The 2022 NFL season is underway and that means the return of fantasy football. Week 1 delivered plenty of thrilling games with key takeaways along with winners and losers from all the action. It also provided the football world with some incredible fantasy performances.
It’s a time of year that reminds everyone how bittersweet fantasy football can be. One moment managers are celebrating as Justin Jefferson scores his second touchdown, only to realize they are facing him in another league.
Monster performances can swing an entire matchup and odds are if one of your players delivered one of the biggest stat lines on Sunday, you came out on top this week and will start the season with a clean 1-0 record.
Related: Week 2 fantasy football rankings
Here are the best fantasy football performances from Week 1.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made everyone forget Tyreek Hill exists. After having his former star receiver critique the quarterback’s accuracy, Mahomes completed 30-of-39 passes on Sunday and threw touchdown passes to four different players. We’d expect to see Mahomes on this list of top performers in Week 2 after he faces the Los Angeles Chargers.
Related: NFL quarterback rankings 2022
Saquon Barkley is back. Remember that rookie running back who became a fantasy football star in 2018 with 2,028 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns? We might get something pretty close to that in 2022. Barkley fits perfectly into Brian Daboll’s offense, functioning as the workhorse as a ballcarrier and being heavily involved in the passing attack. Explosive runs, powering through defenders and all the touches he can handle. This won’t be the last RB1 performance for Barkley this season.
Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings star delivered over 3,000 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons. Remember, he did that in an offense that looked like it was pulled from the early 2010s. Kevin O’Connell is changing everything about this passing attack. Kirk Cousins is better and we saw that on full display in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.
There’s also an important takeaway from this performance from a fantasy football perspective. Green Bay’s secondary is arguably one of the best in the NFL and it didn’t matter. The Vikings moved Jefferson around and O’Connell’s system is built on plays to let Jefferson explode in open space. He is going to finish the year as the No. 1 receiver in fantasy and might even go for the Triple Crown.
Travis Kelce doesn’t need Tyreek Hill stretching defenses to post monster stat lines. Kansas City’s receiving corps is now more versatile with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling attacking the field in different ways. It leaves enough open room for Kelce to find holes and that chemistry with Mahomes is unmatched. As long as Kelce and Mahomes are healthy, this is the best quarterback and pass-catching duo in fantasy football.
Defenses in fantasy football are always volatile with a pick-six or a few sacks changing the entire landscape of a week. On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense erupted against the Cincinnati Bengals. Minkah Fitzpatrick started things with a pick-six, the first of four interceptions for Joe Burrow. The Steelers recorded seven sacks, blocked one pick, recovered a fumble and allowed just 20 points to the reigning AFC champions.
It’s an incredible performance, but expect the Steelers D/ST to drop off considerably due to the T.J. Watt injury and the nature of regression for defenses that rely on takeaways.