(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH OR $13/MONTH WITH AN EXTRA WEEKLY PODCAST.)
I haven’t slept in 72 hours in anticipation of NFL football &*Fihfd—sorry, dozed off for a second there. Just need to make it a few more hours to watch Darren Waller cover the Raven’s defense in hot fudge and eat them for week one dessert. Speaking of dessert, after you treat one of your leaguemates to a week one entree of butt whooping, why not go back for a dessert course of consensual trade intercourse? Rookie Najee Harris had a disappointing NFL debut with only 45 yards on 16 carries with 1 catch for 4 yards in week one. But on the plus side, no other Steeler running back touched the ball. Any way you cut it, that’s a big vote of confidence for a rookie runner. I also expect the Bills run defense will prove to be near the top of the league and the Steeler offense will improve in the coming weeks, in spite of their subpar offensive line. So dangle a couple of buy-low offers out there for Harris and see if you can snag a potential RB1 from an owner over-reacting to one week. Anyway, here’s some more players to buy or sell this week in fantasy football:
BUY
Aaron Jones – It’s difficult to do much with 5 carries and 2 targets. The entire Packers’ team looked like they were out late Saturday night, drinking Old Milwaukee and shoveling blocks of cheddar into their pie holes. As a Bears fan, I hope this is the Packers team we see all season. As a human of slightly below-average intelligence, I know this isn’t the Packers team we’ll see all season.
Derrick Henry – If the Henry owner in your league is panicking about his 17 carries for 58 yards and 3 catches for 19 yards then take advantage. Chandler “Sack Lunch” Jones and the Cardinals’ defense looked unstoppable in week one. Much better days are ahead for The Predator.
Saquon Barkley – We knew Saquon would be limited in week one since the Giants announced it, but maybe the owner in your league wasn’t following the news?
Mark Ingram – It’s hard not to recommend buying a guy who just handled 26 carries, even though I really don’t believe this workload continues. He only averaged 3.3 yards per carry, plus David Johnson and Philip Lindsay could each take the reigns on any given week. Still, Ingram is available in tons of leagues and needs to be reluctantly added.
Javonte Williams – Melvin Gordon had a huge 70-yard touchdown run to ice the game, but make no mistake, rookie Javonte Williams is the real deal. The kid handled 14 carries to Gordon’s 11 carries, a huge vote of confidence from the coaching staff. I’m expecting big things from Williams in the coming weeks.
Trey Sermon – The rookie didn’t suit up for week 1, but Raheem Mostert did what Raheem Mostert does and got hurt. Elijah Mitchell had a big game but the 9ers spent a 3rd rounder on Sermon for a reason, and now the door is wide open for the kid. I have no issues with adding Mitchell if he’s cheap, but I have too little faith and there’s too much competition in San Fran for me to advise spending up on someone who could be a one-hit-wonder.
Larry Rountree – Everyone, including our own Rudy Gamble, was telling me Justin Jackson is the Chargers’ backup to own. I protested, and the rookie Rountree’s 8 carries compared to Jackson’s 1 carry have me victory lapping about something that doesn’t deserve a victory lap. But still, the Rountree training camp reports were sparkling and I expect he contributes more each week, even if Ekeler is healthy.
Tony Jones – The Saints backup took 11 carries for 55 yards in the opener—nothing eye-popping but he’s the new Latavius Murray in this offense which has real value. And if Kamara were to go down, then you’re looking at league-winning potential with TJ. Make sure he’s owned in your leagues.
Julio Jones – Julio hauled in 3 catches for 29 yards on 6 targets in his Titans debut. Remember, the Cardinals defense is really, really good. And even legends like Julio can take some time to acclimate to new offenses. Poke your paw through that buy window and see if there’s anything in there.
