Starts of the Week + Week 1 Breakdown, It’s Football Time! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/8

This game, I am of the belief. I'm of the belief that the Cincinnati Bengals are going to mop the floor with the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one. Okay. This is just based on, I think, personnel-wise, they match up very well. They're at home, Joe Burrow and the weapons that he has in the secondary. Pittsburgh can't keep up with what Cincinnati will inevitably do on offense. That is my opinion of this game. I think you just can't get to the, you can't match them blow for blow. And I don't think the Pittsburgh defense is going to be able to go on the road in week one and slow down Jamar Chase, T. Higgins, Joe Mixon, and company. That is just the angle I am taking. So I think Joe Burroughs a very strong start in this game. And I have question marks all over the offensive side for Pittsburgh.

I mean, a six and a half point favorite is a pretty heavy favorite for an indivision game. Obviously, they are the better team here. So I completely understand what you're saying. That being said, over the last three years, these Pittsburgh-Sincinnati games have really hit the under five of the last six, averaging a total of 38.5 points per game. This has an over-under right now of 44 points on the Draft King's Sportsbook. I'm not, this isn't what I'm excited about. I'm, of course, I mean, if you've got someone like Chase Higgins, Mixon, even Burrow, you're starting those players. You drafted them and this isn't the scariest matchup, but I don't look at this as a great opportunity for a high scoring, back and forth a fair, a barn burner. This really could end up being a great Joe Mixing game. Yes. Because if they come out and if Joe Mixon happens to score the first touchdown of the game and they get up,

And the Steelers' offense with Trubisky can't move against a great Bengals defense. I think that worries me a little bit for the passing game for the Bengals. Last year, the first matchup on the road at Pittsburgh, Joe Mixon had 19 opportunities, 18 carries for 90 yards. And then the second game, Joe Mixon was dominant. We're talking 28 attempts, 165 rushing yards. two rushing touchdowns. And in both of those games, Joe Burrow failed to surpass 200 passing yards, despite putting up, the Bengals put up 41 points on the Steelers, and Joe Burrow was barely a QB1. The running back was the one position that the Steelers gave it up a lot last year, 23 and a half points a game, 26 in the league, stronger against all the other positions. I do think that the sneaky start of Pat Fryermuth,

Sure. If Deontay Johnson misses this game or is limited in the Bengals, that's the one area they give up 12 points a game to the tight end position last year. And when you think about confidence in game one on the road, new quarterback Mitchell Tribusky, the confidence of throwing it underneath the Pat Frymuth and taking some of those easy first downs versus trying to threaten down the field against the Bengals with a rookie, George Pickens, who's numbers, you know, we just looked at the rookie numbers. I think Firemuth is the. One of the best pivots for George Kittle. 100%. The Muth is getting luth this week. Cincinnati allowed the fourth most tight-end receptions last year. All right. And then Naji doesn't come off the field. He's going to play. Yeah. Good matchup. Bad matchup doesn't matter. He's going to be the same every week. He's going to touch the ball a lot. Be inefficient. Be good for fantasy. We do not have Chase Claypool and George Pickens ranked in positions where you would want to start them this week. Correct. All right. The Eagles.

traveling to Detroit, the Draft King Sportsbook line here, Philadelphia minus four, the over under 49 points. I am so very tempted to hit the button, but I'm not going to. Good. You and the Lions, not just you, but like the public. I mean, the hard knocks. I saw it. I watched it. I'll put it this way. I would bet the Lions based on the line. Okay. I think it's going to be a very, very fun game. Right now, the overrunners 49. The Eagles are at 26.5 points, implied point total, and the lions are at 22.5. This is going to be a lot of fun. I mean, we get to see Jalen Hertz and A.J. Brown, that combination for the very first time. Detroit allowed the third most expected points per attempt last year. And I do believe that Nick Siriani will want to come out and show.

the way that he's balanced this offense or attempted to balance this offense. And so you're going to have some real shots at A.J. Brown and Devante Smith and company. So, you know, the Lions were not a good defense last year. Correct. So the opportunity should be there. Looking at the running backs, though, for the Philadelphia Eagles, a little unfortunate we don't know because last year the Lions 30th best against fantasy running backs, aka you f***. You wanted to play against the Lions when you had a fantasy running back. But with the concoction of Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston, Scott, do you have... I like that. I like that language. It's like a running back stew. Yeah. Like, do you have... Look, someone, I'm... Someone from this squad.

