One of the greatest American traditions since the Lord bestowed upon us the blessings of Fantasy Football is the overreaction following the Week 1 NFL slate. Months of anticipation, hours of prediction podcasts, and dozens of articles built up to what we all hoped would be the perfect draft. While we may not want to admit how much prep time went into trying to beat Susan from accounting in our annual work league, getting ready for the fantasy season helps scratch the itch of the treacherous non-Football part of the sports calendar.  All of that build up seems to go out the window the second Joe Buck does his velvety sign off at the conclusion of Monday Night Football. All of that self imposed discipline dissipates as we stare at our 3rd round running back and his 4 points. How could we be so stupid? What were we thinking taking Terry McLaurin in the 5th round? How do we fix this? It’s time to overreact – we’ve earned it. 

To help us overreact strategically, let’s take a look at what the fantasy world is doing so we can zig while everyone else zags. 

If you were one of the millions of desperate fools rushing to their fantasy apps to put in preemptive waiver claims on Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely after his breakout performance during the seasons inaugural game, there’s a really good chance you got an email this morning telling you that your Uncle Steve who scored 78 points got to him first. Likely was by far the most added player this week helped by the fact that the TE position is hopelessly thin and he did his overperforming during a prime time game. It is not surprising that San Francisco running back Jordan Mason was the second most frequent pickup following his 148 yard performance filling in for undisputed top-3 pick Christian McCaffrey in a standalone game on Monday night. People even fell for the resurgence of washed up wide receiver Allen Lazard and his 2 TD game and added him 3rd most of any position player. 

Since 90% of us did not end up with the hot hand, it’s time to pick the treasure out of the trash pile and target the players that everyone else kicked to the curb. 

Blake Corum, RB Los Angeles Rams

If you tuned in to the Sunday night overtime thriller between Detroit and Los Angeles, you likely didn’t catch too many glimpses of the former Michigan bellcow who didn’t register a single carry during the game. Corum was the most dropped position player following Week 1 as the nerds saw all of the zeroes on his stat sheet and immediately forgot he was probably the most talented runner in this year’s draft playing for a coach in Sean McVay renowned for turning running backs into household names. I know what you’re thinking “What about Kyren Williams?” To which I say…fair point! But good things come to those who wait and it only takes a tight hamstring or two before Blake Corum is the one getting 20 carries a game in the Ram’s potent offense. 

Curtis Samuel, WR Buffalo Bills

It is no secret that the Buffalo Bills are featuring a lot of new faces on offense this season. Led by the league’s preeminent gunslinger, Josh Allen, there is no shortage of passes flying around waiting to turn Curtis Samuel into a must start week after week. Granted, he didn’t get off to an inspiring start with only a pair of catches for 15 yards, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. As the 4th most-dropped player after Week 1, Samuel is a prime candidate to be one of the best pickups of the season following this year’s overreactive house cleaning. It’s hard to believe that the Bills can survive with their top receiver finishing with 51 yards (rookie Keon Coleman) and with Allen completing a pass to 9 different Bills, you know he is not afraid to spread the ball around. Samuel can make a strong case for being the most talented Bills pass catcher and I expect he’ll steal plenty of targets from journeyman Mack Hollins and the undersized Khalil Shakir. 

Cole Kmet, TE Chicago Bears

Headlining most of the morning shows on Tuesday was the underwhelming debut of #1 overall pick Caleb Williams. The Heisman Trophy winner completed just 48% of his passes for 93 yards and not a single touchdown during his first NFL contest after being selected 1st by Chicago in this year’s draft. The Bear’s leading receiver in his premier game against the Tennessee Titans? DJ Moore with 36 yards. So, it is no surprise that Kmet was the most abandoned TE this week after just a single catch of his own for 4 yards. But I am here to tell you that anyone that gave up on the 25 year-old Notre Dame product is missing the bigger picture. Kmet had 6 TDs and 719 yards in 2023 during an abysmal offensive season for the Bears and will undoubtedly become more involved as this year progresses. With All-Pro Keenan Allen and 9th overall pick Rome Odunze already nursing injuries, Caleb Williams will be looking for a reliable pair of hands for the rest of the season as DJ Moore battles the inevitable double teams heading his way. Kmet hasn’t missed a single game in his career and will be a familiar target for his quarterback as he looks to string together completions and positive momentum. 

Younghoe Koo, K Atlanta Falcons 

Newly minted franchise signal caller Kirk Cousins was shockingly immobile in the Falcon’s opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coming off a season ending Achilles tear that concluded his tenure as a Minnesota Viking last season, Cousins looked like he was still shaking off the rust as Atlanta lost to the Steelers 18-10 without relinquishing a single offensive TD. What does this have to do with their kicker Younghoe Koo? I’m glad you asked. Frankly, Cousins looks like he is going to struggle getting reacquainted with his surgically repaired foot behind the Falcon’s mediocre offensive line and that means Atlanta will likely struggle getting into the end zone. This should leave plenty of opportunities for Koo to salvage stalled offensive drives with his right leg. The Falcons play the majority of their games indoors where weather won’t factor into the decision to attempt or thwart long field goals. Take advantage of the availability of one of the league’s most accurate kickers and the fact that far too many people needlessly and prematurely tossed him in the dumpster.