1. JuJu Smith-Schuster Is Outperforming Antonio Brown
JuJu Smith-Schuster has a better catch rate (66.2%) than Antonio Brown (54.5%). He also has a better catch percentage than Odell Beckham (62.5%) and Julio Jones (53.6%).
Smith-Schuster is fifth in yards (240), which is also better than Brown (160). In fact, he’s outpacing Brown with 13.3 yards per reception compared to 8.9.
One certainty after two game is there will always be a level of overreaction, so let’s not do that. But we can definitely indulge a couple data points that make you take a second look.
Through two games, Brown and Smith-Schuster have the same amount of receptions (18) while Smith-Schuster has 6 fewer targets (27).
Is Smith-Schuster better than Brown now? No, obviously not. But right now, he’s making the most of his targets and is going to be a big fantasy factor all season long.
2. Kenny Golladay Is Leapfrogging Marvin Jones
At various points, Marvin Jones, Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay each had their time to shine in 2017, but in the first two weeks of 2018, one is clearly above the rest.
Golladay has stepped into a primetime role.
Despite sitting behind Tate (28) in targets with 21, Golladay is outpacing Jones (17) and doing more than both of them.
Golladay has 13 receptions for 203 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s nearly double the production of Jones, who has 8 catches for 108 and a score. Tate has 14 receptions for 188 yards but has seen 7 more targets.
Golladay is catching 61.9 percent of his targets, better than the catch rates of Tate (50%) and Jones (47%).
These three solid receivers will likely cannibalize each other some weeks, but Golladay has been great through two games and looks to be ahead of Jones in the pecking order.