Has Your Fantasy Football Team Left You Fulfilled or Frustrated? Depends on Your Picks

Only about a month ago, everyone in the entire fantasy football world was reading their last articles about potential sleepers and busts before their upcoming drafts. A lot has changed since then in both the NFL landscape and the fantasy football scene; experts have landed some bold predictions but whiffed on most of them. As the first few weeks of the regular season come to a close, there are many issues to talk about that will have a huge impact on the rest of the season.

For starters, many so-called breakout stars and high-end talents have been busts thus far. Juju Smith-Schuster, who was predicted by many to be a top three fantasy wide receiver, is currently sitting outside the top 30. That doesn’t even come close to the disappointment that Deandre Hopkins and Davante Adams fantasy owners are experiencing, as they likely spent mid-first round picks on these underwhelming elite talents. The receiver position always sees a degree of inconsistency, but this year is far worse than past ones.

To make matters worse, the injury plague has started to affect various stars as well, driving fantasy owners as well as head coaches nuts. The consensus number one fantasy draft pick, Saquon Barkley, is out for two months with a broken ankle, and the highest scoring wide receiver from a season ago, Tyreek Hill, is out for about another six weeks with a right arm injury.

After talking about all the negatives, there are, as always, positives to make of them. Now that Hill is out, Chiefs receivers Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson have made a name for themselves, performing at an above average WR2 level. In any league—in any format—these two players are must adds and can propel your great, or crappy, fantasy team to glory.

Other must add players in your leagues include:

- Marquise Brown; Wide receiver, Ravens; After having a monster week one to propel him to fantasy relevance, Brown seemed to level out in the next two weeks. That being said, he has maintained a consistent target share on deep passes that led to big plays and touchdowns—both ideal fantasy plays.

- Darren Waller; Tight end, Raiders; As Derek Carr has limited options in Oakland, he seems to have found his new favorite target in Waller. Coming off of a 13 reception week, Waller has put up top five tight end numbers, all without any touchdowns! When Waller starts to find the end zone, we may be talking about him as a legit top three tight end and a must-start every week regardless of matchups.

- D.J. Chark; Wide Receiver, Jaguars; Believe it or not, the number one fantasy wide receiver is a no-name player being thrown passes by a no-name quarterback. That being said, it is the D.J. Chark show in Jacksonville as he has emerged as Minshew’s favorite target. Though regression is probable, he is still a terrific WR2 play in many formats.

- T.J. Hockenson; Tight end, Lions; As Matthew Stafford continues to turn back the clock and perform at an elite level, he has raised the play of those around him. Hockenson saw many targets week one, and he may become a buy-low candidate right now given his recent recession, meaning you can get him for a cheap price. The Lions are going to use their first round pick like the star he is, much to the delight of many fantasy owners.

- Frank Gore; Running back, Bills; One of the most underrated running backs of all time, 36-year-old Gore is still showing us what he can do. Now that Gore has been given the starting running back position, his ceiling has increased immensely. Frank Gore continuously puts his talent on display as shown by his number of yards he gets per touch, proving he is a truly effective player. Talent + Opportunity = Fantasy gold. Add this player, now.

While there are many players who have seen their stock rise, there are also many players who should be traded for more value at other positions:

- Joe Mixon; Running back, Bengals; It’s not entirely his fault for underperforming, as he doesn’t get the ball very often and runs behind a crappy offensive line. However, it’s looking more and more likely that he will not perform up to standards this year. If you have Mixon, find a trade partner while you can.

- Devonta Freeman; Running Back, Falcons; The fact of the matter is that fantasy football is a numbers game, and Freeman has not put up the necessary numbers a fantasy owner needs out of a running back. There are no signs for improvement, only the possibility of losing more touches to his backup running backs.

- Stefon Diggs; Wide receiver, Vikings; Diggs is a great talent; nobody can deny that, but he has not been given the opportunity to succeed in the new-look run based Vikings offense. He’s coming off a great week four, so look to sell high.

- Damien Williams; Running Back, Chiefs; After the emergence of several other Kansas city running backs, Damien Williams may see a demotion in the depth chart. As of right now, he is still the starter, so you may be able to trade him for a solid player, but in the next few weeks, we may be speaking of Williams as a possible bust-of-the-year candidate.

As the football season continues, the emotional fantasy roller coaster will get even crazier as owners will be left scratching their heads and jumping for joy just minutes later. Get ready for another year of extraordinary fun and potential weekend-ruining days. Good luck to all, and may the best (or luckiest) player win.