Lemonsiders Fantasy Facts | Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

Like any Week-one of the fantasy football season, we have to remember not to panic too soon. There’s going to be some over reactions. This can work in your favor if you pounce on owners who tend to freak out early by low balling on trades, or taking advantage of the ones who drop good players after a bad Week-one. Waiver Wire Pickups! I remember a few years back when Allen Hurns exploded for a great opening game, and people were trading Dez Bryant for him. Things like this sound silly, but it’s very real. People lose their minds when all pre-season they have been “big on a player”, and all the sudden then they bomb on the first week.

Did anyone expect Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw for four hundred plus yards and score five touchdowns against a supposed top-10 DST? How about Chris Hogan only catching ONE pass for sixteen yards, while Philip Dorsett would have seven catches and a touchdown? Or, how about Duke Johnson and Josh Gordon catching less combined passes than Jordan Howard? We can do all of our predications and feel like we know what we’re talking about, and here comes Week-one, and we stumble upon some surprises, and then doubt comes crashing down on us.

As always, we also had to deal with some injuries. Delanie Walker was carted off after dislocating his ankle and will be out for the season. Greg Olsen re-injured his right foot and was wearing a boot on the sideline and the latest report is that he is expected to miss a significant amount of time. Doug Baldwin had issues with his left knee coming into the season and after his leg got caught under Broncos defensive tackle Domata Peko early in the game, his right knee kept him out the rest of the game. Leonard Fournette left in the 2nd quarter with a hamstring injury, and it could be something that could keep him out for the Week-two, and possibly linger on rest of the season. How about the Aaron Rodgers scare? He went from being carted off to coming back and leading the Packers to an insane come from behind win. Marcus Mariota also injured his elbow, and the extent of the injury is unknown. Marquis Goodwin is also day to day with a thigh bruise.

Heading into Week-two, here are some waiver wire pick ups you should target:

QB Alex Smith, Redskins – After an incredible season last year on the Chiefs, Alex Smith had a solid outing in Week 1 on his new team by throwing for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns. Next opponent is the Colts, who the Redskins play at home in a very favorable matchup. He’s a safe plug in for this week and should produce similar numbers as he did Week-one.

RB: TJ Yeldon , Jaguars – Of course this has everything to do with the playing status of Fournette. If Fournette is a no go for Week 2, TJ Yeldon is an automatic start against the Patriots, but if Fournettte is able to play, Yeldon is simply a handcuff/stash.

RB: Philip Lindsay, Broncos – Royce Freeman was the hot name for lead back on the Broncos all offseason. The only other player that was mentioned to possibly cut into his workload was Devontae Booker. This week when Philip Lindsay had just as many carries as Freeman, it had to make those who invested in Royce slightly worried. Broncos head coach, Vance Joseph, after the game, said he was riding the hot hand, so is this a sign of a running back by committee? Either way, Lindsay is worth a pick up this week.

RB: Austin Ekler, Chargers – Fantasy twitter was big on Chargers rookie running back Justin Jackson coming into the season, but after he was released, Austin Ekler was the clear cut backup to Melvin Gordon. Week-one, Ekler’s usage was a positive one, with five catches for 87 yards against the Chiefs. The negative game script worked in his favor, but as the clear cut number two back, he’s worth a spot on your bench for sure. The only other running back on the Chargers roster as of right now is Detrez Newsome.

WR: Brandon Marshall, Seahawks – Yes, it’s 2018 and we’re still talking about Brandon Marshall. What a time to be alive! This isn’t a sexy waiver wire pick up, but with the uncertainty of Doug Baldwin’s knees, his opportunities could be there. Chances are, Tyler Lockett is not available on your waiver wire, so Marshall is the Seahawks’ next-man-up, wide receiver wise. If you believe Will Dissly’s Week-one was a one hit wonder, then Marshall is the guy in Seattle to take a flier on.

WR: Quincy Enunwa, Jets – After missing the 2017 season, and the big year for Robby Anderson, many forgot about how good Quincy Enunwa is. On Sunday night, he seemed to be locked in with Sam Darnold, and he should receive steady targets throughout each game. Next two games for the Jets are the Dolphins and Browns.

TE: Jonnu Smith, Titans – Delanie Walker going down was rough to watch. He was one of my favorite fantasy players coming into the year, and him being out for the season crushed my soul. Next man up for the Titans is our hometown, Florida International University Panthers very own, Jonnu Smith. Big opportunity here for Jonnu and even with the uncertainty of Mariota’s elbow, he should see immediate increase in targets.

DST: Redskins – Week-one Redskins were a top five DST and this week they’ll be at home against the Colts, who surrendered 10+ fantasy points to a Bengals defense. As of right now, this is my favorite streaming defense of the week.

Be sure to check with us each week where we will discuss not only start, bust alerts, and sleepers for that particular week, but also who you should be adding to your roster and who you should be dropping.

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