The NFL season officially kicked off last week, which meant millions of people also entered the 2024 fantasy football season telling themselves this will be the year they walk away as the champion of their league while avoiding one of the many creative punishments that tend to come with finishing in last place.
Every major fantasy football platform has tools owners can use to predict how many points their players are going to post in any given week, but there were plenty of notable names who failed to come close to reaching those projections by the time the opening slate wrapped up on Monday night.
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The nature of fantasy football means you don’t want to live and die by the point totals players post on a weekly basis, but it’s pretty hard not to be frustrated if you find yourself on the losing end of a matchup because someone who was projected to have a big game didn’t even sniff their projected output.
There were plenty of guys who fell under that particular umbrella during the first week of the 2024 NFL season, but some of them really stood out from the rest of the pack.
Caleb Williams
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PROJECTED: 18.1
ACTUAL: 7.2
Expectations were very high for the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the quarterback who’s been positioned as the savior of the Chicago Bears failed to live up to the hype in his debut.
Plenty of people felt Caleb Williams could become the first QB in franchise history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season this year, but he has some serious work to do after logging just 93 yards and completing less than 50% of his passes while throwing no touchdowns.
Joe Burrow
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PROJECTED: 18.7
ACTUAL: 8.1
Joe Burrow is still widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he didn’t live up to that reputation when the Bengals ended up on the wrong side of a 16-10 upset to the Patriots to start the season on the wrong foot.
Cincinnati’s franchise QB was held to 164 yards in the air and failed to throw a single touchdown, and while Ja’Marr Chase ended up having a solid game despite battling an illness, Burrow’s performance left a lot to be desired.
Kirk Cousins
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PROJECTED: 16.3
ACTUAL: 8.2
Kirk Cousins was hoping to make his mark in his first game as a member of the Falcons, but that did not end up being the case in Atlanta’s 18-10 loss to the Steelers.
The 36-year-old veteran QB only threw for 155 yards, and the lone touchdown he passed for was overshadowed by the two interceptions that cost his team when you consider Pittsburgh kicked a field goal in the wake of both each one.
Marvin Harrison Jr.
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PROJECTED: 14.8
ACTUAL: 1.4
You’re always taking a bit of a risk when you’re relying on a rookie to deliver in their NFL debut, but there were plenty of reasons to think Marvin Harrison Jr. was going to be able to live up to the hype that led to the Cardinals selecting him with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bills did a pretty good job shutting down Kyler Murray, but it’s still kind of hard to believe Harrison only recorded a single reception for a grand total of four yards by the time the final whistle blew.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
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PROJECTED: 19
ACTUAL: 4.3
The Lions got off to a solid start with a 26-20 win over the Rams in overtime, and Jameson Williams was the star of the show for Detroit on the passing front by hauling in five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
However, it was an uncharacteristically quiet day for Amon-Ra St. Brown, who didn’t even come close to his projected total after snagging just three catches for a mere 13 yards.
Zamir White
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PROJECTED: 11.5
ACTUAL: 4.6
Zamir White took full advantage of his chance to step into the spotlight after Josh Jacobs was injured last season, and plenty of people viewed him as a sleeper heading into 2024.
Unfortunately, he didn’t deliver in Week 1. He was the primary option on the ground for the Raiders with 13 carries for 44 yards (he also caught a couple of passes), but he recorded a fumble in a game where Alexander Mattison emerged as a possible No. 1 option going forward for the Raiders.
Raheem Mostert
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PROJECTED: 12
ACTUAL: 3,9
It was hard not to be intrigued by the potential upside of Raheem Mostert when you consider he was at the top of the depth chart for a Dolphins offense that’s arguably the best in the NFL.
However, he took a backseat to De’Von Achane as Miami struggled to get its running game clicking against the Jaguars and finished with just nine yards on six carries.
Evan Engram
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PROJECTED: 12.4
ACTUAL: 1.5
A number of supposedly valuable tight ends struggled in Week 1 (Travis Kelce finished with 6.4 points after being projected to post 14.9), but none of them disappoint more than Evan Engram.
The Jaguars TE was only targeted four times and finished with a lone reception for five yards, and anyone who has him on their roster has to hope he’ll be a bit more impressive against the Browns.