NFL Supercoach | Buy, Hold, Sell, Week 2

Week 1 of the NFL season is officially in the books, and there were some absolutely mammoth scores put up by some familiar faces as well as some intriguing possible POD prospects. 

My decision to go with AJ Brown over Ladd McConkey has somewhat backfired, with AJ out for at least 4 weeks and Ladd scoring well but possibly facing time on the sideline.

Another move I made to be able to get AJ was choosing to risk going with Kyler Murray. After throwing an interception on his first pass attempt as a Viking and being ruled out with a concussion, it’s safe to say my gamble did not pay off. 

I scored 537, which would’ve been a decent score in most weeks last year but certainly not this year, and it has me ranked middle of the pack.

Plenty of work to do this week, so let’s see who can help me climb back up the ranks!

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Buy

Caleb Williams (QB Chicago Bears, $24.35m, BE 1, 5% ownership) 

The league has officially been put on notice. William spearheaded a Bears team that put 59 points on the Panthers in an absolutely dominant offensive performance.

He showed dual-threat capability with 2 passing and 2 rushing TD’s for a total of 4, backed by 269 passing yards and 65 rushing yards.

What impressed me the most with this performance was the fact that he spread the ball around and didn’t rely heavily on his big-name players to get this production. 

Williams enters year 3 in the league and his 2nd under head coach Ben Johnson and looks to have picked up where he left off last year.

If you’re not familiar with Johnson, he was the Lions OC during their run as one of the most prolific offences in the league, which saw Jared Goff shine as one of the best QB’s in the league.

Caleb is more talented than Goff and is a dual-threat QB, which opens up so many more possibilities for Johnson, and this bears offense.

Are we about to witness the rise of Caleb to the top of the QB pool? I hope so.

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Lamar Jackson (QB Baltimore Ravens, $21.88m, BE 18, 41% ownership) 

Ahhhhh the joys of holding a grudge. Captain hindsight would like a word with me to really drive home that I should’ve started with Lamar.

My biggest concern for Lamar was that, for his age and his play style, he may start to really feel the effects and be too banged up. I wanted to see rushing upside, and that I got.

Lamar showed he can still scramble when he needs to and is still a top-tier passer in this league after his 300+ passing-yard day. 

At this price, Lamar is an absolute steal and will generate you plenty of cash, hopefully. There are concerns around who he will be throwing the ball to, with lead receiver Zay Flowers looking to be week-to-week with a hamstring injury and rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane out for several weeks with a fractured wrist.

If Flowers is back, owners can be more optimistic; otherwise, we could see a receiving group led by Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, and household names Elijah Sarrat and LaJohntay Wester.

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Kenneth Walker (RB Kansas City Chiefs, $13.08m, -24 BE, 44% ownership) 

Happy to put my hand up and cop egg on my face here for my preseason take about Kenneth.

I was sceptical about how he’d go and if we were all reading into recency bias, seeing as though he’s the reigning Super Bowl MVP. It seems as though we aren’t.

In his first game, Walker set a new high for rushing yards by a RB in a single game in the Andy Reid era, which is incredibly promising. 

Walker is the home run hitter that the Chiefs offense has lacked in recent years. Mahomes has spoken in the preseason about how K9 is the difference this year for the Chiefs, and it’s hard to argue against that.

With Mahomes still working his way back from an ACL injury, the Chiefs will seemingly look to rely heavily on K9.

With a negative BE already and an impending matchup against a Colts team who just gave up 3 TD’s to Derrick Henry, Walker has the potential to hurt anyone and everyone who doesn’t own him this week. 

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Derrick Henry (RB Baltimore Ravens, $20.43m, BE -5, 7% ownership)

One person who is set to benefit from the injury crisis in Baltimore is Derrick Henry. King Henry was back to his old ways this past weekend after rushing for 144 yards and 3 TD’s in a classic dominant display.

At age 32, he doesn’t look to be slowing down, which must be frustrating for the rest of the league. Henry had a few fumble issues at the start of last year, which affected his game for quite some time, but all signs point to that being a thing of the past.

Henry’s 24 carries suggest he is going to be in for a bell cow type year. With his price point being $4-5m cheaper than our gun RB’s yet producing at the same, if not a better level, albeit it after one week, Henry could allow you to disperse funds elsewhere and improve other players and ultimately score more points for your team.

Henry faces a Saints team that allowed Gibbs to run for 156 yards at 5.4 YPC as well as rushing for 2 TD’s. Get excited.

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D’Andre Swift (RB Chicago Bears, $16.8m, -12 BE, 1% ownership) 

Bit of a POD play here, but I don’t mind Swift as a difference maker for teams. Swift has been a successful RB for head coach Ben Johnson in both Detroit and now Chicago.

Swift is going to carry the ball almost 20 times a game and has that home run ability that we love to see for RB’s. 

