OMG!!! Week 1 Overreactions
By Ryan Wiebe
Week one has come and gone, with a lot of interesting results and leaving some fantasy managers who felt incredible after their draft in an absolute frenzy. Fantasy football remains a game forever dictated by our emotions. We pick players that we want to cheer for, who play for our favorite teams, and we’ll pass on players that we simply don’t like. After one week, we have an absolutely microscopic sample size, and I’m hear to tell you how and what you should, or should not overreact to.
Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt
Thankfully for owners of one of these two, you didn’t have to pay too heavily to get him. Chubb owners left Week 1 frazzled after Chubb was out-touched by Hunt, and saw almost all of the passing game work. Now is definitely the time to be concerned for the Chubb owners out there. Both of these guys, if we assume that the Browns don’t continue to resemble a freshly laid turd for the remainder of the season, are probably low end RB2’s, or high end flex plays. For Hunt, and what you paid for him, that’s just fine, and you should be thrilled, because his upside I think at this point is higher. If the Browns are terrible, and they appear to be terrible in perpetuity, the upside for Hunt remains much higher than for Chubb.
Overreaction Grade: Chicken Little-Chubb’s sky is falling at a tepid pace.
Saquon Barkley
Barkley’s absolute dud of 6 rushing yards against the Steelers no doubt sent several managers into panic mode, and if you play in a league with smart people, resulted in at least a couple lowball offers with the consensus top 2 pick in almost everyone’s drafts. Saquon, unlike Chubb however, has no significant backfield competition, and also has a QB under center that has shown that he at the very least has a chance to not be a complete bust (sorry Baker Mayfield). The Steelers defence looked tough, and a couple more weeks will show us if their performance was just a one-of, or if that defence is for real. Saquon owners though, don’t worry. The offence will continue to improve, and Saquon should see more use in the passing game as well, which just further bumps the upside. Don’t panic trade him for spare parts. He’s going to be just fine.
Overreaction Grade: Cool the jets, he’s going to be just fine.
Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas was a guy that I was thrilled to get at 10 overall in the main league that I play in, and as I watched a big chunk of the Saints on Sunday, I was less than thrilled with what I saw. There was always going to be a level of regression coming for MT- he caught 115 balls last year(!!!). Though he’s no doubt elite, that level of production was bound for a step or two back. The Saints heavily targeted and used Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook in the passing game and Thomas received a measly 5 targets for just 3 receptions. Not to mention, Thomas through the course of this game suffered a high ankle sprain, and then it was announced this evening that he was going to be out for several weeks, as the sprain was worse than initially thought. (Thankfully for me, I was able to unload him earlier today and am now feeling better and better with every passing moment). Even if Thomas re-captures 80% of what he was able to do last year, the Saints seem content not to force-feed him the ball, which is going to cap his ceiling even when he does get back from injury.
Overreaction Grade: Man, I’m happy that I don’t have to deal with this
Josh Jacobs
It’s always more fun to rag on the guys who suck. Managers and owners of teams love to kick the guys who are down...usually on other teams, but let’s take some positives from Week 1 too. Jacobs was a monster against the Panthers D, shredding them for 139 total yards and 3 TD’s. Not every game is going to be this massive, particularly in the TD department for Jacobs. But the Raiders are definitely going to continue to make a workhorse out of Jacobs, and he should continue to be a solid RB1 all season, even if he doesn’t score 3 TD’s every week.
Overreaction Grade: No overreaction needed. This should be the norm.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
CEH proved the hype was real, playing a big role in the Chiefs destruction of my lowly Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. It didn’t even feel like THAT spectacular of a game, and CEH was far and away the only Chiefs RB who played meaningful snaps, and we can expect that to continue.
Overreaction Grade: Not an overreaction
