With Week One of the NFL season in the books, all is chaos. John Reinhold tries to make sense of it all and find some decent matchups for Week Two in this edition of the Fantasy Freakout.
Welcome to week two of the fantasy freakout! Plenty to freak out about now. Fantasy scoring was all over the place, with a few duds and some big surprising studs. I think one of the biggest surprises has to be Jameis Winston’s big day against Green Bay. I was just lucky enough to start Green Bay’s defense (Booo), hopefully you didn’t take my advice, or anyone’s advice, on starting them. You would figure that Winston would not light it up against Green Bay, and that some kind of turnover would happen. But -5 points!! -5. Yes, negative. Thanks, Aaron Rodgers, you as usual cease to amaze me. There’s no I in team, huh? Maybe put in some work and actually lead them. I would have to imagine that this loss is going to light a fire under his ass. But I’m holding on starting Green Bay’s defense, even against the Lions, until I get a better idea of what exactly was up.
For Chicago, we learned that Andy Dalton was exactly who we thought he was. The Justin Fields era can’t get going fast enough. Monty rumbled, however so total hope is not lost. The Eagles looked really sharp overall; Hurts looks to be a possible franchise QB against the Falcons. The much-touted tight end Kyle Pitts tanked. The Bearded One, Fitz Magic for Washington, didn’t even make it that long. I’m not sure if that affects Terry McLaurin a whole lot. In the same game, Chargers QB Herbert was on fire; 13/16 on third downs and hitting everything — except, surprisingly enough, Austin Ekeler, who didn’t even get a target. What??? Fantasy owners have to be scratching their heads on this.
Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes were their usual brilliant selves. Mahomes is insane with some of those cross-body flicks for 50 yards while running the opposite direction. Most coaches teach you to never even try that, but this guy is an alien, I’m convinced. Speaking of insanity, did you see Kyler Murray’s game? Look, the Titans don’t have a pass rush, but my dude balled out. Henry couldn’t get going for the Titans, but I suspect that changes. In New York, Broncos running back Melvin Gordon found the fountain of youth, while both Daniel Jones and Teddy Bridgewater looked serviceable. Sam Darnold got revenge against the Jets, as Zach Wilson was welcomed to first string pass rush for the first time. The 49s vs the Lions was crazy when it comes to fantasy implications. It’s all too much. So Raheem Mostert gets hurt, then apparently Trey Sermon is in the doghouse with the coach. Elijah Mitchell comes in and now he probably takes over, but who ever knows with that team. Brandon Aiyuk was a complete zero, nada, nothing. Lions were fighting hard in this one. Lions RB D’Andre Swift looks to be a good pick in fantasy if he’s used like this every week. TJ Hockenson is going to eat up so many targets week in and week out.
Pittsburgh beat the Bills and Najee Harris — and only Najee — ran a lot without a lot of points. But that should change. Houston ruined Trevor Lawrence’s first chance to win a NFL game, even though overall his performance was OK. I’m pretty sure we can chalk this up to a college coach, Urban Meyer, that needs a little time to adjust. And I don’t know… maybe consider using James Robinson to run the ball? For the Texans, a lot of this was helped with Mark Ingram getting 26 carries. Didn’t see that coming, did we? Thursday seems like years ago, but Brady was the GOAT, and hit the old fellas up a lot to take the game. Cowboys’ Dak was impressive, but running game has to get going at some point. Monday night wrapped us up with the Raiders playing some gritty ball. Lamar Jackson had a few issues that led to the Raiders coming back. Also, the Ravens defense had to deal with tight end Darren Waller, who looked like a nightmare to cover. Week One is in the books, and a lot of things are still wait-and-see.
Waiver Wire Adds:
Elijah Mitchell (RB, San Fran), Zach Pascal (WR, Colts), Carlos Hyde (RB, Jacksonville), Tim Patrick (WR, Broncos), Van Jefferson (WR, Rams), Juwan Johnson (TE, Saints), and Larry Roundtree III (RB, Chargers).
Notable Starts / Sits / Streamers:
Play your best players. If you have to decide between a few people, here are some decent matchups on paper.
Quarterbacks
Start: Baker Mayfield vs Houston, Teddy Bridgewater vs Jacksonville.
Sit: Matt Ryan vs Tampa Bay, Carson Wentz vs Rams.
Running backs
Start: Melvin Gordon Vs Jacksonville, David Montgomery vs Bengals.
Sit: Mike Davis vs Rams, Saquon Barkley vs Washington.
Wide Receivers
Start: Antonio Brown vs Falcons, Cooper Kupp vs Colts, Mike Williams vs Dallas.
Sit: Michael Pittman vs Rams, Kenny Golladay vs Washington, Henry Ruggs vs Pitt.
Tight Ends
Start: Gronk vs Falcons, Mark Andrews vs Chiefs.
Sit: Mike Gesiki vs The Bills, Anthony Firkser vs Seattle.
Defense
Start: Saints vs Panthers, Washington vs Giants.
Sit: San Fran vs Eagles, Bills vs Miami.
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OK, good luck again, everyone. Let’s see how much more freaky things can get this week!
Photo: My fantasy football teams are always the GOATS OF DOOM. Because goats.
