Fantasy football Week 2: Buy, sell, hold after Week 1 performances

Week 1 of the NFL always produces some unexpected outcomes and eyebrow-raising individual performances. The savvy fantasy football player can exploit the unexpected for a long-term benefit. Figuring out when to sell high or buy low after Week 1 is invaluable.

Here are a few fantasy football players to buy low, sell high, or wait and hold onto in advance of Week 2.

Buy

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Zach Pascal, WR, Colts - Pascal caught four passes on five targets for 43 yards in the Colts' loss to the Seahawks. It's a modest output, but two of his four catches were end zone targets that cashed in for TDs. Carson Wentz clearly looked at the big-bodied Pascal as his top option in the red zone. Darrell Henderson, RB, Rams - He's probably already owned (96% in Yahoo leagues), but you might find someone trying to sell high after Henderson ran for 70 yards and a TD on 16 carries in Week 1. Take them up on it; Henderson played almost every snap against the Bears and looked effective in the passing game. That will keep him on the field and atop the Rams depth chart. Sterling Shepard, WR, Giants - Hard to argue with nine targets for Daniel Jones' top option. Shepard caught seven of them, topping 100 yards and scoring once. Just as notable was his 12.6 yards per target, a major spike upward from his 7.6 career average. Don't expect Shepard to sustain it, but he was utilized down the field more often in Week 1.

Sell

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Phillip Lindsay, RB, Texans - Lindsay scored a touchdown in Week 1, but the overall production and opportunity were not good. Lindsay managed just eight carries for 25 yards against what looks like a terrible Jaguars defensive front. He was well behind Mark Ingram in the pecking order. Now the Texans face a tougher Browns defense, and few expect Houston to come close to the 37-point outburst in Week 1 anytime again in 2021. Mike Gesicki, TE, Dolphins - Chances are Gesicki was drafted in your league. If it happened to be you that pulled the trigger (I did it in two different leagues, sigh), it's time to sell the athletic TE to anyone who will buy on the perceived offseason value. Gesicki didn't catch either of his Week 1 targets, and the Dolphins upgraded WR corps means he's unlikely to get the opportunities he's garnered in the past. Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles - Goedert hauled in four of his five targets, netting 42 yards and a TD in the Eagles' blowout win over the Falcons. Goedert splits the TE targets with Zack Ertz, and in Week 1 it sure looked like QB Jalen Hurts favored looking at his WRs in new coach Nick Sirianni's offense. Goedert played fewer snaps than Ertz, and the Falcons middle-of-field defense appears sustainably dreadful.

Hold

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Kareem Hunt, RB, Browns - Hunt managed nine total touches in the Browns' Week 1 loss. The lack of volume might scare some owners, but Hunt's red-zone opportunities — including a successful two-point conversion — are no fluke in the backfield timeshare Hunt has with Nick Chubb. Justin Fields, QB, Bears - If you felt strongly enough about Fields to draft him, there's no reason to bail now. He didn't do much (2-2 passing for 10 yards, one carry) for the Bears in Week 1, but Andy Dalton's underwhelming performance keeps the door open for more Fields in the coming weeks. He's a long-term play and there's no point in giving up on that now.

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