| The Mad Dash To Redemption

“OH. MY. GOD.”

“I just lost all of my week one matchups.”

“Like, not just lost but I got blown out!”

“Whelp, I have no choice but to blow up my team and start all over again!”

Sound familiar?

Have you or someone you know COMPLETELY overreacted to their week ONE defeat and now they feel like all hope is lost?!

Chances are those people have put in dozens of waiver claims and are fielding trade offers for their best players hoping it’ll help to change the overall performance of their starting roster. Little do they know they’re only a few pieces away from turning things around, and don’t have to mortgage the farm to get them.

To those people, I got TWO WOOOOOORDS FOR YA……

via GIPHY

Stop it….RIGHT NOW!

If there was ever to be a rule following the first week of the fantasy football season it would be to NOT OVERREACT!

Look I know, I get it. We spent every waking minute since the NFL draft or earlier prepping for this past weekend’s slate of NFL action. And guess what we lost our matchup. Sure, changes should be addressed in some manner but just like with everything that’s supposed to be good for you, you must change things in MODERATION.

Here are some words that I’ll be repeating each week in our 4-EYED PREVIEWS that hopefully by the end of the season will have been etched into your brain and thus made you a better fantasy football manager.

Know the difference between playing your studs versus playing the matchups

Most people invested heavy draft capital on names such as Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, ect (aka studs) in the first rounds of our fantasy drafts this season, but at the end of the day our rosters are comprised mostly of role-players. Aside from a player who you took in the first round of your fantasy drafts every single other player is expendable. Period. If they’re not performing well in favorable matchups then you need to swap them out for players who have better ones. Starting a player on name value alone is foolish and will only help to get you an “L” in the win-loss column. PRIDE will get you nowhere in fantasy football.

That being said it’s important not to get too cute about who you swap in and out of your lineup. You REALLY have to be justified in your decision-making process. Using simple reasoning such as “he played really well last week…I think I’ll start him” will also only help to get you an “L” in the win-loss column.

Let me give you a list of players that should help you get back on your winning ways and most importantly inform you as to WHY they should do so! By the way for those that read my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS yesterday just know I have redeemed myself in the eyes of Redskins fans everywhere with my player selection in today’s 4-EYED PREVIEWS!

To give you my analysis I’ll be referencing data from the following sources:

FantasyData.com
Pro Football Focus (PFF)
NFL’s Next Gen Stats
ESPN Fantasy

Quarterback: Derek Carr (ESPN projected 18.6 fpts; 29.6% rostered)

Tied for the best quarterback performance from week one according to PFF with Dak Prescott, Derek Carr has a favorable matchup with week versus the Kansas City Chiefs who were 3rd in the league in passing yards allowed, and that was to a rookie quarterback who was called in to back up duty. Only Breshaud Breeland had a player grade above 70% in the entire Chiefs secondary and the pass rush for the Chiefs received a pass-rush grade of 61.4 which is D quality work. The Chiefs offense is one of the most prolific in the league and with the Raiders not facing much of a challenge from the Chiefs defensive backs and pass rush look for Carr to have plenty of time to rip it all over the field on Sunday making him a great streaming start for you this week!

Running Back & Wide Receiver: Chris Thompson (ESPN projected 9.1 fpts; 18.9% rostered) & Terry McLaurin (ESPN projected 8 fpts; 7.3% rostered)

Both Chris Thompson and Terry McLaurin are facing a Dallas team which earned an F in terms of receiving defense with a PFF grade of 29.8. With Derrius Guice being out of action for the foreseeable future and Adrian Peterson facing one of the better tackling teams in the league the only running back on this roster that has the potential to exploit any defensive mismatch in the receiving game IS Chris Thompson. Terry McLaurin showed people on Sunday that he IS the primary passing option on this offense, and with the Cowboys number one cornerback Byron Jones potentially being out of action again, McLaurin and his 25 yards per reception is in a great position to receive plenty of passing volume against the Cowboys who gave up the second-most receptions to receivers in week 1.

Tight End: Austin Hooper (ESPN projected 7.8 fpts; 84.9% rostered)

Andrew Sendejo and Malcolm Jenkins both received poor PFF grades at the safety position for the Eagles this past week which puts Austin Hooper in a great spot to build upon his performance from week 1. The Eagles gave up 8.4 yards per reception to the Redskins on Sunday which is right in Hooper’s yards per reception window when he and his team faced much tougher defensive competition where he earned 8.6 yards per reception. He was second on the Falcons in terms of targets with 9 and has earned his way into becoming another vital part of this Atlanta passing attack. Hang with Mr. Hooper this Sunday!

IDP-Defensive Back: Tracy Walker (ESPN/Fantasy In Frames projected 5.4 fpts/ 0.3% rostered)

Tracy Walker was racking up the IDP scoring opportunities on Sunday with 9 solo tackles and 1 interception. He earned a player grade of 82.1 in terms of pass coverage and is now facing a pass-happy Chargers team. Let the good times continue for Walker in the motor city this Sunday!

Those are some players you should be able to insert into your starting rosters to right the ship if you suffered a loss in week 1.

If you have anymore roster questions continue asking us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and we’ll do our part to help you bring home a victory in week two!