Ja'Marr Chase
vs Kenneth Walker

“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.”

“Kenneth Walker has been making all the noise, but his current workload pace is unsustainable. The Chiefs should have a positive gamescript in Miami, presenting a strong opportunity to have an increase in carries. Entering the week ranked as the RB39, Johnson could have more opportunities to spell Walker, especially because history & conventional wisdom has shown Walker does best with fresh legs.”

“We got a look at the ceiling this offense, with more balance and operating around Kenneth Walker , can bring to Mahomes. This was more in line with 2022 Mahomes, when he was just getting everyone involved. Mahomes connected on 32 of 47 passes (68.1%) for 382 yards (8.1 Y/A) with 3 touchdowns.”

“Walker had 30 touches this past week, averaging nearly 5 YPC on the ground and 10 yards per reception on short dump-offs and screen passes. His presence allows Kansas City to be truly two-dimensional on offense for the first time in years, which is a scary prospect for the rest of the league. Patrick Mahomes openly gushed about Walker’s presence before this game started in an interview, saying that he wasn’t surprised by his success thus far, considering he was the Super Bowl MVP.”

“It’s just the fourth time since his rookie season that Walker has hit 23 carries in a game, including the Super Bowl, and if the Chiefs offense continues to revolve around K9, he’s in for a special run.”

“Kenneth Walker – 6 targets, 3 rec Rashee Rice – 2 targets, 2 rec Walker did most of his work on the ground while dominating Monday Night Football, but do not overlook his work through the air. He only saw six or more targets five times in his 62 career games as a Seahawk. That kind of work in the passing game will be useful for fantasy if things aren’t going so well on the ground.”

“Denver Broncos Walker had an exceptional debut. The reigning Super Bowl MVP had an incredible first outing with his new team, dominating the Broncos on the ground and fundamentally changing what Kansas City’s offense looked like. Patrick Mahomes had an up-and-down performance off his knee injury, but it didn’t matter.”

“The Seahawks made it clear this offseason they wanted Price in a role similar to what Kenneth Walker had last year, and if you remember correctly, we hated that role until Zach Charbonnet got injured. Jadarian Price every touch in his NFL debut He’s a natural fit in the Seahawks wide zone offense, averaging 5.2 yards/carry Wednesday night.”

“Joining Kansas City with a huge payday, Walker should be thrust into one of the largest workloads of his career. Walker played over 60% of the offensive snaps in just one game during the regular season last year before being thrust into a larger role after Zach Charbonnet suffered a knee injury in the playoffs.”

“Don’t be surprised if Walker takes advantage of a light box and dominates as the featured guy in a dangerous Kansas City offense.”

“Walker is the most interesting addition. He has good hands and could take away some short opportunities. He can also help Kansas City sustain drives, create more red zone possessions, and improve an offense that ranked only 15th in points last season.”