The first week of the NFL season will sometimes lead to some rash decisions being made by Fantasy Football owners. For the half of players that suffered a loss in Week 1, it certainly isn’t time to panic. There were a few anomalies during the first week of the season that led to less-than-ideal Fantasy Football outcomes.
If there is a manager that has a quick trigger finger and is looking to make a deal, this is the time to buy. There are a number of players who present excellent buy-low opportunities early in the season.
The first player is the reigning rushing leader, Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders. It wasn’t too surprising that he got off to a slow start after spending almost all of the offseason away from the team in a contract dispute. On top of that, he drew a tough matchup against the Denver Broncos.
But, encouragingly, he was one of only four running backs to receive at least 19 carries in Week 1. His workload looks unchanged from last season, which means better times are going to be coming sooner than later.
Another player who drew a tough matchup in Week 1 was Chicago Bears wide receiver, D.J. Moore. The team’s new No. 1 target had to work against Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas of the Green Bay Packers, leading to Darnell Mooney having a big game against slot corner Keisean Nixon.
Moore had only two receptions for 25 yards and some Fantasy Football managers may get panicky given the overall underwhelming performance of the Bears’ passing offense. He isn’t going to get matched up against Alexander all season, so buy low when you still can.
Another pass catcher worth trying to acquire is Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. Week 1 was a disaster as he put up 0.0, torpedoing numerous Fantasy Football lineups. Joe Burrow was a mess, as only one target to Higgins was deemed catchable and he dropped it.
But, Higgins did receive eight targets, a healthy number. The weather certainly didn’t help as it was rainy and windy in Cleveland all afternoon. The Bengals offense didn’t forget how to produce so if someone wants to trade them, hop on the opportunity to acquire.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver had an awful performance on national television on Thursday Night Football in the season opener. It would not be surprising if he were dropped in a few Fantasy Football leagues; that is how poorly he performed.
But, some slack should be cut for him as his offseason was limited, once again, but injury. We saw the impact he could have for the Chiefs during the Super Bowl. Without competition for touches, he is a prime bounce-back candidate as he remains way ahead of Skyy Moore and Richie James Jr. on the pecking order.
Last but night least, if Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is available in your league, acquire him. Scoring a zero in the first week of the season will give Fantasy Football managers headaches, but he is someone poised to break out.
He failed to catch either of his targets but was on the field for 95.6 percent of the offensive snaps in base personnel. Early down and distances, namely obvious run downs, were the only times that Okonwko was coming off the field.
The Titans’ Week 1 opponent, the New Orleans Saints, is excellent at slowing down opposing tight ends. If a Fantasy Football manager is willing to move him, the time is now to strike on acquiring him at a bargain price.
