With Week 1 over, most of us are looking ahead to Wednesday morning's waivers. Some of you use FAAB. Others use a rank-order system. And others probably go straight-up free agent pick-ups (does anyone still do that?). Whatever your rules, we've got decisions to make. And if you're doing waivers, those decisions include which player(s) to add, which one(s) to drop, and how much to bid (if using FAAB).
In rank-order waiver leagues, strategies include determining which players to bid on the first time through, and whether to bid on players the second time through. So if you're #3 on waivers, let's say you want Matt Breida, Malcolm Brown, John Ross, and Marquise Brown. You're also considering adding D.J. Chark, Mecole Hardman, and Matthew Stafford.
What do you do: Bid on your top three choices and hope everyone else bids so you remain at #3 next week (if that's how your rank-ordering works)? Or bid on a second player, thereby risking dropping much lower in the waiver pecking order heading into Week 2?
As with most things fantasy-related, there's no perfect strategy. But we need to be deliberate. If you're spending 40% of your FAAB on Malcolm Brown, it needs to make sense. It shouldn't just be a frustration-driven reaction: "Both my RBs got hurt, so I desperately need someone."
This week I'm trying not to overreact to most of Week 1's surprising performers. I don't want to try to outbid an opponent on Lamar Jackson, whose nearly perfect 5-TD performance against the JV Dolphins isn't indicative of what's to come. Yes, he has a decent schedule, and of course he's talented. But unless you're in a huge league and have only Cam Newton, and are worried that his best days are behind him, then I suggest letting someone else burn a lot of FAAB or a high waiver pick on Jackson.
The same goes for teammate Marquise Brown, who was a top-10 overall fantasy scorer despite catching only four balls. Jackson won't be airing it out 35+ times a game. Someone in your league will overpay for Brown. Don't let it be you.
Case Keenum? Same boat. Top-5 fantasy QB this past week. Probably outside the top 15 the rest of the way.
4 Essentially, don't fall in love with numbers. Embrace likely potential. Last year Ryan Fitzpatrick was the top Week 1 fantasy scorer. Tyrod Taylor and Joe Flacco was 6th in QB points. Last Week 1's top-10 RBs included Chris Thompson, Adrian Peterson, Isaiah Crowell, and Dion Lewis. DJax, Emmanuel Sanders, and Randall Cobb were top-5 WRs.
So let's relax a bit. There are probably about 20 players worth picking up this week. But that doesn't mean we need Week 1's top performers, and it doesn't mean we need to spend big. More promising talent will rise up in Week 2, more still in Week 3, and so on.
Largely unrostered players flying under the radar include QBs Matthew Stafford (16% rostered in ESPN leagues) and Josh Allen (21%); RBs Gio Bernard (32%), Jaylen Samuels (34%), and of course Malcolm Brown (7%); WRs DeVante Parker (11%), Preston Williams (3%), D.J. Chark (12%), John Ross (5%), A.J. Brown (5%), Mecole Hardman (17%), and the previously mentioned Marquise Brown (28%); and TEs T.J. Hockenson (30%) and Jason Witten (15%).
Surely there are many more little-rostered players worth grabbing. Didn't include highly rostered players, and didn't include highly risky options like Adrian Peterson (28%), whose limited passing-game chops and role in a sub-par offense make him a TD-dependent RB3/4.
You know what your roster needs are. Thanks to a series of injuries and disappointments this past weekend, most of us have work to do. But don't feel pressure to "fix" everything tomorrow. It can't be done, because a roster is never completely fixed.
In rank-order waiver leagues, strategies include determining which players to bid on the first time through, and whether to bid on players the second time through. So if you're #3 on waivers, let's say you want Matt Breida, Malcolm Brown, John Ross, and Marquise Brown. You're also considering adding D.J. Chark, Mecole Hardman, and Matthew Stafford.
What do you do: Bid on your top three choices and hope everyone else bids so you remain at #3 next week (if that's how your rank-ordering works)? Or bid on a second player, thereby risking dropping much lower in the waiver pecking order heading into Week 2?
As with most things fantasy-related, there's no perfect strategy. But we need to be deliberate. If you're spending 40% of your FAAB on Malcolm Brown, it needs to make sense. It shouldn't just be a frustration-driven reaction: "Both my RBs got hurt, so I desperately need someone."
This week I'm trying not to overreact to most of Week 1's surprising performers. I don't want to try to outbid an opponent on Lamar Jackson, whose nearly perfect 5-TD performance against the JV Dolphins isn't indicative of what's to come. Yes, he has a decent schedule, and of course he's talented. But unless you're in a huge league and have only Cam Newton, and are worried that his best days are behind him, then I suggest letting someone else burn a lot of FAAB or a high waiver pick on Jackson.
The same goes for teammate Marquise Brown, who was a top-10 overall fantasy scorer despite catching only four balls. Jackson won't be airing it out 35+ times a game. Someone in your league will overpay for Brown. Don't let it be you.
Case Keenum? Same boat. Top-5 fantasy QB this past week. Probably outside the top 15 the rest of the way.
4 Essentially, don't fall in love with numbers. Embrace likely potential. Last year Ryan Fitzpatrick was the top Week 1 fantasy scorer. Tyrod Taylor and Joe Flacco was 6th in QB points. Last Week 1's top-10 RBs included Chris Thompson, Adrian Peterson, Isaiah Crowell, and Dion Lewis. DJax, Emmanuel Sanders, and Randall Cobb were top-5 WRs.
So let's relax a bit. There are probably about 20 players worth picking up this week. But that doesn't mean we need Week 1's top performers, and it doesn't mean we need to spend big. More promising talent will rise up in Week 2, more still in Week 3, and so on.
Largely unrostered players flying under the radar include QBs Matthew Stafford (16% rostered in ESPN leagues) and Josh Allen (21%); RBs Gio Bernard (32%), Jaylen Samuels (34%), and of course Malcolm Brown (7%); WRs DeVante Parker (11%), Preston Williams (3%), D.J. Chark (12%), John Ross (5%), A.J. Brown (5%), Mecole Hardman (17%), and the previously mentioned Marquise Brown (28%); and TEs T.J. Hockenson (30%) and Jason Witten (15%).
Surely there are many more little-rostered players worth grabbing. Didn't include highly rostered players, and didn't include highly risky options like Adrian Peterson (28%), whose limited passing-game chops and role in a sub-par offense make him a TD-dependent RB3/4.
You know what your roster needs are. Thanks to a series of injuries and disappointments this past weekend, most of us have work to do. But don't feel pressure to "fix" everything tomorrow. It can't be done, because a roster is never completely fixed.