Are we all ready to overreact after one week?

By Martin Richardson

BECAUSE I AM!

Good grief, what a week to come up against Trevor Lawrence and Christian Watson on the same team. What makes it worse is I had D’Andre Swift and still managed to lose! I will certainly be sparing a thought for anyone who has come up against Josh Allen and Amon Ra St Brown in the same team already this week.

But, if you are anything like me, you will have looked at your team and already thought about benching or dropping some of the duds from the first week of fantasy. Is there anyone who is a big concern after week one? Or are we all over reacting? One player in my league is only winning currently because his opponent is on -4 because of the Lions defense (and he still thinks he may lose). I can’t say anything, my impulsive response to last week’s loss was to start Jameson Williams. Yeh. Worked out well for me that one.

We can only move on and look at some better options going into week 2 of the fantasy season.

ONES TO WATCH: THE GOOD

Starting with some good to come out of week 1, and that is the 49ers offense. Boy, did those veterans look the part. With touchdowns for Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson, the 49ers put the Rams to the sword, so much so Myles Garrett needs four weeks to recover. This is excellent news for anyone who took Evans and Samuel as mid-round flyers with some upside. They showed that with touchdowns, they have massive fantasy relevance; Evans had seven targets for 49 yards and that touchdown; and Deebo had similar with seven targets for 48 yards and a touchdown. Such was how similar all the WR were, even Robinson made the most of his chances, with two targets for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Normally, I would say that these numbers are not the best and it’s only the touchdowns that make them relevant, but, if you are looking for a clear FLEX option in week 2, any of the 49ers veteran WR are a good option. Why? Because they play the Dolphins this weekend. I don’t want to pile on for Dolphins fans, there were some positives in the loss against the Raiders, but for fantasy players, that matchup looks positive for some valuable points.

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Speaking of positives in a tough loss, Denzel Boston of the Cleveland Browns looked like everything I expected him to be on his debut. A 46 yard touchdown on his debut showcased what he can bring to a Browns team that needs a positive headline. Whilst it was only in the fourth quarter that his first catch happened, I’m putting that down to the way the Browns were steamrollered by the Jaguars more so than anything else (even though Watson was garbage). 

This week he comes up against a tough Buccaneers that played well in their loss to the Bengals. Whilst this isn’t exactly a nice matchup for the Browns offense, the Buccaneers have been open big plays in the past; lets not forget Kirk Cousins and the Falcons tore the Bucs defence for nearly 400 yards once. All it takes is Watson to launch one of those big arm balls deep and I fancy Boston to outmatch the likes of Benjamin Morrison one on one. Boston is certainly one to stash and see how his stock rises after a promising week one. If he has another week like that, does he enter the FLEX chat?

The Ones to Watch: The Bad

(I won’t overreact to the Chargers’ poor game. I won’t overreact to the Chargers’ poor game. I won’t…)

Let’s see how they do against the Raiders before we cast judgement.

Which also means fantasy players need to see how Colston Loveland gets on this week against Vikings before we hit panic stations. But, even after one week there are some players who we need to look at and see if they warrant benching or dropping.

Which means I start with someone on my roster: DK Metcalf. I don’t know what was wrong with him last week, but something was off with how he looked and played against a bad Falcons team. With 10 targets he certainly got the ball, but he only had 4 receptions for a meagre 40 yards and no touchdowns. This just isn’t good enough for an apparent WR1. Whereas WR counterpart Michael Pittman Jr was a little more efficient with 58 yards from three receptions, but it still wasn’t great. With an injury designation attached to Pittman Jr, maybe this week Metcalf has a get right game against a New England team looking to bounce back from their week one loss.

This may seem harsh, but as a first-round pick, I expected more from Makai Lemon. He finished his debut game with -5 yards from 3 receptions, which is less than ideal if he’s sat as your WR2 or FLEX. Outshined by WR3 on the roster Dontayvion Wicks, who had a touchdown from less receptions and 73 yards, Lemon needs to make sure he lives up this draft hype. Which is fortunate because he has a perfect get right game against the utterly dreadful Tennessee Titans. I’d be tempted to give him another shot considering his week 2 opponent; but with Wicks lurking in the wings, it may be worth watching with interest how he gets on.

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Ones to Watch: The Wildcards

Ok, so I know they lost, but the Panthers put up a big score against the Bears in that wild game last week. With just shy of 500 total yards, 353 in the air, the Panthers utilised Jalen Coker so well that 8 of the 12 players in my fantasy league put in a waiver claim for him. Coker ended the game with 138 yards, two touchdowns and an average 17.8 yards per attempt. Incredible for a WR2 who probably went undrafted in many leagues. WR1 Tet McMillan had 75 yards but no endzone joy last week, but that could change this week with a divisional match up against the Falcons. 

Whilst Chuba Hubbard got his touchdown, it was clear that Panthers have a plan for Jonathon Brooks as he gets back to full fitness. Playing against a Falcons team that just looks short in most positions bar RB, could be a way to get Brooks into the game in a more even, committee style.
Even Bryce Young looked the part: 3 touchdowns, a QB rating of 110 and an interception showed that he could be a fantasy streamer if his form carries on from this positive start. 

As mentioned, they play the Falcons this week, but the Panthers then have another lay-up against the Browns, followed by a very porous Lions defence in week 4. If it clicks for the Panthers early, they could be in with a shout for the NFC South crown once again, with a whole host of dependable fantasy players.

Finally, I want to end with someone who could well prove to be a great stash and see: WR Caleb Douglas of the Miami Dolphins. Just like the Panthers, the Dolphins lost; and perhaps not with as much hope as the Panthers suggested. However, one bright light was rookie wideout Caleb Douglas, who hit double figures for fantasy players with his 5 receptions and 94 yards. All that was lacking was a touchdown.

Now why is he just a wildcard, well, he is now facing a tough slate of games against the 49ers, Chiefs and Vikings. If Douglas can get a similar share of the ball and make some moves in those games, after an early week 6 bye week, then he could be viable FLEX streamer during that busy bye week programme.

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MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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