The NFL regular season is underway and there is plenty to get excited about if you're in the fantasy football mood. Week 1 offers the first opportunity to see how those carefully curated fantasy teams you assembled in your draft performed in real game action, and not everyone was pleased with their results.
While some underperforming stars are due to bounce back in Week 2, there are also a few fantasy stars who raised questions about whether Week 1's poor performance was an aberration or a sign of things to come. Let's go over the dishonorable mentions and highlight five fantasy stars who should be on your bench for at least a week.
5 Fantasy Stars Who Deserve To Be Benched After Week 1
The Miami Dolphins
Things looked so bad for Miami that they needed to be put together collectively for this space. Miami's 33-8 debacle in Indianapolis was a big letdown for anyone who invested in the usually fantasy-friendly Dolphins' offense, which has a litany of names (Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De'Von Achane) who litter most starting lineups thanks to Mike McDaniel's history of being an offensive guru.
Tua Tagovailoa delivered a big stink bomb, completing 14-of-23 passes for 114 yards with one touchdown and two picks, ceding playing time to Zach Wilson once the game was out of hand. Hill (four catches for 40 yards on six targets) wasn't happy with Tagovailoa's performance, and Waddle (4-30-0 on 5 targets) didn't fare much better here.
Achane was pedestrian on the ground but added a touchdown to salvage his day, but the fact this offense looked so dysfunctional against the Colts raises major red flags about Miami's potential this season. Even though Week 2's matchup with New England should be a friendly one, this level of ineptitude warrants a mass benching of all Dolphins fantasy assets until further notice.
James Conner
While he may not be the most recognizable runner in the league, Conner is a respected back in fantasy circles due to his consistency. While you expect Conner to miss a game or two every year, he can usually be penciled in for at least 800 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns, with the past two years seeing Conner exceed the 1,000 yard plateau.
A big part of Conner's success has been as the lead back in Arizona's back field, but that status could be changing for the 2025 season. Despite playing a relatively close game with the New Orleans Saints, Conner only had a narrow lead in carries for the Cardinals' backfield, turning 12 into just 39 yards.
Trey Benson ripped off a 52-yard rush in the contest that earned him a few more looks while Kyler Murray also scrambled seven times. If the backfield situation turns into a platoon, Conner has much less value as a fantasy player and can be benched against Carolina until we have more information on the hierarchy of this backfield.
Bo Nix
A lot of fantasy owners are looking to buy into the Broncos, specifically Bo Nix as a fantasy asset. Fantasy owners who avoided the top of the quarterback market often looked towards Nix as a back-end QB1 thanks to his solid rookie year, a strong No. 1 receiver in Courtland Sutton, and an innovative offensive mind as his head coach.
With a solid matchup at home against Tennessee, Nix looked poised to start his 2025 campaign on a strong note for fantasy purposes. While the Broncos did pick up a 20-12 win, Nix didn't participate too much, going 25-for-40 with 176 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as the Broncos' strong defense carried the day.
Nix averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt today, which is not a good sign for those people hoping Nix would take a year two leap in Denver's offense. With a stiffer test on tap against the Colts next week, Nix should find a spot on your bench as most fantasy owners with Nix on their team likely invested in a competent backup plan.
Cooper Kupp
One of the most notable wide receiver names to change teams this offseason was Cooper Kupp, who was cut by the Los Angeles Rams in a salary cap-related move. While the Rams reloaded with Davante Adams, Kupp looked to find a solid home in Seattle, where he was slated to replace Tyler Lockett as the No. 2 receiver in the Seahawks' offense.
Seattle struggled to move the football in a 17-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and Kupp was an afterthought for quarterback Sam Darnold, catching two of his three targets for 15 yards. Darnold formed an immediate connection with the returning Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught 9-of-13 targets for 124 yards on a day when Darnold only 16 passes.
Next week sees Seattle head East to take on a Steelers' defensive front that gave up 182 yards on the ground to the Jets. This spot looks like a bigger day for Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, who combined for 22 carries in Week 1, so Kupp is benchable until further notice.
TreVeyon Henderson
The race to be the RB2 among fantasy rookies looked to have a clear front-runner in TreVeyon Henderson, who was the source of much praise at Patriots' camp this year. With Rhamondre Stevenson landing in new coach Mike Vrabel's doghouse, the stage was set for Henderson to have a big coming out party in Week 1 against a suspect Raiders' defense that cut Christian Wilkins during the summer.
That script was overstated as Henderson delivered an underwhelming five carries for 27 yards on the afternoon, getting less work in the backfield than Stevenson, who turned seven carries into 15 yards. Vrabel opted to have Drake Maye drop back 46 times in a game that was only a seven-point contest, which did help Henderson snag six catches, but without a score, his line was mediocre for fantasy purposes.
The Patriots haven't usually had a true bell cow back when Josh McDaniels runs the offense, so expect this frustrating timeshare to continue for the near future. Expect New England to use Henderson as a pass catching option again, which helps with some flex appeal, but anyone banking on him to be their RB2 should be severely disappointed.