When Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson tore up the Redskins secondary for 154 yards and two touchdowns during Week 1, fantasy football owners were reminded that players do hold grudges.
The revenge-game narrative is often joked about in fantasy circles, but if you have watched Jackson throughout his well-traveled career, you would see that it is more than just a novelty. He has torched his former teams every opportunity he gets. And he is far from alone, as numerous players step up when facing teams who have discarded them in the past, and you will be a better fantasy owner if you learn to exploit it as well.
Those who started Carlos Hyde against the Chiefs this past week know exactly what we are talking about. The 28-year-old running back is on his fourth team in two years, which certainly warrants a feeling that he never has received a clean opportunity to thrive in the NFL. Injuries plagued his time in San Francisco, then he bounced around from Jacksonville to Cleveland to Kansas City until ultimately landing in Houston.
When he faced the Jaguars in Week 2, Hyde rushed for 90 yards on 20 carries, one of his most productive games in recent years. But against the Chiefs on Sunday, the most recent team to cast him aside, he carved them up for 116 yards and a touchdown, helping to lead the Texans to a major upset at Kansas City.
DeSean Jackson and Carlos Hyde are just the tip of the iceberg. Week 7 has a few revenge-game narratives from which to choose, and most, if not all, of the players involved are likely sitting on your waiver wire.
Take a look at new Jets receiver Demaryius Thomas, recently jettisoned by the Patriots. He didn’t spend a lot of time with New England, but enough to feel like Bill Belichick misread what he saw when he traded the receiver. The Jets just got back Sam Darnold, and Thomas will be looking to show the Patriots what they missed.
You also get tight end Vernon Davis facing the 49ers. They haven’t seen each other in some time. And when Buffalo and Miami square off, Bills running back Frank Gore and Dolphins tight end Nick O’Leary will both have something to say to their former clubs.
Not everyone has a grudge against their former team, nor does revenge always have to be steeped in malice, but when you run into an ex, don’t you want them to see how happy you are now?
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays at 4 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice and NFL player rankings.