Fantasy Football: Week 1 Hangover, And A Look At Week 2
By Hunter Helms
Week one of the fantasy football season was a blast and a whirlwind of scoring. What does week two have in store?
This past Sunday, someone in my league scored 192 points.
One Hundred and Ninety Two Points.
I scored 132 points myself, which is a great outing, but compared to 192…I mean what even is this? You just can’t win sometimes.
The most I’ve EVER scored is 150. I play standard PPR, and 9 out of the 10 teams in my league broke 100, and of those 9, 8 scored over 125. Ridiculous.
Anyway, let’s look at some storylines from week 1.
Jared Cook, TE1?
Any other year, I would call his week 1 outing a fluke. However, things are going to be different under Jon Gruden. It looks like this is going to be a run-first, short passing team. That leads to another question- what will happen to Amari Cooper? I’m hoping for the best, but I don’t know how Gruden will use him. I would keep him on the bench for the time being. Back to Jared Cook, the Raiders are going to Denver this week, so expect a 10-12 point game from the TE.
Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead, Joh- You know what, just the entire Ravens offense.
I don’t know, honestly. Alex Collins was benched/rested after a fumble, but every single key Raven scored a touchdown. Crabtree, Snead, Allen, Brown, Collins- all of them. I’m just as unsure about them as I was a few weeks ago. I’m not totally sure Alex Collins will be the #1 guy in week 2, but I know Buck Allen isn’t a 3-down back. If you’re a Collins owner, and you have multiple options, I would go ahead and start one of them instead, just to make sure of Collins’ role. If you have Crabtree, I think he’s a safe FLEX play, but you should pick up one of Snead or Brown if you can.
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Rams Wideouts
They’re both great options, but it should be recognized that Kupp is the go-to-guy in this offense. Cooks is a great vertical threat, and he will have his weeks, but you’ll find more 10-12 point weeks than not. Robert Woods on the other hand…I would start looking around for trade partners.
Where was Derrick Henry?
He was there, but he couldn’t find his way onto the field after two several hour delays. The Titans were trailing all game, and Dion Lewis took over. I love Derrick Henry, but with the Titans going up against the Texans, Jaguars, and Eagles the next three weeks, it may be best to keep him on the bench. If it wasn’t bad enough already, Dion Lewis was the one Tennessee turned to when at the 4 yard line. I still think he can be a legit fantasy starter, but I’m not sure when that time will come.
One of the top 3 preseason TE’s, Kelce was left in the dust in a week 1 torching of the Chargers, catching just one ball for 6 yards. That’s…not good, but I don’t think you should worry. Next week’s matchup against the Steelers should be a bit more grounded and Mahomes may find himself leaning on his star TE. For my more cynical friends out there, you could probably fetch a pretty penny for Kelce, considering fantasy players lost Delanie Walker and Greg Olsen to the IR.
Are the Jets legit?
I think so, yes. I think they’re going to make the playoffs or come close to it. Their defense looked stout and Sam Darnold could do some damage with the pieces around him. I’m not sure how I feel about him as a fantasy player, but it wouldn’t hurt to add him if you stream QB’s. Enunwa and Crowell should be fantasy mainstays, so all in all, the Jets are in for a good year, at least in fantasy.
Vikings Offense
They were solid. There really isn’t much else to say, although I was a bit surprised Kyle Rudolph only caught one pass, but at least it was for a touchdown. Cook showed his receiving skills, Diggs caught a TD, and Thielen had over a 100 yards receiving. Outside of Latavius Murray, if you were an owner of a Vikings player, you had a nice weekend.
Defense
The streaming options I like, owned by less than 25% of payers:
Dolphins, Jets, Giants, Redskins, Bengals, and Falcons.
Here are the notable players I would bench in Week 2-
RB
- Devante Freeman
- Lamar Miller
- Kenyan Drake
- Alex Collins
- Duke Johnson
- Matt Brieda
- Derrick Henry
- Marshawn Lynch
- Duke Johnson
- Jamaal Williams
- Peyton Barber
WR
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Chris Hogan
- Marvin Jones
- Michael Crabtree
- Kenny Stills
- Devin Funchess
- Corey Davis
- Robert Woods
TE
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