Week 1 of fantasy football was full of strange outcomes, and that may lead to fantasy owners overreacting to some of their player’s disappointing performances. With that in mind, here are five players to buy low on:
D.J. Moore
If you had Robbie Anderson outscoring D.J. Moore in Week 1 on your bingo card, congratulations. You were the only one. Of course, the bulk of Anderson’s points came off a 75-yard touchdown, but it was still surprising to say the least. What was even more surprising was the amount of times Moore was targeted.
Moore was targeted six times in the Carolina Panthers’ opener, but the Panthers only ran 53 offensive plays, so that number is bound to go up. With baker Mayfield getting more comfortable in the offense, Moore should return to high-end WR2/ low-end WR1 status.
Rhamondre Stevenson
Week 1 did not go as planned for those who drafted Rhamondre Stevenson with the feeling that he would take over the New England Patriots’ backfield. Stevenson only played 25% of the snaps, while Damien Harris played 39%. However, Ty Montgomery, who played 37% of snaps, went down with a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve by the Patriots.
All signs point to Stevenson getting the bulk of the passing down work, which bodes well for his fantasy floor. It will always be difficult to trust a Patriots running back in fantasy, but if Stevenson gets the majority of running back targets, he should be a viable flex option.
Darnell Mooney
In what will go down as one of the stranger games in NFL history, it’s hard to come away with any meaningful fantasy analysis after the Chicago Bears, and San Francisco 49ers practically played in a monsoon last Sunday. However, if one of your league mates is still concerned with Darnell Mooney’s target share on Sunday, it’s a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the underwhelming performance.
The Bears only threw the ball 17 times, and Mooney saw three of those targets. If the Bears weren’t playing on a Slip ‘N Slide Sunday, we would be talking about a completely different fantasy outcome for Mooney. As long as the Bears’ remaining games are in more normal conditions, Mooney should be a reliable WR2.
Hunter Renfrow
I expected Derek Carr to target Davante Adams the majority of the time, but I didn’t think that would render Hunter Renfrow unplayable in Week 1. Adams was targeted 17 times in comparison to Renfrow’s six – which I expect to even itself out in the coming weeks.
Renfrow was Carr’s safety blanket last season, but he only saw a 16% target share in the Las Vegas Raiders’ opener. He mustered 4.10 fantasy points on three catches. However, brighter days are ahead. The Raiders only had 13 rushing attempts last week, so Las Vegas is clearly looking to play through the air, giving Renfrow a better chance to return to form.
Cam Akers
It seems as though every person that drafted Cam Akers has already jumped ship and they’re ready to sever their ties with the third-year running back. I understand the trepidation after Akers laid a goose egg in Week 1, but it’s way too early to two in the towel on Akers.
He’s still trying to get in a groove after suffering a soft-tissue injury in the offseason, so it may take him a couple weeks to get back into the swing of things. Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay thought Akers could have been more urgent in the Rams’ loss to the Buffalo Bills and Akers knows he has to be better. Running backs can be hard to find and Akers could pay off in the latter half of the season.
