Two weeks into the fantasy football season, we have officially reached the point where every bad box score starts to feel like a problem. But there is a difference between a player failing to produce and a player failing to earn opportunities. That is what I care about most when deciding whether it is actually time to panic.Draft cost matters because expectations matter, but routes, targets, target share and the quality of those opportunities tells us a lot more about what is actually happening.For this Panic Meter, the thresholds are simple: No Panic, Some Panic, Total Panic or Coping Corner. Not every slow start deserves the same level of concern.Colston Loveland: TOTAL PANICFive targets. One catch. Three receiving yards. That’s Loveland through two games.For a player drafted inside the top-40 picks on Yahoo, there is no way to make that sound good.There are at least a few signs that tell us this hasn’t been a complete zero. Loveland has generated 12.27 expected PPR points compared to just 1.3 actual points and has already seen two end-zone targets. He also played 87% of Chicago’s offensive snaps in Week 2.So yes, he’s on the field. Yes, he has left points out there. But even those expected points only come out to 6.13 per game. That’s the part I keep coming back to. Positive regression only matters so much if the workload itself isn’t strong enough.This is Total Panic for me.You’re clearly not dropping Loveland, but you absolutely need another playable tight end on your roster until this role improves. I need to see more routes and actual target earning, not just another game where he’s on the field a ton — but barely involved.Rashee Rice: TOTAL PANICIf you only look at Rice’s fantasy totals, you might wonder why he’s even on this list. He has 22.2 PPR points through two games. He scored in Week 1. He went for 83 yards in Week 2.Now, look underneath it.Eight targets. That’s it.Rice has turned those opportunities into 22.2 PPR points despite just 12.91 expected points. That production has covered up what has been a pretty underwhelming workload for a receiver drafted this high.And Kansas City gave us plenty of passing volume in Week 2. The Chiefs had 51 dropbacks and threw for 382 yards. Travis Kelce had 11 targets, Kenneth Walker had 10, Xavier Worthy had seven and Rice had six.That’s where the concern comes from. This wasn’t an offense that couldn’t move the ball or couldn’t create passing volume. There were targets available — Rice just wasn’t commanding enough of them.Total Panic.I’m not moving off the player just because of two games, but I am absolutely adjusting what I expect from him right now. Another touchdown doesn’t solve this. I want to see Rice become a priority in this passing game again.George Pickens: SOME PANICPickens hasn’t given fantasy managers much yet. Nine catches. 68 yards. No touchdowns. Just 15.8 PPR points through two weeks. But this is one where the process looks better than the results.Pickens has already earne
Content Source: Yahoo News
Image Credit: Getty Images
All rights to the news content and images belong to their respective copyright owners.