The Most Over and Under Valued Players, Week 1
This article is a collaboration between Courtney Burrows and Chris Moshinskie
Even though this is just the beginning, Week 2 is coming fast and there are tons of great wavier wire pick ups across the league. Week 1 saw its ups and downs and crazy finishes like in the Raiders vs Ravens game Monday night, but that is why we love and watch the game…unpredictability.
Week in and week out, there will be players that fantasy owners gravitate too and desperately want to trade for or stash that might be big winners in the end. On the other end of the spectrum, there are players who we stand behind, and they fail to produce. Week 1 saw many hyped players underperform and some sneaky ones that had been overlooked in pre-season discussion circles ball out.
Undervalued
Jameis Winston, QB New Orleans Saints
Can we all agree that not many saw this coming, unless of course you are a member of WHODAT Nation. I have whole-hearted supported Coach Payton’s decision to start Winston over Hill since the beginning of pre-season. He is the only proven QB on the Saints roster following the departure of Brees. In .5ppr drafts, Winston was being selected as QB 20 with an ADP of 168. This is largely due to his past. In his final season with Tampa Bay, he threw for 33 touchdowns but also for 30 interceptions. Most called him washed up, immature, and sporadic.
He was no longer fit to lead a team. Then he got a season behind future HOF Brees, and things seem to change mentally for him. Week One saw 148 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions with 130.8 passer rating versus Green Bay in a 38-3 victory. He is a great streaming option, and some might say a starter week in and week out especially in 2QB leagues. Owned in 30% of ESPN and 40% of Yahoo leagues, grab him while you still can!
Adam Thielen, WR Minnesota Vikings
Pre-season, Thielen is another name that I heard being drafted late or overlooked for flashy, younger wideouts, but the guy is legit especially in the red zone. He was drafted as WR #20 with an.5ppr ADP of 52. This all for a player who ended 2020 as WR #10. I feel like the Vikings are going to play from behind a lot this year, and in garbage time, Cousins thrives. Last week Vs the Bengals, Thielen led the team in catches, targets, and receiving yards with 92 yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings lost in overtime, but he was the bright spot. He looked so confident, dependable, and light on his feet running routes and getting open. I for one drafted him knowing that others would be targeting Jefferson, but Thielen is not going to fade away quietly. Fire him up this week as a top 10 WR against the Cardinals secondary because once again the Vikings will need to rely on his steadfast red zone catches to give them a fighting chance.
Overvalued
Aaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay Packers
If you are looking for guys that were overvalued in week 1, then look no further than the game that took place in Jacksonville. No, it wasn’t the Jaguars game, it was the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers was entering the 2021 season as the reigning MVP. A season in which he only threw five interceptions on 4200 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. What did we get in his first game of the year, an absolute dud! This has to be one of Rodger’s worst games of his career. He finished with 133 passing yards, no touchdowns, and two picks.
Either this year is going to be a bad year for Rodgers, or we got that terrible game out of the way early and you can expect elite numbers from here on out. It’s safe to say the latter is more plausible as he heads into a matchup against the Detroit Lions. He has to get more than 1.3 points, right? FantasyPros has him ranked for Week 2 as QB7, and he has the potential to finish in the Top 5 so don’t let last week scare you. I expect him to play with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Aaron Jones, RB Green Bay Packers
Apparently, if your name is Aaron, you got to take week one off. Jones was drafted in .5ppr and standard RB7 and in full ppr 6th, so needless to say you expect your 1st round drafted RB to produce, since he finished the last two seasons as a Top 5. Yet Week One, Jones tied Kylin Hill for the team lead rusher with just five carries…yes FIVE, and on those carries totaled nine yards.
He is an outstanding receiving back, but with the Pack playing from behind, he ended with two grabs for 13 yards. With a game against division rival, the Lions in the coming week, expect a bounceback. This just might be what both Aarons and the Packers need in general to prove their worth and give relief to fantasy owners headaches.
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