Week one of the NFL season is in the books and now it’s time to determine which fantasy football players to buy low. In Week one new stars were born, players were injured, and familiar faces shined. Those who play fantasy football finally had a chance to see the players they drafted in action. Some performed as expected. Others were huge disappointments. While Week one is a sign of what is to come for certain players, it turns out to be an anomaly of others. However, it makes for a great time to take advantage of certain team owners panicking, as they overreact to a player’s subpar performance. Sony Michel and Miles Sanders are two running backs to look at. Stefon Diggs and Mark Andrews are a couple of players to look at at other positions.
Here are some fantasy football players to buy low before they come more expensive or completely unavailable.
Fantasy Football: Buy Low on Sony Michel, and Others
Sony Michel
Week one was an interesting week for running backs. Most either blew up the stat sheet or put up putrid performances. Sony Michel was one of the latter. The second-year runner for the New England Patriots just couldn’t get going Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He managed only 14 yards on 15 attempts.
Both other Patriots backs had much better nights. Do-it-all guy James White had over 75 scrimmage yards on nine touches. Rex Burkhead was the biggest surprise of the three, getting 13 touches and turning them into 85 total yards. These numbers are extremely concerning for Michel, who isn’t as involved in the passing game.
Still, Michel had more touches than the other two. He just couldn’t get anything going with them. But, the production has been there with Michel, and it was reassuring to see that he still out-touched the other backs, even without catching the ball. Volume is king in fantasy and Michel will rebound. Players in need of a running back should look to grab him from other players.
For fantasy players with extra-wide receivers on their roster, it may not be a bad idea to offer one up for him. But, with Michel being drafted in the top part of fantasy drafts, a package deal might work best. Try offering a fringe starter at wide receiver and running back, and see if a competitor takes the bait.
Miles Sanders
Miles Sanders might be a player who is a little more tricky to obtain. Those who drafted him probably didn’t expect him to do much for the first part of the season. This means that a poor performance in Week one might not be enough to deter some people from holding onto him for a bit longer. Still, the buy period is going to close very quickly on the talented Philadelphia Eagles rookie.
Sanders’ stats from Week one are very deceiving. He got 11 carries that he turned into only 25 yards. He added another catch for two yards as well. But, he also had a 21-yard touchdown called back due to a holding call. Then, he was stuffed twice at the goal line. But, the fact that he even got some goal-line carries were a great sign for his value moving forward.
Check out who has Sanders in leagues. See who their other running backs are. For those who had Joe Mixon, who was hurt, they might need a starter now. A good deal might be to offer an established starting back and get a two for one deal with a wide receiver and Sanders in it. Or, maybe look for someone who needs a wide receiver. Antonio Brown owners might be getting antsy and be willing to sacrifice Sanders for someone they can throw right into their starting lineup.
Stefon Diggs
Another player that probably has fantasy footballers in a frenzy is Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings. Diggs saw just two targets last week, turning them into 37 yards. However, it was a week where quarterback Kirk Cousins threw just ten passes.
A lot is being made of the Vikings run-first offense. Sure, it is likely here to stay, and there are legitimate concerns that the ceiling on all pass-catchers for Minnesota will be lower than most expected. But, to expect that Cousins will be able to throw that few amount of passes week in and week out is ridiculous.
Last season, the Seattle Seahawks were the most run-heavy offense in the NFL, yet, Russell Wilson still averaged 27 passes-per-game. In fact, one would have to go all the way back to 2012 to find a team that attempted fewer passes per game, and it was actually the Seahawks again. It was Wilson’s rookie season when the team had Marshawn Lynch in his prime.
The facts are that Diggs is still a very talented wide receiver in this league who will have ample opportunity to produce throughout the season. Right now he still has name value, so some will be hesitant to pull the plug, but another week of low volume for him, and he could be gotten on the cheap.
Or, Week one could turn into an anomaly. Cousins and company could go back to throwing it almost 38 times a game and the buy-low window could close for Diggs. It’s time to act now to swing a deal for him.
Mark Andrews
After his breakout game the first week of the season, the Mark Andrews hype train is quickly getting to capacity. Andrews was getting a ton of buzz in fantasy circles and Baltimore Ravens camp all off-season. And all he did was explode for over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. It was a week where quite a few tight ends put up some nice numbers, but Andrews still turned in a TE3 finish.
The way to get Andrews will be to find someone who kind of stumbled into him. Maybe it’s the dude who auto-drafted and really doesn’t know who he is. If someone started Jimmy Graham, they will probably part with Andrews if they are offered another big name player past his prime. Tell them that Adrian Peterson is starting this week and they might do a straight-up trade.
But, for more serious fantasy football players, Andrews might cost a little more. Push the fact that the entire Ravens offense went off against the worst team in the league. Try to get the other person to make an offer first to feel out what they value Andrews at. But strike now, because Andrews is this year’s George Kittle. This buy window won’t be open for long.
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