Week 2 Reactions: Tight End Troubles

Tom Brady broke out in a huge way after a disappointing Week 1 performance against the Chiefs, completing 30 of 39 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns Sunday against New Orleans. Brady absolutely tore apart the Saints' porous pass defense, completing throws to nine players, highlighted by tight end Rob Gronkowski (six catches on nine targets for 116 yards and a touchdown) and running back James White (eight catches on eight targets for 85 yards). If there was a complaint to be made it was that former Saint Brandin Cooks had almost no impact on the passing game, catching two of four targets for 37 yards while five players had at least three catches and Gronkowski, Chris Hogan and Rex Burkhead caught touchdown passes. There was almost no doubt that Brady was going to bounce back after struggling against the Chiefs, but fantasy owners who were hoping to double down with Cooks didn't get their wish.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, and stop me if you've heard this one before: Gronkowski was forced out with an injury, this time to his groin. On the positive side, at least Gronkowski didn't re-injure his surgically repaired back. On the negative, Gronkowski's fantasy owners now have ANOTHER injury to worry about. He was having an excellent game and it could have been more had he not dropped a pass in the end zone to add to his earlier 53-yard score, but he was unable to make it through the third quarter because of his newest injury. He didn't talk much to the media but apparently told ESPN.com's Mike Reiss "I'm good" after the game. Who knows what that actually means, but Gronkowski will surely be questionable for next week's game against the Texans.

Gronkowski was far from the only high-profile tight end to fall to injury Sunday, as the Panthers' Greg Olsen could miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken right foot in the second quarter against the Bills. Unlike Gronkowski, Olsen's fantasy day was far from productive before going down, catching one of two targets for 10 yards, his second consecutive game with fewer than 20 receiving yards. It looks like that could be it for the Panthers' starting tight end this year, which means Cam Newton will have to rely more on Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess and, probably the most intriguing option, rookie running back Christian McCaffrey in the passing game.

Adding to the list was the Seahawks' Jimmy Graham, who appeared to get shaken up at one point but was eventually able to return. However, fantasy owners may not have known it, as he finished with just one catch on two targets for one yard. If you're sitting there as an Olsen fantasy owner wishing you had gotten more production out of him in the first two weeks, be thankful you don't have Graham, who preceded Saturday's one-yard showing by catching three passes on seven targets for eight yards against the Packers. The biggest positive is certainly that Graham will be available to play in future weeks, though there can't be much confidence.

Oh, and a list of injured tight ends wouldn't be complete without Jordan Reed, who left Sunday's game against the Rams in the middle of the third quarter with a chest injury. He was eventually able to return late in the fourth, but with Reed reportedly playing through a broken bone in his toe as well, any additional injury won't be taken lightly.

It wasn't all bad for tight ends Sunday, as Antonio Gates caught the 112th touchdown pass of his career, pushing him ahead of Tony Gonzalez for the most scores by a tight end in league history.

If there's a tight end who cannot be ignored it's the Chiefs' Travis Kelce, who caught eight of 10 targets for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 27-20 win over the Eagles. While he's a huge target in the end zone, his score Sunday came on a quick pitch that he took to the house thanks to a questionable but ultimately fruitful decision to go airborne:

Staying with the Chiefs, Kareem Hunt put up another big game, totaling 109 yards from scrimmage (13 carries for 81 rushing yards, three catches on three targets for 28 receiving yards) and two touchdowns. After scoring three times against the Patriots in Week 1, Hunt became just the fourth player in NFL history to score at least five touchdowns in the first two games of his career, joining Jahvid Best (five TDs in 2010), Billy Sims (five in 1980) and Dutch Sternaman (six in 1920). The accomplishment may be as impressive as the list of players is not. It's probably worth noting that one of Hunt's scores came on a 53-yard rush, so otherwise he carried 12 times for 28 yards (2.3 YPC). Or, you could look at it that he simply has big-play ability, as evidenced by his 58-yard run and 78-yard touchdown reception against the Patriots. Relying on big plays can be tough, but the Chiefs may have the personnel (I'm looking at you, Tyreek Hill) to make it a more regular occurrence.

Hunt only became the starter after Spencer Ware suffered a serious knee injury during training camp, but the Chiefs certainly haven't lost any production out of the backfield (one could argue they're actually getting more out of it now). However, the same can't be said for the Cardinals, who are looking to replace the giant void left by David Johnson. Last season's highest-scoring fantasy running back is expected to be sidelined until December after suffering a dislocated left wrist in Week 1 against the Lions, which will feel like an eternity to a team that really struggled Sunday. Coming in as 6.5-point road favorites at Indianapolis, the Cardinals' running backs combined for 77 yards on 22 carries (3.5 YPC), led by Chris Johnson's 11 rushes for 44 yards. No single player was going to replace the production that David Johnson was able to put up, but the Cardinals, who were also without starting wideout John Brown, could struggle even more offensively than initially thought.

Speaking of struggling offenses, the Seahawks escaped with a 12-9 home win over the 49ers thanks to some magical play by quarterback Russell Wilson. Seattle didn't even score as many points as the spread (13.5), though they may have found their new starting running back in Chris Carson. With Eddie Lacy inactive (coach's decision) and Thomas Rawls making his season debut after missing Week 1 with an ankle injury, Carson was given the keys to the backfield, rushing 20 times for 93 yards and catching one of two targets for seven receiving yards. Meanwhile, Rawls rushed just five times for four rushing yards (and didn't contribute in the passing game) and C.J. Prosise caught three of six targets for 22 receiving yards but didn't get a single carry. Seattle's offensive line continues to struggle, as Wilson appears to constantly be running for his life, but Carson was still effective Sunday, and probably effective enough to get the full start and workload in Week 3.