The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 1 (Fantasy Football)
Hello, FootClan, and welcome back for another year of incredible Starts of the Week selections courtesy of your favorite Fantasy Footballers – Andy, Mike, and Jason. We have already got a game under our belt this year thanks to Wednesday Night Football, but I think we are looking forward to some higher-scoring affairs tonight and this weekend. Your drafts are complete, and you have planted your flags. Now it’s time to roll out your most formidable week one lineup with a little help from the world’s number one fantasy football podcast. Keep reading to hear who the Ballers are most confident in this week after a long offseason of postulating and projecting.
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Andy’s Starts of the Week
QB Jared Goff vs NO
Andy goes to Jared “Garf” with his QB pick in what appears to be an advantageous spot against New Orleans. If there is one thing we know about Goff, it’s that he succeeds when conditions are favorable, and it does not get much more favorable than being a 7-point favorite in a 50.5-point Over/Under at home. He might be on waivers in your league, and you can go ahead and pick him up and start him over just about anybody.
RB Omarion Hampton vs ARI
Go ahead and ride the Hot Hampton in Week 1. The Chargers are double-digit favorites against the Cardinals, so Hampton figures to see a heavy workload in this matchup. If you drafted Omarion Hampton in the second round, you can expect his projected year-two breakout to get off to a hot start this week.
WR Devonta Smith vs WAS
It is Smith’s time to shine as the alpha WR for Jalen Hurts and this Philadelphia offense. Washington’s secondary is not particularly good, allowing the eighth-most schedule adjusted fantasy points to the WR position last year, and their offense should be good enough to keep this game competitive. Expect a heavy target volume for Smith, who should be started in every league.
TE Sam LaPorta vs NO
A vote of confidence from Andy for Sam LaPorta, who missed the majority of training camp with a hip injury after spending the offseason recovering from back surgery. When healthy, LaPorta is always a threat to score a TD or two, and the Saints defense’s weak spot is the TE position. Pair LaPorta with Jared Goff as the stack of the week.
Jason’s Starts of the Week
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
QB Baker Mayfield vs CIN
The Bucs/Bengals matchup is tied for the highest over/under of the week at 50.5, and Baker’s fantasy managers stand to benefit from that. Fortunately, he is not rostered in many leagues, so there is still time to get in on the Bake Show this week. We expect him to put up some big numbers this week and earn some of that $165M contract he just inked.
RB Breece Hall vs TEN
After spending some time on groinindex.com during camp, Breece appears to be “all systems go” for Week 1, so to speak. He and his groin take their talents to Nashville in what is projected to be a competitive matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Breece should be a great play most weeks behind a new-and-improved offensive line, and this week is no exception.
WR Davante Adams vs SF
Adams heads down under to take on the San Francisco 49ers. At 33 years old, wear-and-tear becomes a concern for Adams’ season-long projection, but he enters Week 1 fresh as a daisy… aside from the 17-hour flight. Jason is all-in on Adams as a WR1 (!) for fantasy. Last year, he drew 16 targets inside the five-yard line, the most since targets became a stat. He also drew 19 targets in two games against SF. Don’t forget to fire him up in your lineups tonight!
TE Isaiah Likely vs DAL
For his career, Likely has averaged 50 yards and 12.5 PPR points without Mark Andrews on the field. Mark Andrews will not be on the field tonight. Reports out of camp are that Isaiah Likely is the projected No. 2 target for NYG, and Dallas presents a pretty good matchup for TE. Those factors make Likely an interesting play on Sunday Night.
Mike’s Starts of the Week
Peter Casey-Imagn Images
QB Jaxson Dart vs DAL
Jaxson Start! Speaking of Giants vs Cowboys, Dart is Mike’s start of the week at QB. Dart (along with everybody else) tore up the Cowboys’ defense last year, and this game has a pretty favorable 48.5-point over/under. You should not have drafted Jaxson Dart if you weren’t planning to start him in smash spots like this.
RB Bucky Irving vs CIN
Mike got a little statistical with this tidbit: New Bucs’ OC Zac Robinson calls more zone-based runs than any other playcaller, and Cincinnati’s defense gets gashed by zone runs, allowing 4.97 yards per carry on them last year. Sean Tucker is trending in the wrong direction for this matchup, which should hopefully leave goal-line duties to Bucky. Start him as an RB2 this week.
WR Tetairoa McMillan vs CHI
The Chicago Bears secondary was not good against WRs last year, allowing the second-most fantasy points to the position. The game script in this 46.5-point over/under should allow Bryce Young to surpass 200 passing yards, most of which will go to Tet, who commanded a 26% target share last year as a rookie.
TE Kyle Pitts vs PIT
As of the time of this writing, Tua appears unlikely to start Sunday’s game after suffering an apparent oblique injury in practice. This is, however, a rare case where losing his starting QB might actually improve Pitts’ outlook this week. The Steelers allowed a ton of points to opposing TEs last year, ranking 30th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to the position. It might not be pretty for Pitts this week, but he should get plenty of looks.
Comments
Laporta or Likely 10 team half ppr