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There’s nothing quite like the despair that hits you during the first wave of games. Fantasy players are wincing as each sloppy offensive drive means certain doom for their lineups.
How were we supposed to know that Calvin Austin would outscore Ja’Marr Chase, Nico Collins, Brian Thomas Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Malik Nabers? Or that Juwan Johnson would be the top scoring tight end with Spencer Rattler at quarterback during Week 1?
Don’t even get me started on the running backs. Jahmyr Gibbs, my top overall player during draft season, needed 10 catches to get 15 points in PPR scoring.
Should’ve just taken Emeka Egbuka, Dylan Sampson, and Harold Fannin Jr. to start drafts. It’s so easy to see that now in hindsight.
For me, opening weekend is something to survive in fantasy football. Wins and losses mean less to me than just getting through the weekend with my sanity and rosters intact. It must be the accumulation of fantasy and player takes from the summer needing a release valve. I know someone who, back in high school, used to skip the first day because there was “too much pressure.” I think that might actually be the best approach to the start of the fantasy season.
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In one league I faced the person who drafted from the spot right next to me. I took Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round. The pick right after that was Derrick Henry. In the second round I had my eye on Puka Nacua, but the Henry team drafted him right before me, so I panic-pivoted to Nico Collins. There’s a particular agony to watching your top two picks get outscored by 40 points.
Now that those opening jitters are out of the way, it’s time to attack Week 2 and pay off the mental energy we invested in the offseason. So let’s get carried away.
Fantasy football, Week 2: Here are 5 guys I’m irrationally excited to slide into my lineups
Kayshon Boutte
The Patriots receiver room is a jumble right now. Stefon Diggs, coming off an ACL injury, with glowing training camp reports seemed set as the Patriots WR1. But Drake Maye spread the ball around and it was actually Boutte who not only had the best statistical day but also looked the best. The Patriots face the hapless Miami Dolphins this week and this is a prime spot for the Patriots to flex their offensive potential and work out last week’s frustrations.
Ricky Pearsall
Pearsall was the subject of much debate in the offseason, but this is a straightforward case of Pearsall being the last man standing. George Kittle, Jajuan Jennings, and Brock Purdy all suffered injuries of varying degrees. Kittle is on injured reserve, Purdy was given a nebulous 2-5 weeks timeline for his toe and shoulder ailments. Mac Jones is likely to be the quarterback, and we can take solace in the fact that Jones heavily targeted Brian Thomas Jr. when he stepped in for Trevor Lawrence last season. Christian McCaffrey will get all the work he can handle, but he can’t take every target and carry, right? Pearsall could flirt with 10 targets.
Keon Coleman
Coleman was drafted as bench depth for most teams, but he made an argument to go in starting lineups with his performance against the Ravens in Week 1. Next up is a matchup against a Jets team that showed some offensive spunk and a wobblier than anticipated defense. This game has a sneaky shootout potential and I like the second-year former first-round draft pick to seize the WR1 crown in Buffalo.
Zach Charbonnet
One of the opening week’s biggest surprises was Charbonnet. He outproduced Kenneth Walker, who Seahawks coaches could not stop gushing about all summer. This was an encouraging sign for Charbonnet, one of everyone’s favorite running back stashes from the last two seasons. If he’s really going to get a larger split of the pie, that’s too good to pass up. Especially with a matchup against Pittsburgh, which was just gashed by Breece Hall.
Juwan Johnson
Week 1’s usage for Johnson was so incredible that I don’t see why you wouldn’t immediately plug him into your lineup if you claimed him off waivers in your league. Kellen Moore runs his offense with an incredible pace and volume. Johnson was basically playing as the Saints’ slot receiver. And this is a threadbare receiving group. After Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, Johnson is third in the pecking order and he appears to have established himself as Spencer Rattler’s security blanket. Snuggle up.