Courtesy of: Bleacher Report
I’ve always maintained that draft day is the most important day of your fantasy season. Your prospects for a championship rest solely on your ability to find value, balance, and upside at that very moment when your pick is upon you. You can’t win your league on draft day; but you can absolutely lose it. But draft day is also just the starting line of what is a long, gut-punchingly frustrating marathon of a season. And just as you can’t take a drink of water at the start of a marathon and expect it to last you 26.2 miles; you can’t sit back and let your preseason roster take you to the finish.
We’re through three weeks of the season now and it’s time to start accepting some of the early trends we’ve seen as more than just flukes. I am concerned about Eddie Lacy. I am excited about DeAndre Hopkins. I am completely perplexed by Keenan Allen. These are observations that demand attention as we’re a quarter of the way through the fantasy regular season.
No matter whether you are 3-0 or 0-3, there are reasons to take stock of your roster. Maybe you have “studs” that are underperforming; maybe you have waiver-wire saviors keeping you in the win column each week. Either way, I guarantee there are improvements to be made on your team and there’s no reason to sit back passively and hope for the best. Get out there and make some moves!
My colleague, Brett Dickinson, just wrote a great piece about moving a stud performer in order to gather a deep and useful bench moving forward. That is certainly one strategy for team improvement. But perhaps you have a plethora of flex-worthy RBs and WRs; why not be the guy on the other end and bring that stud player to your team to solidify that rolodex of a roster spot. There’s more than one way to skin a cat and there’s more than one way to win a championship. But the best way to ensure a trip to consolation bracket is by doing nothing. Get active; unleash your inner used car salesman and start making some deals.
If you’re a little skittish, or find yourself face to face with a trade offer that has you on the fence, drop me a line using the fantasy mailbag or tweet me @Wordslinger_81 and I’ll weigh in. Now, onto some guys I’m all in on this week and some I’m all out. Last week I went 4-2; time to step it up!
(All projections are based on ESPN standard league scoring)
3 I Like
QB, Teddy Bridgewater (13 pts proj.)- Welcome to bye-maggedon. It’s the first week of rest and we’ve got a whopping 6 teams off the schedule. We’re not talking about the Bucs and Jags either; we’re talking about a bunch of fantasy studs taking a breather. So I’m digging a little deeper this week and Teddy B is on my radar. What did we all say about Bridgewater this time last year; that he was the most NFL ready of the QBs coming out in the draft. Well, now is his chance to prove it. In his first week as the new starter in Minnesota, he gets a rejuvenated Atlanta defense that has been fairly stingy on QBs through three weeks. But what I like about Teddy is he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. I also like his mobility; not his propensity to take off downfield, but his ability to move around. He’s got a veteran receiver in Greg Jennings to throw to and a playmaker in Cordarelle Patterson who can keep the defense guessing. I don’t expect a huge game from the young QB, but I expect a solid, mistake free performance worthy of a pickup in a slim week.
RB, Alfred Blue (4 pts proj.)- If Arian Foster is out this week, Blue is a lock to outperform this modest projection. But that’s not why I selected him…in fact, I think Foster likely plays. The reason he’s on this list is because there are people out there who literally have no one to start at the RB spot this week. And if you are one of those folks, you’re looking for a backup who might get some real work. Blue is that guy. I expect Foster to play but be limited; the Texans don’t want to run him into the ground already. Blue looked good the past two weeks, including a 6 YPC average last week against the Giants. Buffalo is a strong defense, but if Blue can garner 10 more touches in this game, I think you’ll be happy with what he does with them.
WR, Greg Jennings (12 pts proj.)- See Bridgewater, Teddy. When the young QB came in for Matt Cassel last week, he looked to Jennings right away. The receiver is not the downfield threat he once was, but he remains a sure-handed veteran who can run routes and that’s what Bridgewater needs with a questionable run game behind him. I think Jennings becomes the safety valve this week and the targets go through the roof. Volume alone gets him on this list.
3 I Don’t
RB, Trent Richardson (12 pts proj.)- Week after week, the Colts keep trotting him out there hoping for the magic they thought they traded for last year. And week after week he gets outperformed by his battery mate Ahmad Bradshaw. This week, I expect history to repeat again. Cincy and Dallas both ran roughshod over the Titans in weeks 2 and 3, but they had legitimate star running backs. Meanwhile Richardson is averaging a plodding 3.8 YPC and hasn’t found the endzone. He’ll probably get another 15-18 touches this week and he’ll put up 60-80 total yards. That’s what he is folks, sorry to burst your bubble.
WR, James Jones (12 pts proj.)- Jones has proven to be a startable weapon in the Oakland offense, which is a bigger compliment than it sounds. He found the endzone in his first two games with the Raiders, but my concern is in the volume of looks. This offense just isn’t that good and they put together an awful lot of three-and-outs. In weeks 1 and 3, Jones caught just 3 passes in each. Granted, one was for a TD, but I need more than that if I’m going to start a guy traveling from California to London this week.
TE, Travis Kelce (10 pts proj.)- Averaging nearly 17 yards per catch, Kelce is a guy who is no longer flying under the radar. At such a thin position, he has become practically an automatic start each week as one of Alex Smith’s key targets. This week however, the Chiefs take on a Patriots defense that hasn’t given up a TD to a TE yet and currently ranks third against the position to date. I think Jamaal Charles makes his return this week as well, meaning that at least of few potential targets will make their way to the running back and away from one of the pass catchers. Unless Kelce finds the endzone, which seems unlikely, he’s not going to top 7 fantasy points this week.
YTD: 13-4-1