He carried the ball 18 times for 124 yards and 3 TDs in a high-scoring affair. Although he has a tougher matchup this week against the Vikings, I expect Johnson to use Swift in a variety of packages to open up the offense for both Caleb and Swift to thrive.

The concern here is whether they play the hot hand between him and RB2 Monangai, who also had a 100-yard day on 10 carries and a TD. 

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Christian Watson (WR Green Bay Packers, $14.71m, -14 BE, 2% ownership)

Watson is finally fit and healthy and thus announced himself as Green Bay’s number 1 receiver. With all the offseason departures, the Packers finally have fewer mouths to feed, and Watson seemingly benefited from this immensely.

Hindsight is wonderful, and I obviously wish I went with him over AJ Brown; however, my concerns were around the man throwing him the ball, not Watson himself. 

With Jacobs out, the Packers had next to no run game, and Love threw the ball 42 times, which is great, but only completed at 50%. Watson had the second most targets at 8 and hauled in 6 of those for 147 yards and 2 TD’s, 1 of which was an 81-yard house call.

You can’t do much wrong by going to Watson here, who will make you cash and allow you to upgrade to a gun in the coming weeks. I would be cautious of his injury history; he’s yet to play a full season in the NFL.

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DJ Moore (WR Buffalo Bills, $11.44m, -2 BE, 8% ownership)

The people of Buffalo alongside Josh Allen can rejoice! Buffalo has a number 1 receiver again! Moore erupted for 100 yards and a touchdown with 5 receptions and 8 targets for the game.

He’s being touted as the best or 2nd best offseason move by any team already. Moore opens up the Bills offense and makes them an incredibly dangerous team for opposing defences. 

The concern for the Bills was that they are facing some tough defences to start the year and may not score points. Well, they’ve gone out and showed that that won’t be an issue after scoring 36 against a top-5 defence in the Texans, and they did it through the passing game.

Moore is going to become a trusted target for Allen, and at this price I’m excited by the prospect of potentially owning the lead receiver of one of the league’s top offenses.

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Chris Olave (WR New Orleans Saints, $17.62m, -8 BE, 9% ownership)

He was a top 6 receiver in Super Coach by the end of the year last year, and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t back someone I heavily targeted in draft leagues.

The Saints played from behind for the entirety of the game but made a comeback through the big arm of Shough, targeting Olave to the tune of 182 yards on 10 catches and 13 targets. To have a score of 46 without any TD’s is incredible.

I believe the Saints will do special things this year, and as long as Olave stays healthy, he should be a top 5 receiver in the league by the end of the year.

He’s uber talented and the clear number 1 guy on the team. It’s helping that the rookie Tyson isn’t playing yet, but I still think regardless of when we see him play, Olave will produce. 

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Ladd McConkey (WR LA Chargers, $11.81m, 3 BE, 14% ownership) 

The Chargers were arguably the most disappointing team of the opening round of games, but they did have one bright spot in Ladd McConkey.

Until his injury, which needs to be heavily monitored, Ladd was helping the Chargers look like a half-decent team. He had 82 yards on 5 receptions and 7 targets and a TD too. 

As mentioned, there is an injury concern with Ladd, but boy do the Chargers need him on the field to succeed. For the 26 plays that he was on the field, the Chargers averaged 6.3 yards per play, as opposed to 4.2 on 25 plays without him.

I think when healthy he is a top 10 receiver and a valuable mod ranger who will generate your team cash, so if he’s healthy, pull the trigger on him, but if he’s doubtful to play, steer clear for at least this week. 

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Hold

Ja’Marr Chase (WR Cincinnati Bengals, $20.31m, 58 BE, 60% ownership)

What did we learn last year? Don’t trade out a gun unless they’re injured. Chase cost me at least 4 trades last year, and it ruined my season.

Chase is a top 3 receiver in the league and traditionally has an average first week every year. Fellow podcast host Eden Richards did a bit of digging and found that over the last 4 years he hasn’t surpassed double-digit points in draft leagues to start the season. 

Don’t panic, ride the wave and keep him all year. If DJ Moore can put up 100 yards against the Texans Defence, Chase can put up 200.

Omarion Hampton (RB LA Chargers, $16.86m, 35 BE, 14% ownership) 

Despite scoring a TD, Hampton only put up 16 points and had only 43 yards on 12 carries. The Chargers looked terrible, which didn’t help the cause at all.

I’m willing to give him one more week in my team and see if he can bounce back against an average Raiders team. They did just hold one of the league’s best Devon Achane, to 36 rushing yards, but he is also playing on the worst team in the league… If Hampton can’t succeed against Miami, I’m happy to chuck him in another column next week.

