5 Fantasy Football Studs Who Started Slow in Week 1: Should We Panic?
Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Whether you drafted Dez Bryant before the Tony Romo injury or after, one catch for eight yards is still far below expectation for the superstar wideout. But that was his stat line on Sunday, seeing just five targets in total and nabbing only one early in the first quarter.
Instead, it was Cole Beasley and Jason Witten with a combined 28 targets and 17 receptions, thriving in the short areas of the field and providing quick, easy reads for quarterback Dak Prescott. The rookie was efficient on the day, managing the game and avoiding any big mistakes that may have put the game out of reach.
Bryant was targeted twice in the end zone, with one being underthrown and broken up, and the other being overturned on replay after it showed Bryant lost control of the ball while going to the ground (again). Beyond that, though, there wasn't much to be optimistic about on the day, with Bryant often bracket covered and finding little separation.
While it was safe to lower expectations on Bryant following the Romo injury, many still had Dak fever after his outstanding preseason performance. What should be concerning is the young quarterback's inaccuracy or timidity when throwing to the intermediate portions of the field where Dez can do damage. We didn't see any of the in-breaking routes or skinny posts that we are used to seeing from the star wideout, and if he ran those routes then he wasn't targeted.
What has made Bryant a dominant force during his career, though, hasn't been yards, catches or targets. It's been touchdowns. But without Romo, touchdowns are simply harder to come by for Bryant.
So what should owners expect for 2016 until Romo returns? A touchdown-dependent player in an offense that may not score a lot of passing touchdowns. The volatility I expect from Bryant moving forward is enough to make me willing to shop him for anyone still recovering from Dak fever. If there is solid value to be found, I'm ready to move on, fully recognizing that a two-touchdown performance is probably coming. When? Who knows.
