That was an interesting game at least. Kenneth Walker got the rock every single play, it seemed, and the line was opening holes for him too. And they were still force-feeding him up 21 with 10 minutes left in the game. I have Walker in a low-stakes dynasty league and was thinking maybe you take the W and keep him fresh for Week 2.
The other big takeaway was that Patrick Mahomes was completely healthy and willing to scramble out of the gate. I imagine when they face teams with weaker pass rushes than the Broncos they’ll have him drop back more, but almost every play was a handoff or short dump off.
The Broncos offense was terrible. I wanted to make a point shaving joke with Bo Nicks, but couldn’t think of one.
The Broncos barely ran the ball even though both RJ Harvey and JK Dobbins had some juice. Harvey, who caught all four targets for 23 yards and had a carry inside the five, seems like the guy you want.
I have a few shares of Evan Engram (no one wanted him), and he was the lone bright spot, leading the team in receiving and scoring their only TD. Why not Engram and TJ Hockenson? Both know how to run routes and catch passes, don’t let recency bias blind you.
Pat Bryant led the receivers, and you’re probably not thrilled with your Jaylen Waddle shares right now. I passed on him a few times for guys like Tetairoa McMillan and Rashee Rice (more on him below) due to the uncertainty of a new team and unpredictability of the Broncos offense.
Bo Nix was under pressure all night, but he’s too herky-jerky, not calm and poised. He’ll have some big games against lesser defenses, I imagine.
Mahomes looked like himself. But his meager stats were padded by the shovel pass TD to Walker, and we’ll see if the Chiefs ever look downfield again. The only big play in the passing game was an intermediate throw to a wide open Travis Kelce who ran untouched for 59 yards. Then again, there was no need to take chances with a big lead.
Emmett Johnson had some juice — two passes for 44 yards and eight carries. He’s in the Kaelon Black conversation for best pure backup. (Blake Corum is more like a co-starter.)
Rashee Rice was invisible most of the game, but he made his first target count, a short screen on which he broke a tackle and took it 13 yards for a TD. He saw only one more target all game and caught that too. I’m still bullish, but it was Walker (six targets) who was getting most of the short stuff.
Xavier Worthless also had six targets, but only three catches for 18 yards. His best role would be as the field stretcher, but for God knows what reason, they throw him short balls in traffic where defenders can bring him down with one hand.
Walker looked only okay as a receiver, but as a runner he was the Super Bowl MVP version, breaking tackles inside and exploding for a 60-yard TD once he got to the second level. There was never a doubt about the talent, only the usage and durability. We can check off the usage box now, durability is the only question left.