Power Rankings: Week 1

Week 1 is in the books, and if you needed a reminder that fantasy football makes fools of us all, this slate delivered.

Some of you are sitting pretty at 1-0, maybe you’re already fielding trade offers you shouldn't take. Others are 0-1 and one bad Sunday away from a full-blown existential crisis. As always, records lie, box scores tell the truth, and nobody's season is decided in September — no matter how good (or bad) it looked on Sunday.

Let's get into it.

1. Cole (1-0)

Cole didn't just win, he strutted into the season with the kind of performance that makes the other 11 GM’s quietly check the waiver wire for prayers. Caleb Williams tossed two and legged out two more, Gibbs looked every inch the 1.01 he was drafted as, and David Montgomery basically was the Houston offense. Coles toes are curling at the thought of Isaiah Likely becoming a league-winner, and the bench somehow looked just as scary as the starters. The worst part? Nabers is getting healthier by the day.

2. Case (1-0)

Heading into the draft, there was no one I wanted more at cost than Christian Watson. No one. The good news is that I was right! The bad news is he’s playing for the wrong team. Case must’ve been dancing on his coffee table as the Packers wideout posted 146 yards and two scores in Week 1. T-Law looked sharper than his ADP suggested, and TJ Warren feels like a stat line waiting to happen. If Jonathan Brooks locks down the Carolina backfield the way it looked like he might, this roster goes from "good" to "please stop." Oh yeah, Ken Walker III looked pretty, pretty, pretty good.

3. Brad (1-0)

Championship hangover? Never heard of her. Ladd, Emeka, and CeeDee looked like a genuine three-headed monster right out of the gate, and Chuba Hubbard snuck in two scores on just 13 touches because of course he did. *cough cough regression cough The main thing standing between Brad and another deep run is health — Ladd’s chest injury and Treveyon Henderson's absence are the only things keeping this team from entering the stratosphere. Drake Maye or Brock Purdy will have to carry a bit more water if those two miss more time.

4. Devon (1-0)

A great week for Devon, and the unsettling part for the rest of us is there's still more in the tank. Cook, Burden, Smith, and Pitts all have better weeks coming, which is a genuinely terrifying sentence to write about a 1-0 team. And if none of them show up? Derrick Henry is still out there doing his decade-long Derrick Henry thing. Pitts' zero is a blip, not a trend — book it. You have to imagine one of those lefties in ATL will be better right? Right?

5. Kyle (0-1)

Another season, another gut-punch of an opener for Hardwood — a two-point loss that's going to sting all week. But the bones here are good: Josh Allen is THE QB1, Tootin’ Tuten owns the Jacksonville backfield outright, JSN looks quarterback-proof, and Parker Washington lived up to his summer hype. Pickens no-showed, but nobody's panicking about that yet. Tucker Kraft looking healthy is the sneaky good news buried in an otherwise brutal week. You’re a goldfish, Kyle, Flush it and move on.

6. Bacich & Reese (0-1)

This was a great week that just happened to run into an even better one on the other side of the matchup. DJ Moore delivered exactly the Week 1 you'd draw up, and JT matched him stride for stride. The concern is Terry McLaurin, who was invisible until the fourth quarter, and Zay Flowers, who was cooking before a hamstring pulled the plug on an elite first half. You don’t want his health to become a storyline.

7. Austin (1-0)

Not exactly a masterpiece, but a win is a win, and this one was carried almost entirely on D'Andre Swift's back. Given the injury situation surrounding this roster, 1-0 feels like found money. Brock Bowers needs that knee right if Austin wants to avoid another trip to the cellar, and AJ Brown's high ankle sprain leaves a second gaping hole in the lineup. Two elite pieces on the shelf is not a sustainable plan. Still - Puka, Dobbins, & Jamo will deliver much more in Week 2. You heard it here first.

8. Tom (1-0)

Not a win worth framing on the mantle, but a win nonetheless — and the top three picks all showed up like they were supposed to, with Amon-Ra, Nico, and Kyren Williams all delivering. Jadarian Price flashed real juice with the ball in his hands, though George Holani saw a few too many snaps for comfort. If and when Kittle and Pierce climb back to full workloads, this roster has a sneaky ceiling nobody's talking about yet.

9. Ryan (0-1)

Hear him out: the record says 0-1, but the vibes aren’t THAT bad. Justin Jefferson looked every bit elite, and Breece Hall looked like a workhorse. The bad news is everywhere else — Fannin, Tate, Lloyd, and Baker all need to show up in a much bigger way for this roster to reach its ceiling. Dalton Kincaid quietly looking like a must-start tight end is a huge silver lining worth hanging onto. But man - if Josh Jacobs ends up coming back this year (which it looks like he will), this team could be positioned to skyrocket towards the top.

10. Pete (0-1)

This ranking feels almost cruel given the talent on this roster, and Pete knows it. Bijan was Bijan even with Cooper Rush throwing him the ball, which is about as strong a case for "he doesn't need a real quarterback" as you'll ever see, and Lamar looked every bit the MVP-caliber option he's supposed to be. The concerning part is everyone else — rookie RB Love got out-touched by Allgeier, and Drake London (unlike his teammate in the backfield), proved once again that receivers, shockingly, still need a quarterback to produce.

11. Henry (0-1)

Remember the panic when Jeanty went down in camp? After a 30-point outburst, Jeanty sure doesn't remember it, and Bucky Irving looked every bit worth his draft slot too. Hell, he may end up being one of the better draft day discounts. The problem is the receiver room Henry worried about all last week — a combined 14 points across the position validated every concern. And after all that preseason Loveland buzz, a zero in the opener stings a little extra. If Week 2 is slow…….actually, let’s not go there yet.

12. Chet & Mike (0-1)

Hard to draw up a worse start to the year than this one. Olave and McBride looked every bit like the studs they were drafted to be, which is the only thing keeping this from being a total disaster. Everyone knew leaning on Judkins and Pollard was a risk, and Week 1 cashed that risk in full. Burrow and Chase will be fine — they might even combine for 50+ in Week 2 — but when those two have an off week, there isn't much of a safety net left on this roster. With Stribling headed to IR, keep an eye on how much rope Jalen Coker gets in that flex spot. He’s your ticket.