Every week of every NFL season brings to life things that we can only imagine. This week was no different. While every analyst out there rushes to bring to life an overreaction article, I intend to do something a little different.  I want to take a minute to consider the things that we just witnessed, and formulate a plan for long term success.  Sometimes, like the emergence of Puka Nacua in Week 1, the two will be closely aligned. Other times they won’t

The first topic we need to consider is the “top-heavy” AFC. For the past several years we have seen the league relatively dominated by the AFC, and with QB’s such as Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, and Lawrence there was no reason to think that anything would change this year. But, The Chiefs have looked far from invincible. The Chargers, well, they are still the Chargers. The Bengals look far removed from the team they were last year. And, the Bills have also been very up and down.

On the flip side, while they may not boast as many of the top QB’s, the class of the NFC has proven to be just that. The Eagles might have looked the weakest of the bunch, and even they showed signs of dominance over their opponent. The 49er’s, well, they have looked strong on both sides of  the ball. And, the Cowboys, if their defense continues to play the way they have been, and Dak doesn’t turn the ball over like he did last year. I think the sky’s the limit. Are we beginning to see the tide turn back toward the NFC???

Next up, let’s take a look at the fantasy strategy that everyone seemed to advocate this year, Hero/Zero RB. Everyone talked about the need to grab elite WR early because there was so much depth in the middle rounds at RB. While the NFL may have begun a new era where they don’t seem to care about the RB position, we as fantasy players still need to show the position a lot of love. I am not saying that I disagree with the thought that Justin Jefferson should have been the number one overall pick, I agree that he should have been. I am saying that as we approached the end of the first round, into the second round, we shouldn’t have been completely ignoring RB.

Some of the WR’s that we were taking in those spots have simply not been offering a great ROI as of yet. I know, I know…It’s a long season. But, we have to plan ahead if we want to have long term success. In addition to that, the middle round strength of the RB position has simply not panned out that way. Darlings such as Alexander Mattison and Dameon Pierce have been relatively ineffective to this point. 

If we had instead taken a balanced approach to drafting our teams, I think we would be able to look at them and like them more than what we are seeing now. I experimented with a couple of drafts that way, and I truly believe they will be my most competitive teams.

Next, let’s talk about overreactions. And, the overreactions to the overreactions. This is a game that many fantasy players try to play. You see something that was in some way an unexpected breakout performance, and you rush to drop a stable performer for this shiny new toy. In some cases, like the aforementioned Puka Nacua, this is a good move.  In others, it probably won’t be. This is why you have to take a look at the entirety of the situation, and not just a single week’s performance. The most common “good” reason to run out and get the shiny new toy is that there has been an injury to the guy ahead of him on the depth chart. The most common “bad” reason is that a guy you drafted expecting to break out…hasn’t broken out yet. The fantasy season is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Don’t make moves for the sake of making moves. Make moves in an attempt to make your team better. If you have a weak link on your roster…try to strengthen it. 

The final topic I want to discuss from this week has to do with fantasy fans as a whole. We need to be a much better community of fans for the players. We need to remember that they are real people, who have real lives. To us, they are a million miles away, and can easily be seen as objects for our amusement in this game we love to play. There is no room in this community for some of the hateful comments that many have sent the players way. When they don’t perform up to their own standards or expectations, they are already feeling bad about it, they do not need us piling on. They do not deserve it…no one does. 

That’s it for me today. As always, if you have any fantasy related questions please reach out to me on Twitter(X) @2fatguysff