Roundtable: Listening to the Little Voice

The Footballguys roundtable discusses the little voices of fantasy wisdom we want to heed as we begin the NFL season.

Matt Waldman's Roundtable: Listening to the Little Voice Matt Waldman Published 09/04/2025

© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images roundtable

Welcome to Week 1 of the 2025 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

Listening to the Little Voice: Fantasy Wisdom to Heed This Year

Matt Waldman: What fantasy management wisdom do you want to remember heading into Week 2 that overreactive fantasy managers and media will be tilting over?  

Meng Song: Be aggressive on the waiver wire after Week 1, but within reason. For instance, fantasy managers who were aggressive in adding Jordan Mason last year after Christian McCaffrey's surprise Week 1 absence had a league-winner -- for the first four weeks.

Isaiah Likely scored 26 PPR points in the 2024 season opener, and then he didn't have a single game over 15 PPR points the rest of the year. Remember, it's a long season. 

React, but don't overreact. Choosing which waiver wire targets should be prioritized based on your roster needs and historical FAAB bidding tendencies of your leaguemates. This requires a delicate balance of foresight and strategy.

That's not to say that you can't or shouldn't go all-in on a waiver wire target, but make sure you truly believe that player will be a difference-maker for the rest of the season based on just a one-week sample size. 

Josh Fahlsing: Remember to take a good, long look at your family on Sunday morning. Study their faces and lock them in tight. They will look a little different by the time you notice them again in December.  

Waldman: Saving Private Fahlsing. We could do an entire roundtable on who the eight Footballguys under General Clayton Gray are ordered to find him. 

I think you want Bob Harris to be the sniper.  

Fahlsing: Oh, wait, this is about roster management wisdom, right? 

Waldman: Now I'm not so sure. If we get enough write-in votes, we flesh out the Saving Private Fahlsing bit. Although, if you pick the wrong staffers, it might be mashed up with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or Dazed and Confused. 

Fahsling: Can I quote Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused? "Patience, darlin', patience." Meng is right: Don't overreact to Week One. Someone on your roster is going to underperform. Probably even multiple someones.

You drafted them for a reason, though, and that reason shouldn't evaporate if they come out and lay an egg the first week. It's a long season, and the old axiom is often true: Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make.

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