Patience you must have, my young padawan.*
* Contrary to popular belief, this is not an actual Yoda quote from "The Empire Strikes Back." But surely he said it and was referring to Knockout leagues!
Week 1 of the fantasy football season is in the books, and for those of you in Knockout leagues for the first time -- whether the first time on ESPN (it's true for all of us!) or your first time playing the format at all -- you're now experiencing the excitement of seeing that first set of knockout cuts on your league's free agent list. It's a cavalcade of star-caliber players and, in all likelihood, a couple of first-round picks! The temptation to rip open your FAB wallet and spend, spend, spend is irresistible.
But ... have patience! Knockout strategy demands playing the long game. Remember, there are potentially 16 more Tuesdays like this from which you can enrichen your roster. Pace yourself.
Welcome to our weekly examination of Knockout league cuts and prospective adds. Each week, we'll review the most common cuts across ESPN leagues, and provide recommended FAB bids (by percentage of your team's total seasonal budget) and, where applicable, acquisition strategies for players.
Standard league managers: Wait! Don't go! There's a commonality between one-week busts and Knockout cuts. How much should you worry about those dud performances, and are there buy-low opportunities within? The FAB-driven suggestions that follow are designed for Knockout play, but the strategies within can prove every bit as relevant in standard formats. Stick around!
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A note before we begin: Make Eric Karabell's excellent Monday free agent pickups column part of your mandatory weekly reading. Eric's recommendations also apply to Knockout leagues, especially in the season's early weeks, when the talent pool remains thin and every roster spot is precious. Jalen Coker, whose 33.8 fantasy points were fifth best in the league in Week 1, should be on your Knockout pickups list. In this space, however, we're focused upon the big, just-cut names.
Here are this week's 20 most-knocked-out players in ESPN leagues:
My favorite pickup of the week
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears (10.5% knocked out, 12th most overall, No. 3 TE): His doughnut was as head-scratching a result as they come, as the Bears scored 59 points and totaled 552 yards of offense, and he paced their receivers by playing 86% of the offensive snaps while running 25 routes. Shrug this one off. If you drafted light at tight end -- a risky Knockout strategy for the early weeks -- consider Loveland's availability a gift. He'll be a key target for Caleb Williams in an offense likely to engage in high-scoring affairs due to the defense's inefficiencies. Recommended FAB bid: 15% of your seasonal budget. (Note: these recommendations assume a team with average needs at every position; a team precariously thin at tight end can and probably should beef up the percentage by 150% -- meaning as much as 22% of the seasonal budget.)
If a blue-chipper (ex. Jahmyr Gibbs) became available in your league, my rule of thumb is to go 25-28% of your seasonal FAB if you're in average need at the position and 30-32% if in dire need.
Go get 'em
Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (13.3% knocked out, eighth overall, WR4): Ah, September, a month when temperatures cool, pumpkin spice is in vogue and Chase is nowhere to be seen. The No. 3 overall pick in ESPN drafts has now posted two of his three worst career single-game scores in the past two Week 1s (3.2 fantasy points this season, 4.6 last) and has averaged 5.5 fewer points in September compared to the rest of the season. And while I want to vault him into the "all-in" category, September isn't over yet and the Bengals head to Houston, to face a Texans defense that remains one of the most highly regarded defenses despite struggling against the Buffalo Bills. Oh, and the Bengals have an early bye (Week 6). Chase is a guy to get, but would anyone be shocked if he's right here in this space again next week? Recommended bid: 22%.
James Cook III, RB, Buffalo Bills (8.1% knocked out, 28th overall, RB7): The running back to get among potential availables, Cook's Week 1 dud has easy explanations, from the Texans' stout run defense to Josh Allen taking the reins early. That the Bills totaled 36 points and 409 total yards against that defense speaks volumes about the touchdown potential -- critical to his 2026 outlook -- Cook should have. He has a tricky early schedule (DET, LAC, NE, @LAR the next four weeks) and a suboptimal Week 7 bye, but he's also one of the position's best. Recommended bid: 20%.
George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys (14.5% knocked out, fourth overall, WR2): The one thing keeping Lamb from challenging for the week's wisest pickup is his "No. 2" status in the Cowboys' offense, if we can even call it that. Pickens matched "No. 1" CeeDee Lamb's 26 routes run and had three targets to Lamb's five (though two of Lamb's were in the red zone). No. 2 receivers bring a degree of knockout variability concern, but these are effectively 1 and 1A wideouts. I also grade the Cowboys' defense as one of the worst, meaning this is an offense that should pass enough to keep both consistently productive. Recommended bid: 16%.
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders (14.2% knocked out, 5th overall, TE2): Can Knockout managers survive additional absences from one of the game's most highly regarded tight ends? Bowers (knee/meniscus trim) has an outside chance at being ready for Week 2, but he's a long-game add, and a great one at that, especially with the Raiders' distant bye (Week 13). He'd have a higher bid if not for the chance he'll be back in this space next week. Recommended bid: 15%.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots (9.8% knocked out, 19th overall, QB4): No, he did not look good in the NFL's first game of the season, but in his defense, it was Week 1 coming off a light preseason for him, and it was a bad matchup at that. Maye is the quarterback to get, even if only barely (over Bo Nix, for me), if you're needy at the position. Recommended bid: 10%.
Worthy, with worries
Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons (15.1% knocked out, third overall, WR1): The Falcons' offense was a mess with Cooper Rush under center. Rush completed only 12 passes, and running back Bijan Robinson accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Falcons' total yardage. London suffered dearly, and it's a concern that QB Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) might still not be ready for Week 2. But let's remember that London averaged 16.6 fantasy points, fifth best among wide receivers, while working with mediocre quarterbacks in 2024 and 2025. He's a long-game add. Recommended bid: 17%.
Kyle Pitts Sr., TE, Falcons (league-leading 15.8% knocked out): Sensing a theme? Pitts is more of a square-peg, round-hole Knockout player because of his historical inconsistency, and his fantasy prospects would be better with Tagovailoa as his quarterback. But, hey, the tight end spot is tough. Recommended bid: 8%.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams (15.2% knocked out, second overall, QB1): The concerns are obvious, ranging from his age (38), to how shaky he looked in the Australia game, to the travel-related concerns surrounding that game. In Stafford's defense, the matchup wasn't great, and he took a few weeks to find his footing last season, too. Bidding here is long game, though, as he has a tough upcoming schedule (NYG, @DEN, @PHI). Recommended bid: 9%.
No thanks
Houston Texans D/ST (10.0% knocked out, 18th overall, DST1): We warned you about their early schedule! It doesn't get better in Week 2, as the Texans host the potent Bengals offense, and they also have the Cowboys in Week 4. There's a high likelihood that the Texans D/ST will be high on this list a few times over the season's first four weeks, so save your FAB and invest in streaming options (Tampa Bay Buccaneers!). Recommended bid: 2%.
