2017 Fantasy Football Week 1 Drop List: Don’t Overreact

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Week 1 is in the books and what a week it was. I'm not going to say it was a great weekend of football, because that would be a lie. Most of the excitement was wasted in Thursday's Chiefs vs. Patriots opener, as the Sunday games were filled with awful play on both sides of the ball. The Bengals looked like the Bungles of old, getting shut out by the Ravens. Eli Manning looked completely lost without Odell Beckham Jr. on the field. Unsurprisingly, Scott Tolzien was unable to do much of anything against the Rams.

The biggest developments came on the injury front, with two season ending injuries happening early on. Jaguars top receiver Allen Robinson suffered a torn ACL on his first catch of the year and will require season-ending surgery. Over in Chicago, Kevin White will miss the rest of the year after breaking his scapula. Owners can safely cut bait on both receivers.

Meanwhile, the Fantasy world is holding its breath waiting for official news on David Johnson's wrist injury. Early reports have suggested that Johnson has suffered a dislocated wrist. The Cardinals will receive confirmation sometime Tuesday and will decide whether or not to place Johnson on IR. If placed on IR, Week 9 will be the earliest he can return. In his absence, Kerwyn Williams, Andre Ellington and the newly signed D.J. Foster will split carries.

It's very early in the season and owners should exercise patience when hitting the drop button on their players. You never want to be the owner who dropped a stud after a middling Week 1 (i.e. Michael Thomas in 2016). However, there are a few players that are droppable after their Week 1 performances.

2017 Fantasy Football Week 1 Drop List

Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals

I understand that Andy Dalton is an easy target this week, but I'm going to go in a different direction. Palmer did not look good on Sunday, completing just 27-of-48 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. He also managed to throw three interceptions to the normally soft Lions defense. Palmer looked out of sorts, missing easy passes and looking out of sync with his receivers.

With David Johnson set to miss significant time, Palmer will be without his best weapon. Johnson accounted for so much of the Cardinals' offense that I have no idea how they expect to fill his massive shoes. His versatility made other teams game plan specifically for his skill set. Without Johnson in the lineup, teams can put even more focus on Larry Fitzgerald and co. as Williams and Ellington won't exactly inspire fear in the hearts of opposing defenses.

Without Johnson to shoulder the load, Palmer will be leaned on heavily to make things happen. He experienced a significant decline last season, and his early performance isn't inspiring confidence for this season. The Colts are an easy matchup in Week 2, but the Cardinals won't need to throw much in an expected blowout.

Donte Moncrief, WR, Indianapolis Colts

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I'd like to pick on all of the Colts players, but Moncrief is going to be the odd man out this week. At this point no one really knows how long it will be until Andrew Luck is ready to return. Until he does get back to full strength, the Colts no.2 receiver will have a tough time bringing consistent value.

If Week 1 was any indication, the Colts' offense will struggle to support any Fantasy relevant players. Scott Tolzien was horrid; throwing two pick sixes and looking generally ineffective before being pulled for Jacoby Brissett. While Tolzien was in the game, Moncrief went without a catch. He did salvage his day with a 50-yard reception from Brissett, his only catch of the day.

It says a lot that Moncrief only received four targets in a game where the Colts fell behind very early. Moncrief has never been a high yardage receiver, and his value falls even more without the red zone opportunities he normally receives. Until Luck returns, owners can find a better option on the wire.

Eddie Lacy, RB, Seattle Seahawks

After just one week, the Seahawks backfield has officially become a full blown committee. Thomas Rawls, held out due to an ankle injury, gave Lacy first crack at the starting job. However, he was unable to take advantage. Lacy began the game as the starting running back but did absolutely nothing with his opportunity.

Given just five carries, Lacy managed just three yards and looked just as sluggish as he did last season. He received three carries in the first quarter but his ineffectiveness resulted in just one carry in the second half. Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise looked much more comfortable with their carries. With Rawls looking to return soon, Lacy will be in the middle of a four-way RBBC. Even if Lacy somehow comes out on top of the committee, he will still share carries with the quicker Rawls and Prosise, who are both much better at catching passes out of the backfield.

Lacy does not have the quickness or vision to traverse the awful Seattle offensive line. With an uphill battle to climb, Lacy is not worth holding, especially now that Rawls will be playing in Week 2.

Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions

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How long until hopeful owners give up on Ebron as a useful Fantasy option? Throughout his career he has struggled with injury and inconsistency. He has never played a full 16 game season, and his touchdown count each season reads 1, 5, and 1. He was not healthy going into this season and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was non-committal about his role this season.

Ebron's performance in Week 1 was the opposite of what people were looking for in their TE. Matt Stafford threw the ball 41 times for nearly 300 yards but only targeted the tight end three times. The end result was just two catches for nine yards. Targets will be an issue for Ebron all season, as he'll need to compete with Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah and the emerging Kenny Golladay for targets.

With so many mouths to feed, I don't expect Ebron to break out this season. Ebron is owned (73% at Yahoo!) in too many leagues for someone not showing much at the NFL level. Cameron Brate, Coby Fleener, and Jason Witten are three lesser owned options and more consistently involved in their team's offense.

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