Week 2 has come and gone (aside from Monday Night), and with it, more huge performances and huge disappointments. Let’s go over some of the biggest booms and busts, and see what we think of them looking forward.
Boom – Alvin Kamara
To say to my friends that Alvin Kamara was putting up 30+ fantasy points at half in our year of the Lord 2024 was shocking to say the least. I think we all slept on Kamara a lot this year, and for a good reason. The 2023 Saints’ offense was far from stellar, Kamara is an aging running back in the age of shorter running back primes, and he had a good but not great performance in Week 1 when the Saints also put up 40+ points. But Kamara clearly was ready to prove me wrong (especially because I had to play against him in two leagues…).
Insane performance, 4 total TDs with 300 scrimmage yards, he looked like Christmas Kamara all over again. And to do this all against a defense that has generally been pretty good against the run through the past 3-4 years, needless to say I won’t be sleeping on the 29 year old beast that is Alvin Kamara.
Bust – Tank Dell
Now, I know Tank Dell is a third option in this Texans offense, but he was just completely overlooked in favor of Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. It was a bit hazy with where most of the targets would go in the Texans wide receiver room going into the season, but last week against Indy he saw 7 targets for 3 receptions, pretty respectable numbers for the supposed third option.
This week, however, Dell saw more rushing attempts than targets. A bit worrying when he was looking to be a solid depth option for PPR leagues. It might be time to look elsewhere for those “slept on” WR3s.
Boom – Marvin Harrison Jr.
Another absolute dog this week, Marv showed exactly the potential he had to be an amazing rookie in just week two. With last week making everyone overreact to a ridiculous degree (I think I heard the phrase “One Reception 4 Yards more times than Marv got yards this week), it wasn’t exactly unfair to think he’d need some warming up. You’d figure drafting any rookie in fantasy is kind of an investment, but this investment paid dividends right away.
It also helps that he’s incredibly fun to watch. That diving effort for the endzone on his first TD was pure gold, really every catch of his was highlight material. I can’t wait to see how many points Marv can put up the rest of this year with Kyler absolutely dishing to him.
Bust – Rachaad White
Rachaad White had a really promising week in the Baker Mayfield masterclass that was week one. He wasn’t the on the ground (only averaging 2 yards a carry), but his involvement in the passing game made him look like he’d be taking a Jahmyr Gibbs role. Unfortunately, this week that was not the case. Credit to the Detroit Lions on this though, as their defense played really well despite the loss.
I’m still on the fence with White. I think that he has the potential to be a consistent 14 – 16 point guy, which is hard to come by with running backs today. I think seeing his role next week will really be the deciding factor, seeing whether the Buccs gameplan was more indicative of playing around Detroit’s defense, or if Week One was the outlier.