Dynasty Analysis
As I got comfortable in my recliner a few minutes before kickoff this past Sunday, I told my wife about how the first week of NFL action can be really wild. I explained a little about the nonsense with Trey Sermon (RB – SF) being deactivated, and that although I was surprised and disappointed, I had drafted Elijah Mitchell (RB – SF) in nearly half my leagues as a late dart throw and stood to come out ahead. The only thing better than getting Mitchell in a couple of waivers this week was knowing I already took him in the fourth round of rookie drafts back in May and anywhere between the 16th and 20th rounds of redrafts this year. Here is my redraft RB top 4 for ownership:
Nothing has changed for Justin Fields since last week. He got his own package to get a few plays just like Trey Lance, and completed two for two passing for 10 yards, and running it in for his first real touchdown. The current Bears starter still looks like a competent backup and not the guy you want starting when you’re an HC on the hot seat. Chicago’s rushing attack looks fantastic and will relieve pressure off the rookie once he takes the reins. I can’t wait to see more RPO play-calls with him and David Montgomery. The time for Fields to start is any day now, so buy now before he gets even more expensive than he is.
The Arizona Cardinals played a terrific game in Tennessee on Sunday. The defensive unit held Derrick Henry in check and pestered Ryan Tannehill all day long. In total, defenders racked up six sacks, two fumble recoveries, and an interception against a strong offense on the road. Arizona must be considered a strong option at DST after such an excellent performance. Top players include Chandler Jones (see below), Isaiah Simmons, and Budda Baker.
Hello, fellow fantasy managers. I am Chris Miles, The Draft Director, and in this series of articles, I will be helping you determine what players value you should be taking advantage of each week in your Redraft league. If someone’s value is too high I might tell you to sell or if I think their value will decrease soon he could also be a sell. I will give my reasoning for why each player falls in a certain category. I will attempt to have the format consistently be a buy and sell for each position but that may increase or decrease depending on the week.
I could’ve mailed it in for Week 1 and easily selected Zach Pascal or KJ Hamler as a dynasty “sleeper” but I’m digging a bit deeper into my sleeper bag for a player who actually fits that bill and should be on waivers in virtually every league. Behold, the great Pharaoh Brown!
On Sunday, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation after taking a hard hit early in the second quarter. Fitzpatrick was replaced by Taylor Heinicke and was later ruled out. Fitzpatrick had an MRI of his right hip which confirmed the initial diagnosis. He was later placed on the injured reserve and early reports are that he will be out 6-8 weeks.
Unless we’re analyzing workhorse running backs or alpha wide receivers, a player’s usage can fluctuate from week to week, some will shine and some will ruin your week. Remember, targets and opportunities are earned. In this series, I will provide weekly target shares, rushing attempt shares, and snap shares of SIX players (or group of players) to help you understand the value of each of them and decide whether to start ‘em, roster ‘em, or trade ‘em.
This is the first installment of the weekly series, One Week Ahead. We will use our fantasy football crystal ball to look ahead to future weeks and try to predict players who will emerge with fantasy relevance. We will try to get a leg up on our opponents by picking up potential fantasy assets before they become a major waiver wire pick-up.
What a crazy and unpredictable fantasy football Sunday. There were many unpredictable outcomes yesterday as Rodgers was horrible, Jameis had five touchdowns with no interceptions, and Ryan Tannehill failed to produce in an expected shootout. You can never expect the unexpected. Below, I am going to highlight my top DFS picks along with my biggest mistakes in week one.
Week 1 is in the books. Whether you pulled a win in the first week of the season, or you’re determined to fix that losing record, you still have to think about streaming options for this week. Throughout this series, we will provide the best weekly options to stream at quarterback, tight end, and D/ST. Keep in mind, each streaming option will be below 50% owned, according to ESPN.
Week 1 is over and whether you finished the week in victory or a loss, it’s time to grind the waiver wire. A very underappreciated part of fantasy football. If you’re looking for who you should be taking your shots at this week, I listed them in order of highest priority to lowest.
Welcome back to another season of “Raiding the IDP Waiver Wire!” This weekly column will help you, the reader, plunder your league’s waiver wire for real value where it counts: in your line-ups. We’ll dig into the past week’s top performers among available options for repeatable production.
This week and every week going forward we’ll bring you several recommendations for players you should add to your dynasty rosters. We’ll mainly be targeting lower-owned options who should be available in all but the deepest leagues.