Kenny Golladay – Kenny G didn’t exactly sing out of tune in week one with his 4 catches for 64 yards. But I’m listing him here anyway because it’s great to see him healthy again and I noticed he was being severely disrespected in my late fantasy drafts. There’s a chance the owner in your league got him very cheap so it’s worth investigating whether that’s a buy window or hold wall; Golladay still has WR1 upside.Â
Courtland Sutton – I’ve just returned from an all-night vigil for Jerry Jeudy’s ankle. Now it’s time to move forward. Sutton caught 1 of 3 targets for 14 yards in his return to action and was clearly second fiddle to Jeudy. With the Judge on the bench—or off the bench?—Sutton should now see a heavy dose of targets moving forward. See if his owner is aware of what they’ve fallen into.
Marquez Callaway – I’m not giving up on Marquez the Man after just one game. The lack of targets (2) is a little concerning for a guy I was really high on due to opportunity, but there wasn’t a need for Jameis to air it out against a walking dead Packers team in this one. I still think its go time for Callaway in week two and while it’s important not to overreact to one week, we also need to stay grounded in reality if the targets don’t come in week 2.
Tim Patrick & K.J. Hamler – Both these Broncos receivers are also worth a roster spot in the wake of the Jeudy tragedy. I’m not sure which of the two benefits most since they were both already factors prior to the injury. Patrick looked really good and Hamler dropped a huge touchdown—I guess you give the edge to the guy who looked really good, although Hamler is much more exciting. I’m a sucker for excitement.Â
Michael Pittman – Zach Pascal caught two touchdowns this week, but we can expect that flukiness to come to an abrupt end. Pittman caught 3 of 4 targets for 29 yards and I’m confident the talented second-year man will break out sooner rather than later.
Quintez Cephus – Saw a team-high among receivers with seven targets and he caught a touchdown. If you need an upside option on your bench, I think Cephus might be in for a really nice season in Motown.
Aaron Rodgers – Was still dreaming of Jeopardy to start week one. It might not happen in week two, but I’d be shocked if the future Hall of Famer doesn’t snap out of his daze in the next few weeks. Or maybe he’ll decide Jeopardy is the better career path.
Juwan Johnson – I recommended him in my Sunday morning gameday post as a sneaky start and Juwan obliged with two touchdown catches. He appears to have an early connection with Winston and is already worth a look for the tight end needy in deeper leagues.
Pharaoh Brown – This might surprise you, but our own Paul Blake hyped up this unknown Texan’s tight end two weeks ago in his first fantasy football deep leagues post. Brown is the starting TE in Houston and caught 4 of 5 targets for 67 yards in week one. He’s also a mountain of a man and Tyrod Taylor likes to target tight ends. Keep the big man on your radar.
SELL
Tyler Lockett – Here’s the section where I get to double down on players I disliked this preseason. Yes, Lockett just hauled in 4 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns—a huge game. But he also had TWO games with three touchdowns in the Seahawks’ first six games last year and then disappeared for the following nine weeks. I won’t soon forget his inconsistency, since he was on my team. Shop Lockett around and see if you can sell him now as a low-end WR1.
Joe Mixon – HATE, HATE, HATE! It’s true, I’ve always been a Mixon hater. Admittedly, he looked sharp in week one, so I’m not saying to sell Joe for a bag of Brady’s deflated balls and loaves of Subway bread. Mixon is a solid RB2 in my book and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you can get an RB1 return coming off a nice first week, then give it strong consideration.Â
Melvin Gordon – As you may have gathered from the Javonte Williams blurb above, I’m concerned about Gordon’s workload moving forward. See if you can sell him high this week and cash in on his one big run.
Ezekiel Elliott – Zeke will be a popular buy-low target after a very disappointing week one against Tampa’s stout run defense. I’m running in the opposite direction. I’ll say it again for those in the back: Elliott has a ton of career carries on the odometer and isn’t the same player he once was. People will call me crazy, as usual, but I legitimately think Tony Pollard is the better running back at this stage in their careers. That’s not to say Pollard will be the more valuable fantasy player this season, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t eat into Zeke’s workload in a significant way.
