5 fantasy football stars who deserve to be benched after Week 1

It's Week 1, which means your entire fantasy football season hangs in the balance. Okay, maybe not, but it's easy to get caught up in the sweeping emotions of football's long-awaited return and your team's season debut. For those of you who thought "I'll draft Travis Kelce in the second round," like myself, you're probably having second thoughts. That creeping sense of dread can stick with you for 18 long weeks.

You're not going to bench Kelce after one dud, though. The smartest fantasy managers can see through the noise and combat the urge to overreact to a single, outlier performance — on either end of the spectrum.

That said, several presumed fantasy heavyweights were worryingly quiet in Week 1, and the signs aren't great. Sometimes the offensive hierarchy doesn't shake out quite like we expect it to, which can lead to foundational changes to our fantasy rosters.

Here are a few common Week 1 starters who may not be so easy to leave in your lineups next Sunday.

5. DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans

There was reason to fade DeAndre Hopkins before the season — he's 32 and he was expected to cede WR1 honors to Calvin Ridley — but his opening performance was about as dire as it could have been. Through no immediate fault of his own, either. The Tennessee Titans' entire passing attack fell apart down the stretch and Hopkins appeared far lower in the pecking order than initially expected.

He caught his lone target for eight yards, which means seven Titans were targeted more frequently in Week 1. Hopkins not only lost targets to Ridley (seven), but he appeared to sit comfortably behind Tyler Boyd (three), too. Sometimes we get wonky game flow in Week 1, which can self-correct in short order, but preseason skeptics will largely view this as affirmation. Hopkins is past his prime and he's just not a priority in the Titans offense, which is worth being weary of as a collective unit.

If the Titans are eventually forced to change quarterbacks, that could alter Hopkins' standing a bit — Mason Rudolph has a serious arm — but right now, Hopkins is getting by on name alone. He's just not worth keeping in most lineups unless you're in a deep league and supremely confident against the Jets pass defense a week from now.

4. Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers

Do not start Carolina Panthers. I repeat: STAY AWAY FROM THE CAROLINA PANTHERS IN FANTASY FOOTBALL.

This was fairly obvious since last season, but the Panthers' offense is not to be trusted week to week, even with Dave Canales in charge. The Bryce Young experience was familiarly untenable in Week 1 and his supporting cast continues to offer minimal support. The Panthers invested in a few new pass-catchers this season, most notably by trading for Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was not enough to change the way of things in Charlotte.

Johnson was involved in the offense, but Bryce Young spread his 30 passes (of which he completed less than half) around fairly thin. The former Steelers wideout netted two of six targets for 19 yards. Adam Thielen led Carolina with 49 yards on three receptions (four targets), and he figures to remain a popular safety net for Young. Jonathan Mingo (five), Xavier Legette (seven), and Davie Moore (three) all notched a healthy dose of targets, too.

There is very little setting Johnson apart in a bad Panthers offense. Legette has the most upside as a first-round rookie, while Thielen has the benefit of experience and chemistry with Young. Johnson could develop into a more potent threat down the line, but until we see progress from the collective, we can hardly expect much progress from the individual receivers.

3. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

Fade the Atlanta Falcons? Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to pen definitive takeaways after a single game. Kirk Cousins probably deserves more time to get back up to speed after an Achilles tear at his age, and the Steelers' defense ranks near the top of the NFL. Atlanta won't face this much pressure every week.

That said, the Week 1 results were pretty alarming. Far from the explosive new-look offense we expected, Atlanta looked familiarly timid. Cousins wasn't executing basic throws and when he did, he wasn't targeting his alleged top wideouts. Drake London netted two receptions for 15 yards on three targets. That was the same target share as Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney, while Cousins' favorite targets on the afternoon were Bijan Robinson (five) and Ray-Ray McCloud (seven).

Atlanta fans are all too familiar with their top weapons being relegated to a bit player's workload. We need to build up a larger sample size under OC Zac Robinson, with Kirk in the QB spot, but the Falcons fandom — and, by extension, fantasy owners — are understandably weary. London was a top-20 pick for a lot of folks. Maybe we jumped the gun a bit on his "breakout."

2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Mark Andrews was a top-five tight end on most draft boards, so naturally, he was merely an afterthought in the Baltimore Ravens' Thursday Night Football showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. In an unexpected twist, it was Baltimore's other tight end — 2022 fourth-round pick Isaiah Likely — who emerged as Lamar Jackson's favorite Week 1 target.

Now, it's only a single game, but Likely was clearly Jackson's go-to receiver throughout the game. He notched 10 receptions on 12 targets, including a potential game-winning touchdown that saw Likely's toe barely scrape the back of the end zone as time expired. When the game was on the line, Baltimore went to Likely without hesitation, even in a heavily contested environment. Mark Andrews who?

Andrews managed two catches on two targets for 14 yards. He's sure to have better weeks ahead, but we could see Baltimore starting to go away from the 29-year-old. Likely clearly has the tools for explosive production — nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown — and he's sure talking like a TE1.

If Baltimore is going to move Andrews down the depth chart, it could be worth looking elsewhere in your fantasy league, whether it's the waiver wire or a trade.

1. Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Marvin Harrison Jr. was the No. 4 pick in April's NFL Draft, the first non-QB off the board. He profiled as the Arizona Cardinals' top wide receiver and a potential day-one fantasy needle-mover despite a dull Cardinals offense. Kyler Murray didn't shine in Week 1 — 21-of-31 passes completed for 162 yards and a single touchdown — but more worryingly, he just didn't seem to care much about feeding Harrison.

The Cardinals rookie netted one catch on four targets for four yards. He was out-targeted by Trey McBride (nine), James Conner (four), and Greg Dortch (eight), while four others out-gained Harrison through the air. That reeks of Week 1 aberration — there's no way Dortch outpaces Harrison all season — but for those who drafted Harrison late in the first round or early in the second round in fantasy leagues, this opener is a blaring red siren.

Rather than a clear-cut WR1, Harrison profiles better as an upside-laden WR3 or WR2 while the Cardinals figure out their offense. A narrow 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills makes the Arziona offense look better than it is. Half of the Cardinals' points were scored through defense or special teams. The offense was utterly stagnant, with Harrison slotting in the middle of a maddeningly mediocre pecking order.

He has all the talent in the world, but most rookies with okay-ish quarterbacks need time to establish their footing at the NFL level. Harrison should improve with every week, but this in the season opener, he did not look like the cut-and-dry starter we expected.