Fantasy football surprises me every year, and the hits are already rolling this season. We are through two full weeks of college football and one week of the NFL. It already feels like a decent percentage of our rosters are worthless, and we are cursing draft picks we made.
Hold firm, my warriors in fantasy; overreaction abounds, and we all make incredibly dumb decisions when the overreaction goblins creep in. Let’s get to the beat!
The College Beat
After two weeks, we know a little more about college, and maybe it’s not as much of a knee-jerk reaction as we ponder roster decisions. This is where we have to use caution, though. Players who may not be great for fantasy now could still have an NFL future if the ship is righted.
The Waiver Report
I will continue to defer to the articles written every week, but I also want to give my spin. If you’re going to focus on some college production, check out Jared’s article. Felix’s article focuses more on Campus2Canton waivers.
At quarterback, the options may be limited. John Mateer from Washington State was taken in most supplemental drafts and is your QB1 in fantasy thus far. One I am targeting is Brendan Sorsby, who is still only rostered in 36% of leagues on Fantrax. He’s got a phenomenal schedule coming up as well and is averaging nearly 30 fantasy points a game.
Anthony Colandrea is another excellent option, but he comes with a caveat. He is prone to periods in which he can’t figure out which colored jerseys his team is wearing. Colandrea will occasionally have an implosion game, and it’s not necessarily against good competition. He’s got a nice schedule coming up and is still only rostered in 27% of Fantrax leagues.
Kaleb Johnson has established himself as “The Man” in Iowa and should be aggressively added if he’s on the board. He’s got NFL potential and great size but has a limited pass-catching profile. There is always the potential that Iowa’s offense regresses to being slow and plodding, but Johnson is a must-start now.
Tai Felton, the Maryland receiver, leads the nation in receiving yards and isn’t fully rostered but is getting there quickly. Someone who is likely available, Mac Dalena from Fresno State, is getting targeted heavily, so grab him if you need inexpensive receiving production.
Keep an eye on Andrew Armstrong. He led Arkansas in targets last week, and I love his receiving profile. If Nick Marsh, from Michigan State, made it through your supplemental, add him now.
Gunnar Helm is a popular tight end that is getting added and is still available in over 80% of leagues. He’s getting targets in a proficient offense. Helm has excellent size and could be an NFL tight end with continued development.
Is This For Real?
This is a quick-hitting section; some narratives are developing that need attention. Some are heading toward being the truth, while others are fool’s good. Let’s hit it!
Where is QB1 Dillon Gabriel? This is a tough one. Most of us expected Gabriel to pick up where Bo Nix left off, but he simply hasn’t. For someone so highly drafted in college fantasy and on 100% of rosters, he’s not even getting 20 points a game. I’m leaning toward this being true; maybe Gabriel isn’t what we hoped.
Is Quinn Ewers the 2025 Draft’s QB1? As a documented Ewers hater (not exactly, but I am down on him), seeing his performance against Michigan was refreshing. He looked composed and made some beautiful throws in a hostile environment. I’m not at QB1 status yet, but Ewers has impressed.
Is Ashton Jeanty the 2025 Draft’s RB1? Maybe this is crazy, with Nick Singleton, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, and Devin Neal in the class. But maybe it’s not. We loved him coming into college. He has excellent size and has produced better than anyone in that quartet. There’s always the G5 narrative with Jeanty, but a team may benefit; he could still go on Day 2 and ball out at the next level.
Does Donovan Edwards have any value? I’ve always questioned his vision, and I know Michigan’s offensive line is #NotGood. My answer is no, he’s dead to me.
Highly drafted Tory Horton, Germie Bernard, and Squirrel White have stunk. All three have limited NFL futures, but all three will be fine for fantasy. White is the only one I’m any bit worried about.
What about the tight ends? I find rostering tight ends in devy almost futile and not much better in C2C formats. We have to have them, and if you have Oronde Gadsden or Harold Fannin – you are a happy owner. Both are not likely to make an impact on the next level. If you follow this series, you will notice I rarely speak of tight ends.
On to Week 3
The non-conference schedule marches on, and there aren’t many marquee games this week. The first game is on Thursday. If your league allows it, make sure you set up your substitutions by then.
Arizona plays Kansas State on Friday night, a game with many fantasy implications. It should be really fun to watch. Avery Johnson has to get better; he’s another player we had high hopes for who has underwhelmed.
