Welcome to Week 2 Value Hunting! Now that week 1 of the 2022 season is in the rearview and many managers are in full-blown overreaction mode, let’s take a few minutes to discuss a few players who are being criminally undervalued and can be had at a significant discount.
I have outlined a player at each position and included only players that I thought would return value this season as well as in dynasty.
Quarterback- Trey Lance, SF
Trey was all the rage throughout his rookie year and that hype only gained steam as the 2022 draft season came and went. Enter week 1 and a monsoon at Soldier Field and that hype train was quickly derailed.
I’ve seen managers who held Lance for an entire season like he was made of gold suddenly jump ship and practically give him away for a QB2. Lance has a Lamar Jackson-level ceiling and the time to buy is now, target him in redraft and dynasty leagues and get him on your roster before he plays a game on a normal field and his stock shoots through the roof once again.
Running Back- Tony Pollard, DAL
Another player who spent the majority of draft season going through the roof in value. The obvious issue here is the significant injury to Dak Prescott, but with that in mind the Cowboys are simply going to have no choice but to go to a more run-heavy offense with Cooper Rush at quarterback. This bodes well for the pass-catching Pollard who should see all the targets he can handle to go with a portion of the rushing work.
Now is the time to capitalize on managers panicking about Dak and swoop in and add the Cowboys’ RB1 of the future to your roster. Much like with Lance, all it will take is for managers to see one game of the Cowboys pounding the rock on the ground and managers will regain their composure and Pollard’s buy window will be closed.
Wide Receiver- Kadarius Toney, NYG
Toney is a scary one, the upside to Toney is that not only should he come cheap in trade but he may even be available on your waiver wire. There has been something going on behind the scenes between Toney and the Giants, and while it’s unclear if it’s an injury issue or work ethic issue the only thing we do know is that Toney is easily the most talented WR on the Giants.
After week 1 I watched as my league mates dropped Toney to the waiver wire and I was all too happy to add him to my bench. He ‘s definitely a player that is going to require some patience but if the Giants figure out a way to get him going his ceiling is limitless, he saw limited activity in week 1 but the few chances he did receive were nothing short of electrifying.
If he is on your waiver wire, add him! If he is owned in your league, send a low offer and you just might land him for a scrub bench player.
Tight End- Cole Kmet, CHI
I’m sure by now you have noticed an obvious trend, preseason hype monsters that were quickly left for dead after a poor showing in week 1.
Kmet was a Top 10 in targets among tight ends in 2021 and should have easily finished as top 10 at the position, instead, he finished as TE21 because he didn’t score a single touchdown. Cole is due for some serious positive TD regression.
He is another victim of the Bears vs Niners monsoon game and under normal playing conditions, he figures to see a large share of the targets and is primed to break out if he manages to find the end zone on a semi-regular basis.
Kicker- Cade York, CLE
I know most leagues don’t roster kickers but I thought I would throw one in simply because he really impressed me this past week. He is available on waivers in more than 50% of leagues.
York was not someone I followed regularly as I only start a kicker in a handful of leagues but it was obvious after watching him that he is young and talented and has more than enough leg to hit from any reasonable distance. If you need a kicker Cade York seems to have a very bright future.
D/ST- Miami Dolphins
I know what you’re thinking… but the Dolphins play the Ravens this week, why would I want to add their defense for that? I don’t care. This defense may be the best in the league and racked up a pile of points last week against the Patriots.
Sure, the Dolphins will face their fair share of tough opponents (Bills twice) but even in those games where they give up some points, they should produce enough turnovers and touchdowns to net you a tidy total.
IDP- Micah Parson, DAL
Another niche market here, but if this applies to you Parsons is a great young talent that is still ascending. Parsons had a solid rookie season piling up 64 tackles and 13 sacks and well as forcing 3 fumbles. He kicked off the 2022 season with a 4 tackle and 2 sack performance.
The Dallas defense figures to be on the field a lot until Prescott returns and Parsons should have more than enough opportunities to stack up points. Add in that several sites gave him dual eligibility this week (LB and DE) and Parsons can be the anchor of any IDP roster.
Rookie- Kyle Philips, TEN
If you take nothing else out of this article please hear this, GO ADD KYLE PHILIPS! Treylon Burks received all of the early draft hype from the Titans but from the onset of camp it was clear that Philips was going to play a large role in this passing attack.
In week 1 he appeared to be the only Titans receiver who was heavily involved. He is not your typical size/speed freak WR but rather he is a shifty, speedy slot receiver who racks up catch after catch and yard after yard.
I’m calling my shot now, Kyle Philips will be this season’s Hunter Renfrow and will come out of nowhere to be a top 20 WR. He is on waivers in a sizeable amount of leagues and can be had either completely free or via trade at a small cost. Get him now, thank me later.
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Image Credit: Tim Heitman – USA TODAY Sports
