Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season hasn’t even started yet, but fantasy football owners are already scouring the waiver wire and jettisoning draftees from their rosters.
Plenty can happen between a fantasy league’s draft day and the opening kickoff. Injuries, roster cuts, late free-agent signings and more can conspire to dash a sleeper pick’s opportunities, leave a veteran player without a team or open up chances for more touches for previously unsung players.
Here’s a look at the top players added and dropped in Yahoo and ESPN fantasy leagues. Ownership percentages are from Yahoo Sports and ESPN.com.
Players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues are excluded from these tables to account for the larger 12- and 14-player leagues, except in instances of players who had large, noteworthy surges or declines in ownership.
A Closer Look
Go Figure: Baltimore Running Backs
This running back situation has been quite the roller coaster for fantasy owners. Justin Forsett was one of the surprise cuts on Saturday when teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 players. After breaking out in 2014, Forsett picked up 794 total yards rushing and receiving and two touchdowns in an injury-shortened 2015 campaign.
Baltimore initially saw fit to cut the 30-year-old, leaving thousands of fantasy owners scrambling for Terrance West. Others, hoping to be a bit more clever, added Javorius Allen or Kenneth Dixon. However, those owners ignored or simply couldn’t wait to see out the reports that quickly cropped up suggesting Forsett could return to Baltimore.
Indeed, the team announced on Monday it re-signed Forsett, so the backfield is back to being one big happy committee again.
It would appear Forsett and West are the main backs at this point, though ESPN’s Matthew Berry suggested on Saturday that Dixon is the guy to keep for a late-season breakthrough:
DraftKings‘ Adam Levitan, apparently anticipating Forsett‘s return, sees Allen getting time in passing situations and West perhaps poaching touchdowns:
West (5’10”, 225 lbs) is a much bigger back than Forsett (5’8″, 195 lbs). If he can prove himself as a capable runner outside of the red zone and cash in when the team gets close, he could greatly cut into Forsett‘s touches.
Pro Football Focus’ John Breitenbach wrote in May that the rookie Dixon could eventually prove to be a dynamic pass-catching threat for Baltimore:
It would be something of a waste of Dixon’s talent if his role was limited to third downs at the next level, but he’s undoubtedly most effective in the open field. Dixon led the FBS with seven receiving touchdowns, and ranked fourth with 16 broken tackles. His shiftiness in space is a sight to behold. Although Dixon does his best work as a receiver, he makes enough plays between the tackles to suggest he can handle a full workload. Dixon is a complete back, who can compete for a starting role right away.
The Ravens are at home Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, who could have one of the league’s better defenses if head coach Rex Ryan and assistant head coach for defense Rob Ryan’s schemes work out.
No Baltimore back has particularly great fantasy value with Forsett back in the fold, and it could be that fantasy owners who were quick to move this weekend have to either go for the wait-and-see approach or simply hope that the back they have on their roster emerges as the main ball-carrier.
Proceed with Caution: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Minnesota
Some fantasy owners are already giving up on Minnesota Vikings rookie wide receiver Laquon Treadwell in the wake of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater‘s devastating, season-ending knee injury and a disappointing preseason from the Ole Miss product.
After snagging four catches for 41 yards in his preseason debut, Treadwell managed just two catches for 20 yards in next three games. He had two drops and one catch in the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Vikings drafted Treadwell to immediately provide competition and flair to a lackluster wide receiver corps, but it appears the rookie may not be ready to make an immediate impact. The Vikings’ unofficial depth chart has him behind Charles Johnson and Stefon Diggs.
Of course, there might not be any Vikings wideouts making a fantasy impact with Bridgewater done for the year. Minnesota worked a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to bring in the mediocre Sam Bradford, but he’s going to need time to digest the playbook. Veteran signal-caller Shaun Hill (career passer rating: 85.2) could still get the nod in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
If you’re in a larger league and don’t need the space, Treadwell might be worth stashing. He showed some great timing and hands on this two-point conversion catch against the San Diego Chargers in preseason Week 3, via the NFL Network:
It’s entirely possible he pops up for a touchdown or two early on in the season, but don’t expect much in the way of consistent fantasy production from him, especially with the Vikings’ quarterback situation in flux. If you need to make a roster move, it’s probably safe to drop Treadwell.
Get Him While You Can: Tajae Sharpe, WR, Tennessee
While the Titans might look like a team set up to pound opponents into oblivion with running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, this is team that is ready to sling the football through the air. Marcus Mariota is entering his second season in the league and enjoyed a successful rookie campaign, at least on an individual level.
If he’s to make good on his promise and potential, Mariota‘s in need of consistent targets beyond tight end Delanie Walker in the passing game. One could come in the form of rookie wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, who, according to the team’s depth chart, is in line to start in Week 1 after a successful preseason.
Sharpe tallied nine catches for 163 yards in his first three preseason games. Pro Football Focus graded him as the top rookie at his position this preseason:
Levitan believes he’s already the main guy in Nashville:
The sure-handed wide receiver has already elicited effusive praise from Mariota.
“He makes it easy,” Mariota said, per ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky. “He is a very versatile athlete. He has done a lot for us already, and he gets great separation in and out of his routes. We are going to continue to expect these things out of him.”
Mariota is certainly looking for help on the flanks after a poor performance from the group overall in 2015. Dorial Green-Beckham led all Titans wideouts with 549 receiving yards last year, and he’s now in Philadelphia.
Sharpe has the chance to immediately fix a glaring team need, and he should get plenty of targets early on as Mariota and the Titans figure out exactly what they have in this fifth-round pick.
If you have a chance to scoop him up from the waiver wire now, it could lead to some good times bragging to all the owners in your league in just a few weeks.
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