After the first week of the NFL season, it’s always fun to look around your fantasy league to see who panics first. Plus, how much stock can you put into Smith if he hasn’t gotten the ball into the hands of one of his WRs for a TD in over a season! I don’t think so, and he should start rebounding in Week 2 against a Detroit defense that gave up nearly 500 yards of offense in Week 1. With 70 receiving yards on Monday Night, Dunbar was the leading receiver in the game.
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The first week is in the books and Fantasy owners are looking to bolster their team with unexpected talent. He is only owned in 20% of Yahoo leagues so go ahead and check your waiver wire for this guy. Why is that? Star wide receiver Dez Bryant has a broken bone in his foot, and he will be out for at least a month.
On the defensive side, the Ravens lost Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs (torn Achilles). If you won this week, you are dreaming of hoisting your league’s trophy, and more importantly spending the cash.
Heading into Week 2 some of the top fantasy football pickup players include Karlos Williams, John Brown, Marcus Mariota, David Johnson, Bishop Sankey, James Jones, Michael Crabtree, Ameer Abdullah, Benny Cunningham, Donte Moncrief and Stevie Johnson if they remain available as free agents in some leagues. This big (6-1, 224 pounds), explosive rookie made noise with a 55-yard catch-and-run score on Sunday and likely would handle primary between-the-tackles and goal line duties in Ellington’s place. Tyler Eifert was great on Sunday with nine catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns and if he remains healthy, he will be a high upside tight end option for the Bengals.
Aaron Rodgers and he have great chemistry, and it looks like Jones had a full grasp on the game plan considering he just joined the Packers a week ago. Lockett had four receptions for 34 yards in Sunday’s loss to the St. Louis Rams. They just snapped a 10-game losing streak! Expect the top QB in the game to set off some fireworks and light up the Legion of Boom. He gets a date with the Indianapolis Colts next, who are reeling after their Week 1 beatdown by the Bills. But if you already have a steady, proven starter, he should not be a priority, but put in a claim for the possible bonus value that can be added to your roster. It’s as simple as that. While I do believe Ivory could have an excellent year as the Jet’s primary RB, I am more for taking a wait-and-see approach as nothing should be judged by one game, let alone one game versus the Browns.
Mariota’s 24 points, incidentally, were accrued in exactly three quarters’ action; backup Zach Mettenberger played the entire fourth quarter, with his team up, 42-7. He can’t get the separation from defenders the way he used to and there are better fantasy options out there. It boasts two talented rushers in Joique Bell and rookie Ameer Abdullah. MRI came back negative, but may miss some time as we find out the extent of the injury.
Dalton will never be fully trusted by fantasy owners, but if the matchup is right, he’ll get you points.
Effective as of, well, right now, I’ll be penning our weekly ESPN Fantasy waiver wire adds column. Again this week, and the next few, matchups won’t play a big factor. That being said, it will be harder for Brady to deliver a similar performance on the road against Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills’ blitzing defense in Week 2. The Titans have simplified the offense for Mariota and he looked very poised and sharp Sunday, but we was facing Tampa Bay, and upcoming opponents may test him more.
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Well, Week 1 saw Abdulla rush for 50 yards and a touchdown and receive for another 44 yards en route to putting up a solid 15 points in non-PPR leagues. So who can you plug in or pick up off the waiver wire for this upcoming week?
