Playing on the road, the Jets destroyed the Lions in every facet of the game. In Jon Gruden's official return to the NFL, the visiting Rams handily beat the Raiders. In both games, the home teams looked sharp early before falling apart in the second half.
It's hard at the moment to assign a 16-game judgment to the Jets. Are they a .500+ team? Is their defense this good? Is their running game this effective? Is Sam Darnold battling Saquon Barkley for ROY honors? One thing is fairly certain: their home game against Miami next week makes their key players tempting must-starts in all deep leagues, with Isaiah Crowell (15% unrostered in ESPN leagues) a potential #1 pickup in all leagues where James Conner's already accounted for. This doesn't mean I've been converted into a Crowell "true believer." He might not average more than 10-12 weekly touches in this backfield. But at the very least, he's the 1A back in an offense that *looks* better than I and many others thought it would.
As for the Detroit and Oakland, the most interesting story lines are Kenny Golladay's prominent role, LeGarrette Blount's ineffectiveness/injury, and Amari Cooper's invisibility trick, which he apparently perfected last year. Golladay is the real deal in a talented receiver corps and is unrostered in 42% of ESPN leagues. While I don't believe he'll lead this passing attack in 2018, he will do wonders for Matthew Stafford's value. What?! Right: The danger here is looking at Stafford's bottom-barrel performance and assuming he won't be a QB1. It's one game, and he's a 16-game-a-year veteran with a big arm and three talented wideouts. If you need a QB1, try to buy low on him immediately. Then sell high in late October before his five-game stretch against the Bears (twice), Vikings, Rams, and Panthers.
--
With most leagues' waivers landing on Wednesday, this is generally a good time to walk through recommended free agent acquisitions. I don't want to waste your time highlighting players you or your opponents already have, so all of these guys are available in nearly every league.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (99% Available in ESPN Leagues) -- Really, there's nothing to lose here unless you're rolling with a reliable QB1. Fitz has the playmakers to challenge Jameis Winston for a semi-permanent starting job.
QB Case Keenum (87% Available) -- Raiders, Chiefs, Jets in three of the next four weeks. At least in the short term, he's a no-brainer add in most leagues.
Austin Ekeler (89% Available) -- A top-5 handcuff who happens to have stand-alone value. Ignore his RB1 performance; that's obviously not sustainable. But embrace his 10 touches; Ekeler will have an every-week role and could be a fairly consistent RB3+.
Chase Edmonds (97% Available) -- Looked fantastic on eight touches (48 yards). RB1/2 if David Johnson goes down. Why stash a WR5 when you can roll the dice on a potential difference-maker?
T.J. Yeldon (92% Available) -- Same as with Edmonds, but with more urgency. Yeldon was a highly touted rookie not long ago. He'd be a weekly top-16 RB if forced to start.
Spencer Ware (95% Available) -- I warned people not to sleep on backup Kareem Hunt last summer. This summer, the same thing, except with Ware. Yesterday went well for Ware and relatively badly for Hunt.
Aaron Jones (58% Available) -- Jamaal Williams looked pedestrian against a tough Bears D. Jones is a week away from returning. For a guy available in most leagues, Jones is a bargain given his 50-50 shot at winning the starting job sometime this season.
WR Phillip Dorsett (95% Available) -- Even if he'll be close to irrelevant after Julian Edelman returns, Dorsett's 7-for-7 Sunday can't be ignored. He's worth adding and starting if you're leaning on guys like Anthony Miller or Allen Hurns in your flex spot.
WR Geronimo Allison (91% Available) -- On the one hand, he proved me wrong yesterday with a solid WR2 outing. So sure, he should be rostered in far more leagues. On the other hand, temper expectations; not even Aaron Rodgers consistently feed three WR1/2s and a TE1. Allison is realistically a WR3/4 heading into Week 2.
WR Brandon Marshall (94% Available) -- If you're desperate for a short-term fix, Marshall offers boom-bust potential assuming Doug Baldwin sits. He would likely become Russell Wilson's #2 target.
TE Will Dissly (100% Available) -- Mentioning him only so people don't think I've forgotten about him. If Doug Baldwin misses time, sure, take a deep-league flyer. But he's a long-shot to offer semi-consistent TE1 production.
TE Eric Ebron (84% Available) -- In the final week of the preseason, I pushed Ebron ahead of Jack Doyle in my Top 300 rankings. Not sure if anyone noticed or cared, since neither was tagged as a TE1. But the move reflected my strong belief that the newly acquired Ebron was the better TE investment in Indy. While Doyle (12% available) earned twice as many targets yesterday, Ebron offers a far better return on investment.