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Saquon Barkley (RB Philadelphia Eagles, $17m, 35 BE, 28% ownership)  

What surprised me the most about Saquon was the 28% ownership amongst coaches. I don’t think anyone should’ve started with him, but I also think that if you did, it’s not the best move to get rid of him after 1 week when he’s about to face the Titans, who just lost to the Jets and allowed Breece Hall to run for over 100 yards and a TD. 

Saquon didn’t do anything bar one long run to excite anyone in week 1, but I can see him having a few long runs and at least 1 touchdown against a woeful Titans team.

I’d be happy moving him next week to another similarly priced back, but hold for now.

Colston Loveland (TE Chicago Bears, $11.6m, 18 BE, 38% ownership)

A Donut in week 1 is never nice; however, it did allow myself and a lot of other coaches to reap the rewards of Isiah Likely. Don’t panic trade out Loveland just yet.

Last year he was Caleb’s favourite target down the stretch, and I feel as though this Bears team has many mouths to feed.

Given we’ve got another week until price increases/ decreases, I’d look to hold Loveland and see if any other TEs in the same price bracket, like Warren, Goedert, or even Kincaid, continue to score well. 

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Sell

The obvious sell is AJ Brown this week, but not worth including him because it is just so obvious given he is out for 6 weeks.

At this stage of the season, I wouldn’t be looking to sell unless there’s an injury or an absolute must-have player like a Kenneth Walker. 

Kyler Murray (QB Minnesota Vikings, $18.6m, 57 BE, 5% ownership)

An unfortunate sell but a necessary one. If he didn’t get injured, regardless of score, I would’ve kept him this week, but I feel as though changing him to another QB option is the way to go to maximise points early on.

I hope he gets back out there and can put up some good numbers, but at this stage we are going to have to wait and see.

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Jaylen Waddle (WR Denver Broncos, $13m, 39 BE, 11% ownership)

I don’t know why I’m so happy that he didn’t play well this week, given I have him in many dynasty leagues. It may be because I don’t think this is a good place for receivers, and I feel like I’ve been yelling at the clouds hoping that they’ll listen to me.

Nix is coming back from injury and looked awful; the Broncos have an even more crowded receiver room thanks to the addition of Waddle, and as was pointed out by ESPN many times in commentary, the Broncos offense looked terrible under a guy who’s never called plays at the NFL level in his life. 

Waddle is an injury-prone guy who has never had the chance of being a team’s true WR 1, and I truly do believe this is a terrible landing spot for him. There are many other options at his price range that I’d rather go with.

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Captaincy and trade options

Before I get into it, I just want to point out a few people to watch for over this weekend.

Jalen Coker and Mike Gesicki are appearing as 2 of the most traded-in players this week. I’d hold off at least another week on these guys.

Coker gives me huge Rome Odunze/ Quentin Johnson vibes from last year and could hurt getting him in. He’s not a season keeper for me and also has a horrid injury history.

Gesicki is intriguing as Burrow hasn’t really had a quality TE like him before. He also didn’t target his main man, Chase. I believe this was an outlier of a week, and you should be having other cheapies like Likely or even Sadiq on your team. 

As mentioned above, I didn’t really want to make trades this week, but given I had 2 injuries to 2 key players, I felt it necessary to do so.

Until it was announced that Brown was out for 6 weeks, I had every intention of stashing him for a couple of weeks and bringing him back in without wasting trades. Bummer.

Anywho, many thoughts have gone into this, so let’s have a look.

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TRADE IN: Walker, Moore and Williams

TRADE OUT: Etienne, Brown and Murray

Yeah, a boost in the first week doesn’t look great, but I do think in my situation it is necessary.

Etienne was always a placeholder, and it was tough deciding between him and Hampton, but I ultimately went with the more expensive back to get me more cash in thew the bank as I downgraded to K9, who I see as an absolute must-have.

As someone who didn’t jump on the Taylor train until it was too late last year, I didn’t want to have similar flashbacks this time round.

I’ve opted for Moore at the moment as Ladd is injured and I’d rather go with someone who is guaranteed to have unhindered playing time. Moore plays in the Friday game, which means I have to stick with this.

I do hope Ladd is okay, but maybe only for next week. As mentioned above, I’m excited by having the main receiver in Buffalo on my team.

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This was tough. I almost went to Lamar, but I love the idea of Williams this year, especially at 5% ownership. He’s slightly more expensive, but downgrading my other 2 positions to be able to get Williams and hopefully keep him as a set-and-forget player in my lineup this year has me excited.

The other selling point is who his coach is and the history he has with producing top-5 offenses in this league over the last 5 years. 

Captaincy-wise, I’ll be putting the VC on Allen, and that will most likely be looped with Beck. I may end up straight-up captaining him, as the Bills vs Lions should be a shootout for the ages.

I’m thinking a score of over 55 is loopable here, and then that leaves my Captain to either Bijan or K9. Leaning towards K9, given Henry just tore the Colts to shreds.

Best of luck this week, and catch you on the next one.