Opening Weekend for the PLL is in the books. 

Our three start suggestions last week – Xander Dickson, Logan Wisnauskas, and Mike Sisselberger – all outperformed their projected point targets. The sit column included Marcus Holman and Bubba Fairman, who both did not live up to their point projections.

Which players are being overvalued or undervalued heading into Week 2 in Charlotte? Let’s dive in.

START:

Matt Campbell, Midfield, Boston Cannons
Salary Cap: 32

Campbell finished with 40 fantasy points (fifth among midfielders) over the weekend in the Cannons' 17-12 loss to the New York Atlas.  While Campbell isn't known for beating defenders with his speed and agility, his lacrosse IQ and understanding of the opposing team’s defense are what make him an elite midfielder.

Campbell is one of the best off-ball midfielders in the PLL. Four out of five of the shots he took in Albany came from his ability to capitalize off of poor recovery defense by the Atlas. Of those four shots, two landed in the back of the net. 

What’s intriguing about Campbell’s performance was that he had 19 touches in the Cannons’ loss, which was lower than his 23.4 touch-per-game average in 2023. Even with fewer touches, Campbell still finished with the most points on his team.

With a fully rested Pat Kavanagh, expect Campbell to likely be the second priority for Boston in this Saturday’s matchup with the Maryland Whipsnakes, which should give him matchups against short sticks. 

The Whipsnakes' rope unit, which once was the best in the league, is now their Achilles heel. The losses of Michael Ehrhardt, Ty Warner and Connor Kirst were noticeable in their defeat against the Atlas. The Whipsnakes also find themselves in a hole with goalie troubles after Kyle Bernlohr got benched in the first quarter of their season opener. 

Campbell should be able to take advantage of an inexperienced group through his ability to cut off-ball and find seams within the Whipsnakes’ defense, which gave up 17 goals against the Atlas. 

SIT:

Connor Fields, Attack, Utah Archers
Salary Cap: 43

Fields finished with 27 fantasy points in the Archers’ win over the Philadelphia Waterdogs. The biggest takeaway from that game was seeing how instrumental Grant Ament is when he is healthy and able to initiate an offense.

In 2023, when Ament was not in the Archers’ lineup, Fields averaged 41.5 touches per game. When Ament was healthy and playing, Fields’ touches dropped to 33 per game. 

While Ament’s presence on the field undoubtedly generates a positive effect for the Archers’ offense, Fields’ opportunities to make jaw-dropping plays start to become limited when the ball is not in his stick. 

Yes, Fields did have a notable Opening Weekend performance, but his salary cap value is too expensive for an attackman who's not going to get the ball as often as he was used to last year. There are better values on the fantasy market.