By Michael Daley, Guest Writer
Following what can only be described as a record setting week two in the early NFL season, I want to dive in and analyze whether to buy or sell some of this week’s most polarizing fantasy football storylines.
Buying:
Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts’ potential: In Back to back weeks, second year tight end Kyle Pitts has posted two catches for 19 yards for an abysmal 3.9 fantasy points. If you are a Pitts owner, however, do not panic. If you are not and find yourself in need of help at the tight end position, look no further than Pitts.
Pitts still led Falcons pass catchers in snaps and routes run and should see more targets in the upcoming weeks. He became the second tight end in NFL history to surpass 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and is a generational talent. Moral of the story, shoot a text to your league’s Pitts owner.
Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette as an RB1: Through the first two weeks, Leonard Fournette, a former LSU standout, is averaging 12.5 points-per-game, which on the surface is pretty mediocre for someone who was drafted as a top two fantasy player. However, when you look further into the numbers, Fournette has more than 20 carries and multiple targets in each game, which will lead to high-level production.
Fournette averaged over six yards- per- carry in week one but was limited to 2.7 yards-per-carry in week two against a very tough Saints defense. Fournette out-played backup running back Rachaad White by 50 snaps over the weekend. In a league full of running backs splitting carries, look towards Fournette to find a clear RB1.
Selling:
Raiders tight end Darren Waller’s early production: Darren Waller is coming off a productive week two against the Cardinals, where he hauled in six of eight targets for 50 yards and a touchdown, which was good for 17 fantasy points. The concern for Waller comes from his playing time, especially down the stretch. Raiders backup tight end Foster Moreau out-snapped Waller and ran 18 routes to Waller’s 25.
In the fourth quarter and overtime of the Raiders heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals, Moreau played over twice as much as Waller. It will be hard for Waller to keep up this elite production the rest of the season if he’s barely playing half of the time in an offense that has star wide receiver Davante Adams.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett as a legit WR2: Tyler Lockett was the lone bright spot for the Seahawks in week two with a huge 107 yards, catching nine of 11 targets. The Seahawks were trailing all game long and chose to use a pass heavy gameplan. Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker and Rashaad Penny combined for only 10 carries, and I don’t expect them to get near that number again. They will probably be near at least 20 a week.
The concerns with Lockett mostly come from the quarterback as Geno Smith returned to reality after a dazzling week one win over the Broncos. Throughout his career, Lockett has been a constant deep threat that teams always had to worry about when Russell Wilson was his quarterback. Now with Geno Smith throwing him the ball, the deep ball opportunities will be limited and more targets will be given to tight ends and running backs going forward.
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