The first week of Fantasy Football is officially a wrap and there were a lot of disgruntled owners out there, as well as some outstanding amateur GM’s who racked up points like they won the lottery. Whether you won or got crushed, don’t worry because we got you covered on how to rebound from that loss or keep your winning streak alive. The most important thing to learn from week 1 has to be the lack of running game present in the NFL right now. For God sakes, Terrell Pryor leads the AFC in rushing!
Just because of that and the record amount of passing TDs that were thrown this week (Peyton Manning for the win), doesn’t mean you need to panic about your running back situation. Your number one wide receiver might have only caught four passes (we’re looking at you Calvin Johnson), but it might be too early to bench him or trade.
Because we want to help you get your first win of the season or continue racking up those W’s, we broke down good player pickups on waivers if they’re still available, and/or bench this week. This may be the difference between winning, or losing by two
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Players To Add
- Julius Thomas – It’s not guaranteed that the Denver TE will be available in most leagues, but if he is, he’s a must add. Peyton Manning seems to have taken a serious liking to him and he is on pace for a huge season with the Broncos.
- Julian Edelman – Edelman seems like he’ll be a main option for Tom Brady in the slot all season long and with Danny Amendola already having health issues, that only means more looks for Edelman. He should be available in most leagues.
- Ronnie Brown – It was unclear heading into the season who would be the Chargers main RB, but after week one, Ronnie Brown is going to get a lot of carries in that offense. Ryan Matthews owners just can’t win.
- Terrell Pryor – Oakland has such a bad team that drafting Pryor would have been a reach, but he is definitely someone worth picking up if you’re weak at QB. Hell, Pryor currently leads the entire AFC in rushing. He might end up being a Fantasy Football monster by the end of the year.
- Kellen Winslow – Going into the season, K2 was often written off and labeled as washed up, but after seeing his chemistry with Geno Smith, Winslow could be on his way to having a big year. If you’re looking for some depth at TE then he is a good add.
Players To Sit
- Ryan Matthews – With Ronnie Brown already getting more touches than Matthews, it is difficult to make a case to play him in anything more than the flex or third running back role.
- Mikel Leshore – It will unclear how the Lions would utilize their running game this season with newly added Reggie Bush, but some thought Leshore might still get some carries. He now appears to be an afterthought with Bush Joique Bell getting almost all of the looks.
- Shane Vareen – Shane Vareen had a huge game week one against the Bills, but he unfortunately suffered a broken wrist during the game. The Patriots placed him on the IR with designation to play again this year. Most think he will be back around week 8 or 9 so he might be worth keeping around for the playoff run.
- Ahmad Bradshaw – The Colts running back situation was another one that wasn’t really clear coming into this season. Bradshaw seemed like a good pick, but after only getting seven touches in week 1 it seems like he might just be in Indy for his veteran leadership.
- Greg Jennings – It seemed like Jennings would be a good WR2 or WR3 coming into this season, but it is hard to put any faith into a Vikings offense lead by Christian Ponder. Jennings will continue to be a high risk/high reward type player that could have some nice games, but bad games as well.
Players To Not Give Up On
- David Wilson – Yes, David Wilson did have an awful start to the season with two fumbles and getting benched. However Tom Coughlin hasn’t given up on the young running back so neither should you, and he is still going to be the main option on the ground for the Giants.
- Steven Ridley – Steven Ridley is another running back that had a tough start to the season, but with a vote of confidence from Tom Brady this week in practice, there is no reason to worry about Ridley moving forward. With Shane Vareen also out for most of the year, Ridley’s value continues to increase moving forward.
- James Jones – The Green Bay passing attack is one of the best in the league, so it makes sense that they like to spread the ball around. Unfortunately for fantasy owners with James Jones, he happened to be the odd man out on Sunday. Owners should stick with Jones moving forward, as he remains a very dangerous weapon in that offense. Aaron Rogers loves to find him in the endzone.
- T.Y. Hilton – Though Hilton had a very mediocre week one, his owners should be far from worried because he is still a valuable weapon in that Colts offense. As defenses start to key more on Reggie Wayne, Hilton will have much more production moving forward.
- Mike Wallace – Yes, Mike Wallace had a very bad game in his Dolphins debut. Yes, he blamed it on the coaching staff. But that should not make you put him on the bench or trading block just yet. It will take a couple of games for him and Tannehill to get into their groove.