rotation with Tyler Allgeier might stick around longer than we’d hoped. Safe Picks: Tucker Kraft : 13.5 half-PPR points Tetairoa McMillan : 38.2 half-PPR points Jeremiyah Love : 10.9 half-PPR points Week 5 Risky Fantasy Football Starts”