Have to admit I’m guilty of this myself, having Worthy both in the RotoWire Dynasty league (missed Brian Thomas by one pick last year!) and in one re-draft league, the one where I stacked Chiefs. I mean what could go wrong, I had both Worthy AND Rashee Rice! Thankfully I also had Patrick Mahomes, Hollywood Brown and Travis Kelce, though Kelce got all of his production on one play. But now the Chiefs are back in WR purgatory as usual, at least until Rice returns.
Justin Herbert looked very sharp. And what a great call/decision on 3rd and 14 for him to take off and scramble for the game-sealing first down. If he doesn’t get that, I think the Chiefs win the game.
Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston are not going away. That means Ladd McConkey will have to do it on efficiency not volume. McConkey is really good, but without a ton of red-zone he looks more like a guy who should go in the fourth, rather than the second, round.
Omarion Hampton got stuffed a lot, but he passed the eye test for me, looked quick and spry. The Cyclops (Najee Harris) was barely involved. If that’s the usual split, Hampton deserves to go where he was being drafted or higher. (I thought Harris would be a problem, and he still might once he gets more practice reps.)
Based Harrison Butker really screwed that game up for the Chiefs with that missed PAT, but don’t forget he drilled a 59-yarder at the end of the half where the kicking team had to sprint onto the field. Still, that was crushing because it got them down two scores when they missed the necessary two-point conversion and made them have to settle for a field goal on 4th-down during the penultimate drive. Home-cooked meals from the wife only get you so far, still have to make those PATs.
I got a few Hollywood Brown shares early, and I wish I had gotten more. We’ll see how long he holds up, but at least he’s 180 which IMO is the bare minimum. He had a bad drop on his first target, but was reliable for the rest of the game, Mahomes’ clear first look (16 targets!) (Bad call to change your name to “Hollywood” right as it’s coming out they are mostly a bunch of pedos, though.)
The Pfizer clot-shot henchman looked slow even on that TD catch and run, plus he’s the one who took out Worthy. Hard to see a huge season for him, given last year’s decline and that even with Worthy down he saw only four targets. Juju Smith-Schuster is probably a PPR option in deeper leagues until Rice returns.
Mahomes looked great to me, scrambled, delivering a hit on one run, throwing from crazy angles. He *has* to run more, given the team’s lack of playmakers. It looks like he’ll have a big year, one way or the other, but it would help if Worthy can come back soon and Rice is 100 percent.
Isiah Pacheco is limited. He’s not much of a pass catcher, and they like Kareem Hunt in short yardage. This was a good game for Brashard Smith in that they need *someone* who can make plays, and the other backs plainly aren’t that guy.
I switched my home pool ATS pick from the Chargers to the Chiefs because some moronic tout was on the Chargers. I forgot the cardinal lesson: always ignore, but never deliberately fade the mush!
Liss, this might be your best post-game writeup. Fire. Hollywood and Pfizer/Swift/Lebron of the NFL comment. The cake is Cyclops. I can't stop laughing everytime you write that. BTW, as the resident physical therapist, you can shut it down for Worthy if this ends up being a legitimate injury (shoulder subluxation/dislocation, rotator cuff/labral tear, etc.). That was a routine "cross up" and it happens frequently early in seasons since there's essentially no preseason for starters. Usually, players just bounce off of each other. What was that??!!!! He's a little fella.