Fantasy football: Week one starts, sits, pickups and drops
Week one of fantasy football is here. Let’s set your starting lineup and make that last waiver wire pickup you need to take home the win in week one.
Here’s the plan: this entire column is about whether or not players are worth having in your lineup or on your team. It’s not a rankings column and it goes week by week. Both start and sit are relative. If you’ve got a few startable guys at the same position or you’re stuck with just a player I said should sit, this advice doesn’t apply as much. This piece will assume your team is structured so that top-10 quarterbacks and tight ends and top-20 running backs and wide receivers are startable.
What “start” means. We’ve all seen analysts talk about how their “fantasy football player of the week” is Tom Brady or something because he “has a great matchup.” This type of analysis is not helpful. If you have Brady, you’re starting him if he’s staring down the Monstars (wrong sport, yes, but you get the point). Frankly, that goes for about a half-dozen quarterbacks, a dozen running backs and receivers and a tight end or two. You should be starting some players every week. Those players will not be mentioned here.
Frankly, that goes for about a half-dozen quarterbacks, a dozen running backs and receivers and a tight end or two. Some players you should be starting every week. Those players will not be mentioned here. This section is for players outside of the echelon of obvious starters.
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What “sit” means. Again, some players you should start every week. I’m never going to tell you to sit Aaron Rodgers unless he’s really been playing terribly. This isn’t a section for hot takes and bold predictions. This is a space for analysis regarding players that you might consider starting that I think might not score enough points to be startable.
What “pickup” means. This section is for players you might want to add to your roster for the current week. These players are players you can pick up and start in a pinch if you desperately need someone. Usually players who are available in 50% of leagues or more will be in this section, and ideally, that number will be higher. Sometimes they’ll be priority free agents who suddenly get a lot of reps, other times they’ll be pure fliers. Some can be expected to get a few points but have a low ceiling, others are a bit more boom or bust. It will depend on the week. In any case, they’re worth looking at to add to your team if you need someone to fill a spot. Availability and ADP numbers all come from ESPN.
What “drop” means. This section is for players that shouldn’t be on a roster, but are on at least 50% of them. Sometimes this section might be empty, but most of the time there’s someone out there that is being held on to that isn’t worth keeping on your bench when there are better options available.