7 Fantasy Football Studs Who Started Slow in Week 1: Will They Rebound?

Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins

After an offseason of talking up his workhorse ability, Miami gave Lamar Miller 14 touches in a game that was close until the end, despite the fact that Miller was reasonably effective. As a whole, this Miami offense stalled as they attempted to dink and dunk their way down the field with limited success.

Miller finished with 75 total yards and zero touchdowns and looked like a player who will need great matchups in order to get the workload necessary to be fantasy relevant. His Rushing NEP per rush score of -0.07 isn't particularly good, but great backs can overcome inefficient games with volume. And that doesn't seem to be in the cards for Miller on a consistent basis.

The Dolphins will have a lot of bad matchups this season, which comes with playing against the good fronts of the Bills, Patriots and Jets six times a year, and it's hard to feel optimistic about Miller's upside in games against those types of teams. That will be especially true if rookie Jay Ajayi returns from injury to steal additional carries from Miller around midseason.

At the end of the day, Miller is a talented back who may not receive the workload needed to emerge as a top eight type of player. He will still have immense value this season, but the upside appears capped by a lack of volume. With expectations kept in check, Miller will be a solid second running back as the season progresses.

If the Week 1 usage is any indication, don't look for him to have many dominant weeks this year and be the type of "league winning" player that many hoped he could become in this offense.