The Seahawks beat the Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl 60 in the NFL season opener on Wednesday night at Lumen Field in Seattle. Here were the top fantasy football scorers from the game and insight on who’s trending up and trending down from Seattle after the game.
Note: Scores are taken from ESPN’s scoring in a PPR (points per reception) league. Scores may vary slightly depending on the host website and scoring format.
TOP SCORERS
1) WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle: 26.2 points2) RB Rhamondre Stevenson, New England: 14.5 points
3) QB Drew Lock, Seattle: 12.78 points
4) QB Drake Maye, New England: 9.82 points
5) WR Mack Hollins, New England: 9.1 points
6) RB Jadarian Price, Seattle: 7.8 points
NO STARTING QB, NO PROBLEM FOR JSN
The only question was whether Smith-Njigba was still going to be productive once Sam Darnold exited the game in the first quarter with an injury and backup Drew Locked replaced him. Ultimately, it didn’t matter who was throwing passes to Smith-Njigba, who signed a massive extension with Seattle in the offseason and is one of the league’s top receivers. His 45-yard touchdown reception on fourth down was the play of the game for Seattle’s offense and he finished with 122 yards and the score on eight receptions.New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson showed value with his versatility. He rushed for 51 yards on 18 attempts and caught a team-high five passes for 44 yards. He could be a viable FLEX option or RB2 with continued usage in the passing game.
Maye was the biggest disappointment, from a fantasy perspective. His scoring total came lower than backup QB Drew Lock, who was operating under a fairly conservative Seattle gameplan. Maye threw for just 178 yards, one touchdown and threw three interceptions, leaving him with an abysmal 54.9 passer rating.
TRENDING DOWN FOR SEATTLE
Obviously, quarterback Sam Darnold won’t be an option if he’s injured and misses time going forward. Seattle’s usage of tight ends in the passing game was scarce: AJ Barner had two receptions for 13 yards and Elijah Arroyo didn’t record a catch. Receiver Rashid Shaheed, who signed an extension with Seattle in the offseason, recorded just one catch for four yards.
TRENDING UP FOR SEATTLE
Jadarian Price’s 7.8 points were likely frustrating for anyone who started Price and hoped for a quick start from Game 1, but there are positive signs here: Price averaged 5.2 yards per carry and averaged seven yards per carry in the first half. He also caught a pair of passes. QB Drew Lock could be in line for future starts, but his ceiling remains low with conservative gameplans likely ahead.
