A Rookie Sleeper To Stash Ahead Of Week 2

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Cloaked:

Lost in the enthusiasm of all the stellar Week 1 rookie performances—I still can’t believe that Bill scored and Harold Fannin Jr. led the Browns in targets—is an unheralded rookie WR who had shockingly good utilization.

In a lot of ways, this is preferred. You are going to have to fight your leaguemates to add Fannin to your squad, but they probably have no clue about Titans WR Elic Ayomanor’s sneaky-good usage in his debut vs. the Broncos because he scored only 3.3 fantasy points.

Here are the Cliff’s Notes (and why you should add him wherever you have space):

28% target share (top 18), which led all rookies in Week 1
82% route participation
46% air yards share (top 12) & most unrealized air yards in the league

Ayomanor is the exact reason why we should care about underlying utilization more than the box score.

In addition to the bullish usage, he would have been credited with a big catch had Brian Callahan actually known the basic rules enough to challenge the play.

Instead, we now get a pristine opportunity to sneak a valuable asset onto our fantasy teams for cheap because the boxscore bros have no idea about his true potential.

There are lots of waiver adds to consider making this week—Kendall does a great job outlining them here—but Ayomanor should be a priority in all but the shallowest of leagues.

The Titans won’t play the Broncos every week (Dan Orlovsky was raving about Cam Ward’s tape despite the tough matchup), and rookie WRs with this type of early-season role are extremely rare to find on the waiver wire. Act now and thank us later …

AYOMANOR’S RANKING IS RIGHT NEXT TO A FORMER OPOY

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Editors’ Picks

Week 1 may be in the books, but there is still some content to look back on that will help you look ahead to Week 2. So ICYMI with either of the first two articles, they are a must-read. The third is new, fresh on our site. Make sure to pop in on our rankings and projections, too.

Freedman’s Favorites: Christian McCaffrey, Almost Alone

Christian McCaffrey must be wondering if an episode of The Last of Us broke out in the 49ers’ locker room. It seems like all around him teammates are “disappearing” due to injuries, leaving him practically alone on the field. That only makes the opportunity for a nuclear workload to await him when the 49ers visit the Saints in Week 2 that much more possible.

Matthew Freedman took a look at the ever-narrowing skill position room in San Francisco and put CMC at the top of his Freedman’s Favorites for the running back position. There are others with smash spots coming up this week whom he’s identified as being in prime spots for fantasy managers looking for that extra edge. ⬇️

DON’T LET A QUIET WEEK 1 SCARE YOU OFF THIS TD MACHINE

He’s The Cheapest RB1 In Fantasy Land … For Now …

Much was made about the Dallas Cowboys' backfield this summer because, quite frankly, we had no idea how to approach it. With top-end options at QB, WR and TE, we assumed it would either be a messy committee or a "ride the hot hand" type of situation.

Then, just a few hours before kickoff on Thursday night, we got our first bit of clarification: Jaydon Blue was a healthy scratch.

That's right, the highly-touted fifth-round selection from this past spring, who was earning first-team reps throughout camp, will have to wait at least one more week before playing in his first regular-season game.

A quick glance across the Fantasy Life website will show you just how high we've been on Blue as a staff over the last few weeks and months. Even so, this is something to monitor.

Blue's absence meant Javonte Williams (25 years old) and Miles Sanders (28) would be the primary options.

Williams is someone Sam Wallace is still bullish on despite his injury history.

He's still young/in his prime and was someone the fantasy community was extremely high on early in his career. Williams out-carried Sanders 15-4 while the latter, despite ripping off a 49-yard gain, lost a costly fumble in the third quarter.

A boxscore scout will see Williams' pair of TDs and get excited about the final outcome, but as always, additional context is needed. CeeDee Lamb caught a 32-yard pass but was tackled at the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Williams scored from a yard out. Williams' second TD, also from a yard out, came on a drive assisted by a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty.

This is not to say that Williams won't find the end zone more this season. He mostly passed the eye test and looked fresh in his first game with the Cowboys. But Blue is still someone to monitor as he could still make his presence felt as early as Week 2.

However, for the time being, dynasty managers should enjoy Williams in a featured role for an offense that can still put up plenty of points.

Sam Wallace dives into more dynasty fantasy football fallout from what we saw in Week 1. ⬇️

A ROOKIE TE BREAKOUT IS COMING