The magic has begun! Week one of the NFL season is finally in the books. Fans finally got to see some of their favorite players in action while also getting a glimpse of what their favorite teams look like. After a long wait, we got to see if some of the off-season hype on those players and teams is accurate.
Week Two NFL Fantasy Football Watch List
It is still early though. The aftermath of week one is full of overreactions to certain performances. Remember, teams are still getting their feet under them. They are still learning about what their new players excel at, and will get better at using them as the season goes on.
At the same time, opposing teams will figure out how to neutralize some of the new faces that seem destined to dominate after a huge performance in the first week of regular season football. Here is where to find out on who will withstand the test of time.
There are many players that places around the internet will preach to pick up this week. Here, we will focus on a select few of them that have potential based not just on talent, but team and scheme fit.
Again, this is not to say to add them this week, but make sure to put them on your fantasy team’s watch list, because they just might break out sometime during the season.
Read on and take notes!
Top Talent – Better Late than Never
This week’s top talent to watch is Nelson Agholor of the Philadelphia Eagles. To say Agholor has been a disappointment since being drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft is an understatement. In his first two seasons he only accumulated 648 yards and never hauled in more than four catches in a game. His previous game high in yards was 64.
He blew all of that out of the water in week one, catching six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. It’s not like he’s just suddenly come out of nowhere either. He’s been getting a lot of praise from his teammates this off-season too, as Tyler Steege reports:
#Eagles players were asked who they thought would breakout in 2017, Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins & Darren Sproles all said Nelson Agholor.
— Ty (@HandsTeamTy) September 7, 2017
Sometimes it takes players a few years to settle down and mature enough for their skills to translate into the NFL. If Agholor can put his past troubles behind him, he might just have a chance to put up big numbers this season in the NFL. His only real competition right now is Alshon Jeffery, who seems to get injured almost every game.
If he has another game similar to week one next week, pick him up right away.
A Familiar Veteran
The Buffalo Bills are in some kind of rebuild mode. They got rid of basically every offensive player except for LeSean McCoy and Tyrod Taylor. One player that they did keep who is flying under the radar though is Charles Clay.
Shady is going to be the centerpiece of this offense. He not only led the team in rushes, but also had more catches than any Bills player in week one with five. Not too far behind him was Clay, who reeled in four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Other than McCoy and Clay, all of Taylor’s targets this year are new, so who knows how long it will take for him to get comfortable with them. Tight ends are known as a quarterback’s security blanket, and as teams game plan more and more to stop Shady, Clay might be the only one on the field Taylor will trust enough to get the ball to.
This gives Clay a lot of potential for consistent targets in an eternally volatile landscape for tight ends in fantasy.
Fools Gold Alert: Running Back to Watch – Out For
Tarik Cohen is the hot name at running back for the Chicago Bears after he came out of nowhere week one to put up decent fantasy points. Experts are putting him at the top of the waiver wire adds for this week after he outplayed last year’s surprise breakout rookie Jordan Howard.
The numbers do back this up, as he turned his five carries into 66 yards, coming out to over 13 yards per carry. He didn’t stop there, also catching eight passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Combine those two and he had over 100 yards from scrimmage.
This looks awesome, but it is also a very small sample size. Instead of potentially wasting a waiver claim week one on a potential one-game wonder, I’d sit and wait a week or two on Cohen. Let someone else take the chance on him.
Week One Redux
Last week we went over a few rookies who were in prime position for a breakout if the stars aligned. Two of our candidates actually played against each other in the Los Angeles Rams vs Indianapolis Colts game. Here is an update on those two players.
Grab Now: Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp was last week’s most promising player for a fast start to this season. He didn’t disappoint, absorbing four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jared Goff again demonstrated his trust in Kupp, tossing him a red-zone ball that he converted into a score.
Kupp is also in a better place to succeed than most. He works mostly out of the slot, giving a lot of chances for mismatches if opposing defenses don’t adjust. Kupp is also helped by the fact that Sammy Watkins was able to get into the game a little, so he will definitely garner the attention of the number one corner due his ability to blow the top off of defenses.
This is a guy that needs to be picked up now while there is still a chance.
Wait a Bit: Marlon Mack
Last week’s running back to watch was Marlon Mack. He was supposed to have a limited role early in the season, but he actually had an almost even split of carries between him and Frank Gore.
Mack was able to rack up 10.5 points in standard leagues, rushing for 24 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching one pass for 21 yards. He could have had a second one too, but for some reason Chuck Pagano did not feel the need to challenge the refs calling it out of bounds.
Still, when Mack’s stats are analyzed, they definitely leave something to be desired. 24 yards on 10 carries puts him at a 2.4 yards per attempt average, which is, quite frankly disgusting. His usage this soon into the season is surprising though. He should be reanalyzed once he gets a game or two in with Luck, who will get the offense rolling again.
