Feed off of antsy owners’ mistakes
WHILE the end of Week 1 of both the NFL and fantasy football seasons is all about panic and overreaction, the end of Week 2 is steeped in sadness and regret for most who play this game.
Regardless of whether they won or lost their first matchup, chances are there was significant roster turnover, as players who disappointed that first week were never given the opportunity to redeem themselves in Week 2. And now that they’ve showed those panicky owners the error of their ways, they are just sitting there, ripe for the picking, on that waiverwire vine.
Just go and ask the owner in your league who dropped either Eric Ebron or Vance McDonald so they could roster T.J. Hockenson how they’re feeling today? Probably not so hot after watching both do some end-zone dancing in Week 2 while Hockenson provided just one catch for 7 yards to follow up his big debut. Rookie tight ends are nearly impossible to trust, and now those owners are left wondering how much to spend on waivers to correct this mistake.
Or, how about the owners who stomped their feet like a spoiled brat after Geronimo Allison failed to record a single catch in the opener and swapped him out for Marquise Brown or Courtland Sutton? The rookie was sitting on seven catches for 45 yards until a 41-yard grab late in the fourth quarter while Sutton posted just 40 yards on four catches. Neither of them scored. Meanwhile, Allison caught four of his five targets for just 25 yards, but found his way into the end zone and into Aaron Rodgers’ Circle of Trust. If you’re asking yourself if you should pick Allison up, the answer is he never should have been dropped.
Everything in Tampa Bay seemed to point to Peyton Barber as the lead back, and there were even a few endorsements from head coach Bruce Arians. But after just eight carries for 33 yards and one good 18-yard catch by Ronald Jones, everyone was ready to hand the keys to the kingdom over to Jones and Barber was dumped. This was not ideal.
Now you get to sift through all the free agents and see which players your leaguemates mistakenly released. Most sites offer ownership percentages, so start at the top and see which of the most highly owned on the website are available in your league. Allison, McDonald, Ebron and Barber are likely just the tip of the iceberg. And Darwin Thompson is sure to be lurking somewhere.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm. com for all your fantasy sports advice, NFL player rankings.