At this point, you already know not to panic after one week. Whether you won or lost, you still don't really know if your strategy will work or not. One bad (or great) performance is too dependent on other variables to figure out whether it was the player, the work flow, the weather or the defense. It's only one game, so it would be foolish to dismiss players to the waiver wire after week 1.
But your opponents don't always know that, and they'll be active on the wire. Ironically, that means maybe you should be active, too.
Most leagues have some waiver activity every week. It's normal, as teams deal with injuries, bye weeks and simply try to upgrade the end of their benches. This week, many Leonard Fournette owners (and many others trying to thwart them) will be looking at TJ Yeldon, for example.
But other moves will be made not due to necessity, but negativity. A disappointing performance (insert one of many started tight ends in week 1), a tough loss and an impatient disposition could lead to some wonderful decisions.
Wait a minute. Wonderful? Yeah, for you. Not for them, of course. It will be disastrous for them. But we're not worried about their misfortunes; we're focusing on your opportunities. And if some owners panic, there might be some good opportunities for you. It's worth your while to see what might be available after the first wave of waiver pickups.
Just about everyone knows when their league's waiver wire runs each week. In ESPN leagues, for example, it's early (really early) on Wednesday. So you already know to get in that week's requests before then. And after that everyone is a free agent, right?
Well, not really. Most everyone else is available at any time before the games begin. But the players owners drop to get those new pickups are on hold for a couple days. So it might be early (again, really early) Friday before those players are available. Therefore, it might make sense to put in a second set of requests once you see the new additions to the waiver wire.
Now, this might be your standard protocol each week. But I guarantee you that many owners look at the waiver wire early in the week, put in their requests and then they're done with it. That second run of waivers won't command the same attention, and could actually include better players. That's especially true early in the year when hasty decisions could yield real talent for opportunistic owners.
There's a catch-22, of course. To get these new gems, you have to drop someone, and getting rid of that guy could be a mistake. That's why you have to be more cautious than your reckless opponents. If you have an iffy player at the bottom of your depth chart, it makes sense to pick up someone's cast-off. But if it's a valuable player in their own right, you should think about it carefully. At the very least, more carefully than the owner who dropped them in the first place.
They're not always reckless decisions, of course. Leagues with shallow benches might require some tough calls if an early-season injury occurs. In one league I'm waiting out the suspensions of Jameis Winston and Julian Edelman. But there aren't many bench spots, so a downpour of injuries (maybe even a steady sprinkle) could cause me to ditch someone I'd rather keep. But whatever the reason, an opponent's loss can be your gain.
Of course, it could be your loss, too. Sometimes bad decisions have good endings, and good decisions end up going bad. The guy they bailed on could turn out to be a dud this year, and they look like geniuses for making the call early. Or the player gets injured, and the lottery ticket you ditched to get them pans out for someone else. Anything can happen in fantasy football, so only risk what (and who) you can afford to lose.
This is a spectacularly bad time to give up on a player, and it's a great time to see if an opponent has picked this spectacularly bad time to do it. Pay special attention to the waiver wire in the coming weeks, especially the second wave that some won't follow as closely. A little untimely panic by another owner could lead to some unexpected depth for you. Happy hunting!
Have you ever benefited from someone else's impatience? Ever ditch someone too early and regret it later? Share your stories below.
10 Reader Comments:
Scott Anderson
John Evans
I came close to cutting Jeffery in his breakout season after a weak week 1...ended up winning the league, largely on the back of Jeffery.
Dennis Salisbury
michael minarik
David Leonard
BEN HOGEVOLL
Dennis Salisbury
David Leonard
Treavor Phipps
James Costello