Fantasy Football: 4 Things We Learned From Week 1

The Texans' Offense Could Be Exciting in 2016

In 2015, DeAndre Hopkins was about 125% of the entire Houston Texans' offense. Okay, okay, I kid. Math doesn't appreciate hyperbole. But he did account for 31% of the team's total target share, which was third-highest among receivers in the league.

And while Hopkins figures to remain heavily targeted, after Week 1, there's good reason to believe that our own JJ Zachariason was right when he posited that Hopkins may have been overvalued headed into 2016 fantasy football drafts due to a predicted reduction in targets.

Perhaps paradoxically, the Texans' offense getting more exciting as a whole may weigh down on Hopkins' relative return on investment for first-round fantasy drafters this season. First, the Texans signed the perpetually underutilized Lamar Miller away from the Miami Dolphins, and the Texans rewarded him with a 28-carry game, 6 carries more than his previous career high in four years with the Dolphins.

Bill O'Brien really likes to run the ball -- in his first year as head coach with the Texans the team had the lowest pass to run ratio in the entire league -- and Miller, throughout his career, has been efficient, posting a well-above-average 0.02 Rushing NEP per rush the past two season.

Another factor that could continue dampening Hopkins' production is the addition of rookie wideout Will Fuller, whose 4.32 40-speed should provide the Texans with a perpetual legit deep threat. His 11-target and 5-catch, 107-yard, 1-touchdown stat line would've looked even more impressive had he not dropped what would've been an 80-plus yard touchdown pass from Brock Osweiler.

But it's clear from Week 1 that Fuller will be utilized not just as a guy to take the heat off of Hopkins but as a legitimate playmaking threat. While that might make Nuk owners a little gloomy, big weeks will be coming for him as well.

With Osweiler, Miller, and Fuller all new additions to the team, it might take a few weeks for the offense to gel completely. But based on some of the talent on that side of the ball, the Texans have a chance to be one of the more exciting offenses in the league, which is something that we wouldn't have thought headed into Week 1.