Fantasy Football Usage Report: Jacory Croskey-Merritt rises, Josh Downs raises concerns

With one week of football officially in the books, now is the time to look back on the performances we saw, take what little we know, and apply it to the coming weeks. While multiple weeks of data will give us a clearer picture of what we can expect from these players on a week-to-week basis, it’s never too early to try to gain an edge.

All season long, I will be looking back at previous performances to identify a few players we should be excited and/or concerned about heading into the next week of games. Without further delay, here are a few players who stood out to me in Week 1.

Running Backs

🟢 Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WSH) vs. Eagles

It’s only a one-week sample, but the Commanders’ early backfield usage in Week 1’s loss to the Eagles suggests Jacory Croskey-Merritt is the only Washington running back we can trust heading into Week 2 against the Cowboys.

“Bill” played on 17 of the Commanders’ 30 running back snaps against the Eagles, handling 16 of 27 carries and punching in a one-yard score in the second quarter. Croskey-Merritt fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter and was replaced by rookie Kaytron Allen for the final seven plays of the game, but I expect him to continue to get most of the rushing work after a solid outing against a stout Eagles defense. Fantasy managers rostering Croskey-Merritt can start him as a high-upside RB2 against a Cowboys defense that allowed 165 rushing yards to the Giants last week.

🔴 Keaton Mitchell (LAC) vs. Cardinals

An offseason of drafting Keaton Mitchell in the early double-digit rounds of drafts was met with major disappointment in Week 1’s loss to the Cardinals. While Mitchell’s 16 snaps were an encouraging early total, he managed just four rush attempts for a forgettable nine yards and was targeted on just one of the 11 routes he ran.

There was some hope that Mitchell would become a reliable option in the Chargers’ passing game given his history as a pass-catcher in college and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s history of targeting running backs (245 RB targets, second-most in the league since 2024). However, despite 35 dropbacks in a game, the Chargers spent most of the time trailing; Justin Herbert failed to target any of his running backs in the Week 1 upset.

I was hoping to be writing up Mitchell as a player to be excited about heading into Week 2. Instead, we’re left hoping that next week’s game gives us a little more to be excited about after some disappointing Week 1 usage.

Wide Receivers

🟢 Antonio Williams (WSH), vs. Eagles

Antonio Williams put on quite a show in a limited sample size for the Commanders in Week 1’s loss to the Eagles that should garner him more attention going forward. The rookie third-rounder caught all four targets from Jayden Daniels while posting a team-high 64 receiving yards and finding the end zone on a one-yard score late in the fourth quarter. Williams nearly found the end zone twice but was tackled one yard short in the second quarter, keeping him from an even bigger game in his rookie debut.

Williams’ productive day should be enough to give him more opportunities going forward. He caught four passes on just 11 routes, but he has an easy path to more snaps once the Commanders decide he’s earned more playing time. Veteran receiver Dyami Brown, brought back on a one-year deal after the Commanders let him go in 2025, ran the third-most routes (23) of any Washington receiver last week but failed to haul in either of the two targets he saw. Brown isn’t in the Commanders’ long-term plans and should be phased out sooner rather than later as Williams continues to emerge.

It’s too early to trust Williams in weekly start/sit leagues, but he’s well worth a stash while we wait to see how much more involved he becomes in the coming weeks.

🔴 Josh Downs (IND) vs. Ravens

Reports throughout the offseason suggested Josh Downs would line up more on the outside after spending the first three years of his career as a successful slot receiver. The hope was this would lead to an expanded role that featured more downfield targets for Downs, whose season-high in ADOT came last season when he averaged 8.4 air yards per target.

After getting off to a hot start in which he caught two passes on three targets for 37 yards on the Colts’ opening drive, Downs failed to see a target the rest of the way. Downs still ended up leading all Colts receivers in offensive snaps (47) and routes run (32), but there was a lot that looked familiar here.

Per PFF, Downs played 78.8 percent of his snaps on passing plays from the slot last week against the Ravens, on par with his career slot rate of 81.5 percent from 2023 to 2025. His 7.0 ADOT last week, while based on a one-week sample, also aligns with his career 7.4 ADOT.

The arrival of Keenan Allen late in training camp likely complicates any hopes of an expanded role for Downs, but it’s still early in the season. That said, I’m not rushing to put him in my lineups in Week 2 on the road against a Chiefs defense that gave the Broncos fits in Week 1.

Tight Ends

🟢 Michael Mayer (LV), vs. Dolphins

Filling in for Brock Bowers (knee), Michael Mayer led all Raiders players in targets (7), while his 24 routes run were second only to wide receiver Tre Tucker (27). Mayer converted his seven targets into six receptions for 32 yards, providing fantasy managers in need of help at tight end with a solid 9.32 PPR points. Among 24 tight ends with at least 20 routes run in Week 1, Mayer’s 0.292 targets per route run were third behind only Trey McBride (0.382 TPRR) and Isaiah Likely (0.348 TPRR). At the time this article is being written, Bowers has yet to practice (DNP Wed./Thurs.) and is trending toward missing a second consecutive game.

If Bowers can’t go, Mayer would again be on the streaming radar against a Chargers defense that was lit up by McBride in Week 1 for 9-95-1 on 13 targets. While we obviously shouldn’t expect this level of production from Mayer if he does draw the start, the Raiders have one of the worst receiving corps in football. It’s hard to imagine Kirk Cousins not finding ways to get Mayer the ball if they hope to generate any sort of passing attack.

🔴 Kyle Pitts (ATL) vs. Steelers

It only took one week for Kyle Pitts to instill fear and doubt in his fantasy managers. Although, to be fair, it’s hard to blame last week’s one-target performance solely on Pitts, who was forced to play with his QB3 in the season opener after Michael Penix (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (back) were both ruled out for Week 1.

The Falcons’ decision to start Cooper Rush put a hard cap on all Falcons pass-catchers’ fantasy upside last week. The Falcons had the third-lowest neutral pass rate in the league last week, and Pitts’ 21 routes ranked 24th among all tight ends. While it’s possible Rush and the Falcons’ passing game could enjoy a bit more success next week against a Panthers defense that was torched for 552 total yards and 59 points last week, another week of conservative play-calling could make Pitts unplayable for a second straight week.

NOTE: Stats and information courtesy of PFF.com, RotoViz.com, ProFootballReference.com, NextGenStats.NFL.com, 4For4.com, FantasyPoints.com and RBSDM.com. All scoring is based on full-PPR leagues.