We have several interstate games, which sometimes can be fun and lead to big upsets. Oregon travels to Oregon State, Washington State waltzes across the state to take on Washington, Notre Dame tries to rebound at Purdue, Utah plays at Utah State, and Colorado takes on Colorado State. There are even lesser-profile ones like Cincinnati at Miami of Ohio and UTSA at Texas. It’s a big week for interstate matchups!
The NFL Beat
Initially, I had this great article written, but right at the last moment, I declared it unable to be published and instead opted to publish this article. It’s okay, though; I told our founders that this one would be published today way back on Monday.
All kidding aside, I feel the 49ers could summon up Joique Bell’s corpse and insert him into the lineup; he’d rush for 130 yards and two scores.
WTF Quarterbacks?
Who had Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr as top-six fantasy QBs in Week 1 on their Fantasy Bingo Card? What a crazy week for fantasy, and QBs really affected fantasy teams.
Mayfield scored 29.7 fantasy points, and Jayden Daniels notched 28.2 if you dared to start him. Josh Allen was the QB1, but we expect that. Anthony Richardson is back to his wicked ways, scoring 26.1 to lock up the QB4 spot. Geno Smith had 17.8 even, the QB9.
After those first five, though, scores dropped off the charts. Patrick Mahomes had only 15.1, QB12, and Dak Prescott, even in Dallas’ mauling of Cleveland, was the QB17 with only 11.5. Congratulations, Dallas; $60 million bought you 11.5 points. But they won, I know, and Prescott wasn’t asked to do much.
My biggest concern was Joe Burrow, a notoriously slow starter who only scored 8.1 points in a home loss to New England, possibly a bottom-five team in the league.
Deshaun Watson looked like garbage, but at least it was against Dallas. His days could be numbered if he doesn’t bounce back to form. Watson has had time, and there are new allegations to worry about. Cleveland gonna Cleveland….
Waiver Help
Campus2Canton leagues typically have pretty sparse waivers, and finding help can be futile. Jordan Mason was a hot add last week, as rumblings of a lingering Christian McCaffrey injury surfaced. If you were lucky enough to grab him, you have a few weeks of strong production very inexpensively.
Allen Lazard rekindled his bromance with Aaron Rodgers, but he seems like an inconsistent play. He is available in most dynasty leagues, yet I will exercise caution in bidding too much money (3-4% at most) and adding the Lazard King.
Tyler Johnson, a former Minnesota stud, is one I am targeting but still not spending too much (~7% or so) budget on. With Puka Nacua shelved for four to six weeks, targets have been opened up. Demarcus Robinson and Johnson each received seven targets against the Lions. Robinson has produced in the NFL and is likely rostered. Johnson is available and has more upside in the offense. I like him to carve out a role and be solid in the wake of Nacua. Or Matthew Stafford could target Cooper Kupp 27 times a game.
Tank Bigsby and Bucky Irving made a mark last week but should be rostered in every C2C league. Devaughn Vele is likely on waivers; he caught eight passes from Bubble Screen Bo Nix on Sunday but only converted those for 39 yards. Vele is worth a shot, although I’m not investing more than a few percent of my FAAB on him.
Look What You Made Me Do
In another playoff rematch, the Lions welcome the Bucs to Ford Field, and we will see how Mayfield follows up his QB2 finish against a legit defense. That’s the game of the week for me and will affect many fantasy stars.
Cincinnati travels to Kansas City and looks to Shake It (last week’s performance) Off. Burrow will try to be the Anti-Hero and ruin the Travis Kelce Love Story. The two teams have Bad Blood – having met five times in the last three years, with the Chiefs winning the last two. The Bengals will try to break the Karma, while the Chiefs will establish their dominance and prove the last two Super Bowl rings aren’t just Paper Rings.
Quit Messin’ Around
I know – that last section was silly as heck, but it felt therapeutic. When my Bengals are 0-1 and looking down the barrel of 0-2, I’ve got to find ways of coping. If referencing half a dozen Taylor Swift songs makes me happy, well then, I will do it!
Good luck this week on your college and NFL matchups, getting the double win in C2C is one of the ten best feelings in the world. Having a child, getting married, buying a house, winning your college and NFL fantasy matchup… oh yeah, it’s a great feeling!
