Don’t bail on fantasy football studs after one bad week
These past two weeks have been brutal for fantasy football owners. When Keenan Allen suffered a hip injury Thursday, leaving owners eating yet another meal at Zero Burgers, it was just the icing on the cake.
Whether it was a poor performance by Drew Brees or an injury that will force Odell Beckham Jr. to miss another crucial fantasy game, owners have been taking it on the chin lately and are now ready to abandon the studs who got them this far in favor of any warm body speculated to see action this week.
But football is a game of matchups, and when making lineup decisions, it is important to not have such a short memory. Just because your stud quarterback had a bad game last week doesn’t mean he will again this week, dooming your fantasy squad. Each week must be viewed individually.
When Russell Wilson struggled Monday and threw for a career-low 72 yards and an interception, fantasy owners turned into rats fleeing a sinking ship as they flocked to the waiver wire to grab a Week 15 quarterback with a soft matchup. Forget about the fact Wilson will be facing the 49ers in Week 15, a team he threw four touchdown passes against just two weeks ago. Forget he had a 22-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the previous eight games. His poor performance against a strong Vikings defense that ranks sixth overall is all they see.
Jared Goff against a beleaguered Eagles defense should be money in the bank for fantasy owners, yet countless owners are seeking out alternatives after the second-year QB came out flat against Detroit following the team’s bye week, then struggled against the Bears, arguably the best defense in the league. Suddenly the 322.5 passing yards per game and the 26 TD passes over the first 10 games don’t matter and a two-game road trip is now the true indicator of his talent level.
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Don't put your fantasy trust in fluke performers
Weird things happen. That’s life, and life is weird. Maybe…
Though we may be seeing a number of relative unknowns leading to some surprising fantasy wins, turning away from strong, proven talent in favor of some flash-in-the-pan can be a sure-fire way to get bumped out of your playoffs. Sure, Derek Carr and Jeff Driskel may have soft matchups this week, and yes, Lamar Jackson is scoring points with his legs. But there is a reason they haven’t been in the conversation all season.
Are they capable of improving over the course of a season? Absolutely. But if you’re asking whether your confidence should be in the guy whose arm brought you to the promised land after 14 strong weeks or the guy who showed one good week after countless weeks of disappointment, the answer should be clear.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice and NFL player rankings.