Each week during the fantasy football season I’ll be bringing you my top three waiver wire adds for the upcoming week. These are guys who are not highly rostered and exceeded expectations during the previous week with a likelihood of continuing solid production. Without further ado, let’s jump into the week 1 waiver wire adds!
It is hard to feel safe starting a rookie, especially in week 1. There are too many question marks. Will they pick up the playbook? What is their talent level compared to their teammates and opponents? Will they be eased in or heavily relied on immediately?, Etcetera, etcetera… Well, I am here to put your mind at ease and show you who the truly reliable assets are from this 2021 rookie class. Because believe it or not, there ARE some studs from this class who will produce right away and throughout this season.
Since most of these recommended additions will occur over the weekend, we will exclude any players from the Thursday night game, since they will be locked from already having played. Let’s explore this week’s recommendations on the IDP crystal ball!
The year is 2021 and as Charles Darwin theorized, we must adapt or die. This is a theory that we are applying to our Against the Spread series for the 2021 season. Rather than picking the lines as we did in 2020 and prior, we are going to adapt the format to bring value not just to sports gamblers, but to all fantasy football players. In this series we will look at the Sunday slate, we are going to identify key games, and provide insights on why each bet could be the wise move. As we discover trends through the season we will be able to make more determined analyses on specific picks. To go along with matchups and trends, we will look at key fantasy players who have the most beneficial or detrimental matchups. Finally, we will provide a weekly underdog of the week as well as a potential parlay to win big.
I am going to highlight some of the best plays for this Sunday’s main slate. I have broken these plays down by position and by “Top Price”, “Middle Price”, and “Low Price”. Then, I list the players’ respective prices, projected points, and projected ownership in tournaments. Projected ownership is important to keep in mind for tournament plays as opposed to a regular cash play. In the “Notes,” I have given my thoughts about each player. I have also color-coded the quality level of each play. Green stands for a top-tier play, yellow is a middle-tier play, and red is a fade play.
The 2021 NFL season starts this week! Tampa Bay and Dallas kick off on Thursday night but you can still draft a Footballguys Players Championship team through Saturday. First place pays $500,000 and I finished third in the contest in 2019. It is now my life goal to take the big prize down. The Main Event also pays half a million and that would be fine, too.
Between these two large national redraft contests and all of my FFPC dynasty squads, I have 66 teams that I am managing. That is a lot of cheddar, a lot of waiver pickups, a lot of start/sit decisions, and a lot of time and energy. Everyone gets the prerogative to enjoy this hobby at whatever level they feel comfortable with. For me, it is a part-time career that involves the IRS and I have hired an assistant General Manager. That level may not be for everybody.
But for hardcore FFPC players like me, or for the more casual FFPC player, and for anyone in between, this is the first in a weekly series to give you actionable advice on the FFPC dynasty and redraft landscapes. I’d like to emphasize the Superflex format, but otherwise, I will focus on the waiver wire, trade market, general FF gamesmanship topics, and I will highlight one or two auctioned teams I bought from dynastydepot.com as those teams are all competing on their website for a handful of Main Event and FBG teams for 2022, as well as other weekly prizes.
Wilson has looked confident and in control the entire preseason and has a clear rapport with expected WR1 Corey Davis. He’s flashed not only the ability to make every throw but the savvy to know when to make the throw. I expect him to have lots of support with this running game straight from the Shanahan coaching tree, and we haven’t yet seen the explosive playmaking from Elijah Moore in a real game. Wilson has a blend of underrated mobility and Rodgers-Esque arm talent that can make him every bit worth the draft capital. I’m buying into the fact that the Jets want to change the culture and want pieces of this team before they boom next season.
Division 2 players seldomly make an NFL roster. It is even rarer for them to make an impact in the league. Currently, there are four proven receivers in the NFL right now that are products of a D2 school. Tyreek Hill, Adam Thielen, Tyrell Williams, and John Brown have all proven valuable fantasy assets. Mike Strachan may just be next in line.
Week 1 has finally arrived. You’ve waited months for this moment, and now it’s time to set your lineup and get the fantasy season started with a 1 in the win column. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with “Paul’s Picks.” Each and every week, I’ll be bringing you names at every position that I believe will exceed expectations or fall flat. So, without further ado, let’s get into my picks for Week 1.
LET’S GO! It’s finally football time, which means the fantasy season is officially starting this week. In this series, we will provide the best weekly options to stream at quarterback, tight end, and D/ST. Keep in mind, each streaming option will be below 50% owned, according to ESPN.