Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and with that comes the results of our first attempt of breaking 100 fantasy points with our B-Team squad. It didn’t go to plan in Week 1, as we fell 23.4 points short but we had some quality performances along the way. Baker Mayfield led the charge for us, as he finished the week QB1. We had some other quality performances out of the likes of Brandin Cooks, Juwan Johnson and Wan’Dale Robinson. Let’s see if Week 2 can be better for us!
This is a series where I construct a hypothetical fantasy football lineup using players that are owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. The goal of the series is to top 100 PPR fantasy points using the make-shift team. The premise is to show that there is readily available value at all times across most waiver wires. You can find last week’s results below and the result of previous weeks at the bottom of this article in the future!
As previously mentioned, Mayfield finished the Week as the QB1. It does suck we were not able to capitalize on his performance as typically, the results of this series rely on the success of our quarterback. Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 21 yards on the ground. Brandin Cooks slotted in as our next top scorer, catching four-of-seven targets for 40 yards and a touchdown. Wan’Dale Robinson caught six-of-12 targets for 44 yards and Juwan Johnson caught two-of-his-three targets for a touchdown to round out our top scorers this week.
Week 1 Results
QB: Baker Mayfield - 29.7 Points
RB: Jaleel McLaughlin - 5.8 Points
RB: Antonio Gibson - 1.8 Points
WR: Brandin Cooks - 14.5 Points
WR: Adonai Mitchell - 1.2 Points
TE: Juwan Johnson - 10.6 Points
FLEX: Wan’Dale Robinson - 11.8 Points
FLEX: DeMario Douglas - 3.2 Points
Total: 78.6 Points
Week 2 Lineup
Quarterback
Justin Fields (Pittsburgh Steelers) - Owned in 15% of Yahoo and 23.7% of ESPN Leagues
The options for quarterback are rather slim at this point but they could be much worse than Fields. Fields is slated to start his second straight game to open the season for the Steelers with Russell Wilson still sidelined. Fields wasn’t overly impressive in his first game as he was unable to find the end zone, but led the Steelers on six drives that ended in field goals. I say this often as well, the Falcons’ defense is much better than they get credit for. Fields and the Steelers will get the Broncos this week who allowed Geno Smith to record a top ten fantasy performance last week. Smith ran the ball four times for 30 yards and a touchdown on this Broncos’ defense. I think we’ll see more than that out of Fields this week.
Runningbacks
Tank Bigsby (Jacksonville Jaguars) - Owned in 26% of Yahoo and 13.1% of ESPN Leagues
I’m going with a volume play here as Bigsby saw 12 carries in the Jaguars’ Week 1 loss to the Dolphins. The running back position is easily the toughest position in this challenge to hit on. If we can find a guy who gets double-digit touches, that’s always a win. Bigsby saw the same number of carries as Etienne did in Week 1 but out produced him 73 yards to Etienne’s 44. That’s also promising for us. Etienne also fumbled the ball in Week 1, which could benefit Bigsby as well. The matchup this week isn’t ideal with the Browns but again, we’re hoping for a similar workload this week.
Alexander Mattison (Las Vegas Raiders) - Owned in 30% of Yahoo and 27.8% of ESPN Leagues
Mattison carried the ball just five times for 19 yards in the Raiders’ Week 1 loss to the Chargers. However, he saw six targets in the passing game, catching four of them for 43 yards and a touchdown. The passing game numbers are promising and again, he saw 11 opportunities in Week 1. Volume is key for running backs in this series.
Wide Receivers
Demarcus Robinson (Los Angeles Rams) - Owned in 22% of Yahoo and 25.7% of ESPN Leagues
Puka Nacua has hit the IR with a knee injury on Wednesday. Robinson is in line to take some of the work over in Los Angeles. Robinson saw seven targets in the Rams’ Week 1 loss to the Lions. He saw an immediate uptick in volume after Nacua was carted off the field. Robinson caught four of the targets for 42 yards. The Rams also get the Cardinals this week who allowed the ninth most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers in Week 1.
Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants ) - Owned in 13% of Yahoo and 14% of ESPN Leagues
Wan’Dale Robinson is the first repeat member of the B-Team entering just the second week of the season. First off, the New York Giants are rather bad at football, especially on offense, but Robinson saw 12 targets in Week 1. That simply can’t be ignored. He caught just six of them 44 yards but again, any receiver that’s eligible for this series seeing double-digit targets is a must play. The Giants also get the Commanders this week who may have the worst defense in football. The Commanders allowed Baker Mayfield and company to score 37 points as Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1.
Tight End
Colby Parkinson (Los Angeles Rams) - Owned in 30% of Yahoo and 24.9% of ESPN Leagues
Like as we talked about with Demarcus Robinson, there are targets to be had on this Rams’ offense with Nacua on the IR. One of those benefactors will be Parkinson who saw five targets in Week 1. He caught four of those targets for 47 yards. The Arizona Cardinals have also been historically bad against the tight end and with Matthew Stafford throwing the football, we can be sure that Parkinson will see his fair share of targets this week.
Flex
Brandin Cooks (Dallas Cowboys) - Owned in 39% of Yahoo and 36% of ESPN Leagues
This may be the last week Cooks will be eligible for this series so I have to go with him again. I harped on Cooks during the pre-season process and he showed up in Week 1, catching four-of-seven targets for 40 yards and a touchdown. This Cowboys’ offense is going to throw for a lot of yards each and every week and at this point, Cooks is the second option for Dak Prescott, especially with tight end Jake Ferguson suffering a MCL sprain in Week 1. The Cowboys play the Saints this week who’s defense isn’t anything special as well.
Gabe Davis (Jacksonville Jaguars) - Owned in 34% of Yahoo and 46.3% of ESPN Leagues
As much as I talk about volume when it comes to this series, to reach our 100 point goal, we do need to include some home run hitters and that includes Davis. Davis caught all three of his targets for 62 yards in the Jaguars’ Week 1 loss to the Dolphins. He’s a player that doesn’t need a ton of volume to post big numbers and we’re hoping that is the case this week as he gets the Browns who allowed the eighth most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers in Week 1.
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