Fantasy Football: 5 Things We Learned From Week 1

A Wide Receiver Probably Won't Lead the Bills In Targets This Year

When the Buffalo Bills traded away Sammy Watkins and acquired Jordan Matthews in a matter of hours, the fantasy community was aflutter. It was a wild day. Fantasy footballers the nation over scrambled to figure out what this meant for the upcoming season.

Watkins, formerly the Bills' number-one wide receiver, vacated a large target share in Buffalo's passing offense. We had seen Watkins post fantasy-relevant numbers in that role in the past, so there was value to be had by correctly identifying which receiver still on the team would benefit the most.

The funny thing is, the Bills' two target leaders after Week 1 aren't even wide receivers. Charles Clay (nine) and LeSean McCoy (six) combined for over 50 percent of the Bills' passing target share on Sunday. The next leading receiver, rookie wideout Zay Jones, finished the day with just four targets.

So while it looks like a wide receiver won't inherit Watkins' throne as the team's top passing-catching option, that kind of target volume immediately catapults Clay into the upper-tier tight end conversation. His nine targets are tied with Jason Witten and Delanie Walker for the most tight-end targets in the league thus far.

Yes, the New York Jets were a soft matchup for Clay and the Bills, but on Sunday, Clay showed us that he has become one of the safer, high-floor tight ends for fantasy. Look for Clay to be a solid play next week against the Carolina Panthers, who allowed five receptions to rookie tight end George Kittle in Week 1