We’ve all been there. It’s moments after the draft, you survey your lineup and that of the other teams in the league. Your team seems invincible, but then week 1 rolls around… That first round RB? 20 carries and 50 yards. That prized WR? 2 catches, 13 yards, and no score. Your lotto ticket TE gets no targets and all of this came when even average performances would get you the W because your QB went off, and now you feel like they wasted his best game of the season. Looking at your lineup and seeing a bunch of people you want to trade for any value at all? Well hold on because this post is for you. Here you will see all of the storylines that have you bugging out and wondering if your first round pick has suddenly hit the wall. In fact, last year provided two great examples of these worries being warranted for 1 player and totally outrageous for the other. Larry Fitzgerald had a rough time grabbing passes from John Skelton, who I hear is apparently a professional quarterback, and had a disastrous season for a potential first round pick. Then there’s Chris Johnson, who just got off to a slow start and rewarded patient owners. So with all that in mind here are some of the real and fake trends starting in the NFL.

• Doug Martin – He was your first round pick so you’d like a little better than 65 yards. Sure the TD was a nice little add to keep our teams afloat but with 26 touches a better game than 65 yards on the ground (-1 receiving) is expected. However this was a build up of circumstance more than anything else. One of the best guards in the league, Carl Nicks was out for this game. Second, this isn’t just me being a homer but the Jets defense is much better than people think it is. Sheldon Richardson gives gang green a suitable bookend on the line to compliment Muhammad Wilkerson. With 7 total tackles from Richardson (3 solo 4 assisted) he took replacement guard Gabe Carimi to task and showed that he has a knack for finding the ball. Call this a fluke performance and remind yourself that Martin did some of his best work last year with both of his starting guards out.
• Marshawn Lynch – Had an eerily similar day to Doug Martin’s. Again, he will have much better days on his horizon. Many will consider benching one of the most consistent runners in the league due to a stiff matchup with the 49ers up next but before doing so just remember that he topped the century mark in BOTH games again San Fran last season. What happened in this matchup then? Well the Carolina front seven is just straight up talented. And if you play in an IDP league or watched the game, then you know that Luke Kuechly is now the most talented middle linebacker in the NFL. Again, another dud game from a player that will give you many more good ones.
• David Wilson – Oh boy…where do we start here? I’d say that David Wilson only feels comfortable in Tom Coughlin’s doghouse but I already used that line in my last post so I’ll say this instead, I get that it’s fun to prove the doubters wrong, but you don’t have to play bad to create the doubts…oh wait I already used that? Alright clever words aside here is what we can say about Wilson now. The free agent hunt for a running back by the Giants was not for a replacement, at least not a replacement of Wilson. These were calls to fill Andre Brown’s role, which is why we saw the signing of Brandon Jacobs and not let’s say Willis Mcgahee. Tiki Barber, a man who had ball security issues himself, said that Wilson’s problem is mechanical and not mental. And who would know better how to coach that out of Wilson than the man who did it for Barber…Tom Coughlin. He will probably have a bounceback but if you wait another week or two to field trade offers you run the risk of Wilson losing his value. That said, the Giants don’t have much of anyone else to turn to and Coughlin would rather not bench one of his most talented players just to teach him a lesson.
• Dez Bryant…and Roddy White – Two quality top 10 wideout options usually these guys were battling ankle issues in week 1. White’s came as a bit of a shock because it was known about and although he didn’t practice it seemed like he would be fine to go. He later copped to being more of a decoy out there but what’s in the past is done, I say if you have a strong option for a sub feel free to bench White for this game and this game only but he will still do a little something here. If you really want you can grab Harry Douglas for insurance. As far as Bryant goes its a similar situation, currently questionable with a potential matchup with Brandon Flowers you can only check practice reports to see how he is progressing.
• Calvin Johnson – There’s truly nothing to say here, it was an off day, and there were options in other parts of the field. Stop worrying and start him every week.
• Trent Richardson – Kind of like Calvin with a caveat, he will get the touches and is a 3 down back for the Browns. It was an off day and he might not explode next week but with Josh Gordon back to stretch the field along with the emerging threat of Jordan Cameron Trent will have running lanes that you could drive a mack truck through.
• Lamar Miller – The last real person we can lose ourselves over. with a 0.3 YPC and a goalline score vultured by Daniel Thomas there is a fair cause for concern. Here’s the good news, the Browns defense is much better at stopping the run this year, and the entire Dolphins offense had a rough outing so who’s to say that one out of sync game means a season of woes. If you have a roster spot open and you own Miller I’d consider nabbing Thomas I can tell you this though, if there is another bad outing by Miller on Sunday I would start trying to sell him for whatever I could get.

That’s all we could possibly lose ourselves over after week 1. Some guys just had an off game, others are possibly telling us that they aren’t ready to shoulder the fantasy load quite yet but if we’re being completely honest with you, it was just one week. No fantasy season is won in a single week of games, and no player loses their job after just one game (Not even David Wilson). Got any players making you nervous after a bad outing? Comment below to get our take on the reason you’re noticing more grey hairs.