#Don’t overreact to Week 1 fantasy football performances

When the dust settles on the first week of fantasy and you head to the waiver wire, it is important to keep a level head, especially if you lost your matchup. Frustration can take over and mistakes will be made. The last thing you want to do is blow up your roster and throw away all that time you spent researching and building your fantasy team’s foundation.

You don’t want to make roster moves for the sake of making moves. It is OK to sit on your hands if you have built a strong team, whether you won or lost. A major mistake we see is when a player lands on fantasy radars out of nowhere, and fantasy owners feel compelled to pick him up no matter the cost. They don’t research the situation or have a true understanding of why that player excelled and they go after him with the expectation of a similar performance in future weeks.

Now in some cases, that’s fine. Marlon Mack was placed on IR with a torn Achilles tendon, and Nyheim Hines not only played well in his absence but he should handle the Colts’ pass-catching responsibilities for the foreseeable future. In this case, you make the claim.

But blowing up things to acquire Malcolm Brown is a different story. With rookie Cam Akers developing and Darrell Henderson in the mix on third downs, Brown isn’t likely to see the consistent touches he received in Week 1 against a depleted Cowboys defense.

In addition to understanding who to pick up or avoid, you also need to understand that dropping an underperforming player after a disappointing Week 1 can be a fantasy death sentence. Dropping someone like Akers or Bryan Edwards after a poor week is likely to bite you in the end, especially as they continue to get their feet wet in the NFL. Just because high expectations aren’t met immediately, doesn’t mean they should be discarded.

Patience is going to be your best friend early on in the season. Investigate before investing. Be aggressive when necessary and don’t overreact. A level head wins out in the end.

Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at Fantasy-Alarm.com  Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.