TFS Fantasy Recap: Week 1

by Charlie Valentincic

Last week was NFL Week 1, the week everyone’s been waiting for. Whether it be the die-hard fantasy players or just the people that have to fill the last spot, everyone was gearing up for last Thursday night. 

Last Thursday, the fantasy season got off to a pretty slow start with the Packers defeating the Bears 10-3 at Soldier Field. To be honest, nobody really played great outside of Allen Robinson who collected 17.2 points in a standard PPR (Point Per Reception) league.

As Sunday afternoon came around though, some very surprising performances came from unlikely players. The biggest sleeper-pick was Sammy Watkins of the Kansas City Chiefs — and it wasn’t even close. Going into the season as the number 3 receiver for the Chiefs, Watkins erupted for an amazing 46.8 point performance that included 9 receptions for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns. 

The next big surprise from the Sunday wave of afternoon games was most definitely quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson rattled off 324 passing yards along with 5 touchdown passes and 6 rushing yards for a grand total of 33.6 points. Jackson has not been known for his arm in the past, but he definitely proved everyone wrong last week with his performance. Jackson is encouragingly going up against a similar Arizona Cardinals team next week who did force 2 fumbles, but at the same token, gave up 477 yards to Mathew Stafford. 

One negative surprise from this weekend was Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs. Hill had 2 receptions for 16 yards and 5 rushing yards for 4.1 points. Although Hill left the game early due to injury, did not play well for the time he was in and now he could possibly be heading to the Injured Reserve. I think those that have Tyreek Hill should consider trading him for a couple solid players and pick up a Chris Carsen type running back who is going to consistently put up points and give your team a chance to win.

The last major surprise from Week 1 was definitely Austin Eckeler of the Los Angeles Chargers. Eckeler had 6 receptions for 96 yards along with 58 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Although Ekeler is the starting running back, he was not projected to score more than 2 touchdowns and over 120 total yards.

TFS Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Week 2

by Jack Heydorn

Start ‘Em:

Austin Ekeler is one of the biggest sleepers of the 2019 season. Since Melvin Gordon is sitting out due to contract negotiation issues, Ekeler got the start Week 1. He went off for an astonishing 39.4 points in PPR leagues. He is playing the Detroit Lions as well this week which is likely to play out as another huge week for himself and the Los Angeles Chargers, yet he is only projected 16.4 points. I believe he can easily score upwards of 20 or more this week.

Sammy Watkins was the number two receiver coming into Week 1. Early in the game, the number one receiver, Tyreek Hill, got injured which led to Watkins becoming the number one receiver for this game and many more to come. He dropped a week high amongst receivers of 46.8 points in PPR leagues, and with Mahomes on fire still there is no reason he shouldn’t score at least another 20-25 points this week against the Oakland Raiders. Although he is only projected to score 15.8 points, it is going to be a cake walk for the Kansas City Chiefs offense against the struggling Oakland Raiders defense.

Sit ‘Em:

Josh Gordon had a pretty solid week with a total of 16.3 fantasy points in PPR leagues. He was looking to have a lot of upside this season until the New England Patriots signed stud receiver Antonio Brown. This is going to take a lot of reps away from Gordon and will make him the number three receiver on the team now. He is still projected 11.5 points this week, so if you are desperate for a receiver he could be a decent flex option. Nevertheless, I would definitely keep Gordon on the bench until he starts to have a decent performance with their stacked receiving core.

Adam Thielen was one of the top ranked receivers in the league after coming off his hot finish last year. Despite that, he only scored 13.3 points this past week, and I think it is only going to get rougher since they are playing a stellar Green Bay Packers defense. This may seem like a hot take, but it is one that you will wish you listened too. He would at best be worth a number two reciever spot, but if you have good depth definitely try a new guy this week or trade him for the high value he has right now because it will only drop from here. The best option is to sit him this week and hold on to him, then re-evaluate. If he can prove himself again, then he will be a solid receiver number one later in the year.