TE Jonnu Smith (100% Available) -- Literally 0.2% of fantasy managers rostered Smith heading into Sunday. Either they're prescient, or they play in a 20-team, 20-round league. While it's inconceivable that Smith could replicate Delanie Walker's numbers this season, his talent should assure him a place in the top 16, with a decent shot at TE1 production in November/December. In other words, he's a must-add in deep leagues and a great speculative add in leagues where folks are leaning on Ricky Seals-Jones or Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
It's hard at the moment to assign a 16-game judgment to the Jets. Are they a .500+ team? Is their defense this good? Is their running game this effective? Is Sam Darnold battling Saquon Barkley for ROY honors? One thing is fairly certain: their home game against Miami next week makes their key players tempting must-starts in all deep leagues, with Isaiah Crowell (15% unrostered in ESPN leagues) a potential #1 pickup in all leagues where James Conner's already accounted for. This doesn't mean I've been converted into a Crowell "true believer." He might not average more than 10-12 weekly touches in this backfield. But at the very least, he's the 1A back in an offense that *looks* better than I and many others thought it would.
As for the Detroit and Oakland, the most interesting story lines are Kenny Golladay's prominent role, LeGarrette Blount's ineffectiveness/injury, and Amari Cooper's invisibility trick, which he apparently perfected last year. Golladay is the real deal in a talented receiver corps and is unrostered in 42% of ESPN leagues. While I don't believe he'll lead this passing attack in 2018, he will do wonders for Matthew Stafford's value. What?! Right: The danger here is looking at Stafford's bottom-barrel performance and assuming he won't be a QB1. It's one game, and he's a 16-game-a-year veteran with a big arm and three talented wideouts. If you need a QB1, try to buy low on him immediately. Then sell high in late October before his five-game stretch against the Bears (twice), Vikings, Rams, and Panthers.
--
With most leagues' waivers landing on Wednesday, this is generally a good time to walk through recommended free agent acquisitions. I don't want to waste your time highlighting players you or your opponents already have, so all of these guys are available in nearly every league.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (99% Available in ESPN Leagues) -- Really, there's nothing to lose here unless you're rolling with a reliable QB1. Fitz has the playmakers to challenge Jameis Winston for a semi-permanent starting job.
QB Case Keenum (87% Available) -- Raiders, Chiefs, Jets in three of the next four weeks. At least in the short term, he's a no-brainer add in most leagues.
Austin Ekeler (89% Available) -- A top-5 handcuff who happens to have stand-alone value. Ignore his RB1 performance; that's obviously not sustainable. But embrace his 10 touches; Ekeler will have an every-week role and could be a fairly consistent RB3+.
Chase Edmonds (97% Available) -- Looked fantastic on eight touches (48 yards). RB1/2 if David Johnson goes down. Why stash a WR5 when you can roll the dice on a potential difference-maker?
T.J. Yeldon (92% Available) -- Same as with Edmonds, but with more urgency. Yeldon was a highly touted rookie not long ago. He'd be a weekly top-16 RB if forced to start.
Spencer Ware (95% Available) -- I warned people not to sleep on backup Kareem Hunt last summer. This summer, the same thing, except with Ware. Yesterday went well for Ware and relatively badly for Hunt.
Aaron Jones (58% Available) -- Jamaal Williams looked pedestrian against a tough Bears D. Jones is a week away from returning. For a guy available in most leagues, Jones is a bargain given his 50-50 shot at winning the starting job sometime this season.
WR Phillip Dorsett (95% Available) -- Even if he'll be close to irrelevant after Julian Edelman returns, Dorsett's 7-for-7 Sunday can't be ignored. He's worth adding and starting if you're leaning on guys like Anthony Miller or Allen Hurns in your flex spot.
WR Geronimo Allison (91% Available) -- On the one hand, he proved me wrong yesterday with a solid WR2 outing. So sure, he should be rostered in far more leagues. On the other hand, temper expectations; not even Aaron Rodgers consistently feed three WR1/2s and a TE1. Allison is realistically a WR3/4 heading into Week 2.
WR Brandon Marshall (94% Available) -- If you're desperate for a short-term fix, Marshall offers boom-bust potential assuming Doug Baldwin sits. He would likely become Russell Wilson's #2 target.
TE Will Dissly (100% Available) -- Mentioning him only so people don't think I've forgotten about him. If Doug Baldwin misses time, sure, take a deep-league flyer. But he's a long-shot to offer semi-consistent TE1 production.
TE Eric Ebron (84% Available) -- In the final week of the preseason, I pushed Ebron ahead of Jack Doyle in my Top 300 rankings. Not sure if anyone noticed or cared, since neither was tagged as a TE1. But the move reflected my strong belief that the newly acquired Ebron was the better TE investment in Indy. While Doyle (12% available) earned twice as many targets yesterday, Ebron offers a far better return on investment.
TE Jonnu Smith (100% Available) -- Literally 0.2% of fantasy managers rostered Smith heading into Sunday. Either they're prescient, or they play in a 20-team, 20-round league. While it's inconceivable that Smith could replicate Delanie Walker's numbers this season, his talent should assure him a place in the top 16, with a decent shot at TE1 production in November/December. In other words, he's a must-add in deep leagues and a great speculative add in leagues where folks are leaning on Ricky Seals-Jones or Austin Seferian-Jenkins.