We'll have a rushing touchdown. Oh, Boston, Scott. It will be Boston. Okay, we're going to Boston. Yeah, you want to gamble on a touchdown? Go Boston, Scott. I agree, but it's so tough to look at a matchup where you are favored against a bad run D and say, I don't want to start any of the running backs. But that is kind of how I feel, you know, the aforementioned Elijah Mitchell, David Montgomery. Those guys are way ahead of Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott. Trey Sermon exists there. Let's say you're in a deeper league and you had to decide between Devante Smith and this matchup against the Detroit Lions or Brandon Ayyuk in the previous matchup against the Bears. Where would you go? I would go with Devontas Smith. I think that he is the more talented player. Obviously, if George Kittle is out, I would swing that.

We have the – you made the right call, Jason. Our consensus rankings have them three apart, but it's a close one. Yeah, it is a close one. I'm excited for – this is good vibes versus good vibes game. Like the offseason for both these teams were so everything is great. Very positive. You know, very positive. And the reality is I think that the Eagles defense is significantly improved in ways that the good vibes from the Detroit Lions offense, I think – could come crashing down quickly. That's also what's interesting here is the good vibes versus the good vibes. Those things are very fragile right now. Oh, yeah. The Detroit vibes are very fragile. Like Detroit comes out here and they get mushed by 10 points. Yeah. Like, yeah. Everyone's, well.

On to the next year, that's the way it's going to feel. Yeah, and to Jason's point, I mean, the Eagles last year struggled against running back. So DeAndre Swift, at least compared to last year's numbers of what they gave up, seems like a very strong start at home. And even T.J. Hawkinson, like you said, the Eagles, 14.3 points given up to the tight-in position. Amon-Ross St. Brown, you drafted him to play him, so he's in your lineup. And then you're watching. You're watching to see what the involvement of DJ Chark is. Jamal Williams. Does he smile and steal touches away from Dandre Swift? I love Jamal. So we will find out. Dallas Goddard. Are you comfortable starting Dallas Goddard in this game? Yes. All right. The New England Patriots on the road taking on the Miami Dolphins, the D.K. Sportsbook line, Miami minus three and a half. The overrunners, 46 points. What are your biggest storylines from this game?

I was talking to the Borgogan this morning. You know, the vibes from the Patriots offseason and preseason was as bad as it gets. Throughout all of training camp, they were talking about how they can't run the ball. There was like one day where Mack Jones looked great and then everything kind of came to a screeching halt. Their preseason looked terrible. They were putting their ones out against twos and couldn't move the ball. So when I looked at this game early on, it was pretty much pro dolphins, I think they had an opportunity to come out here and in division really, you know, lay the groundwork that we are above you, Patriots. But I can't get over the fact that it's still two against Belichick. You know, it's still like, oh, can't, you've got all the weapons, you've got the new offensive coach. I think the system is going to be so much better. Your offensive line isn't great, but it is better than last year. But we've got, I mean, the storyline of this game is,

perfect test for Tua. It's not the best defense in the world. The Patriots lost quite a few pieces, but it's in division. It's against Bell Belichick. We're going to find out a lot about Tua in this game. And I genuinely don't, like I don't, I'm like 50-50. I don't know to just believe and say, I really think he's going to have a good game this week or he could collapse. It was 1716 in New England, Miami won in week one last year. Mike, where are you with this matchup? And how confident are you in the Miami options? I'm taking Miami to win, but the biggest storyline of this game to me is not to it. It's Tyreek Hill. Tyree Kill versus Bill Belichick, who the Patriots have been notorious of they take away your top option. And the top option for this team is going to be Tyreek Hill. You know, we have a regular season matchup from 2020.

where in week four, it was the Kansas City Chiefs versus the New England Patriots, four for 64. Now Tyreeks scored, so he was fine for fantasy, but four for 64 is not what you're hoping for from your wide receiver one in the second round. I do worry that you could end up deflated, even if Miami wins this game with all of your fantasy options. I mean, we know the Patriots defense. has been stout. They gave up, you know, 13 points to opposing fantasy quarterbacks. They were number one against tight ends. The wide receiver position, they're number three. So it's going to be a challenge. And it could be more of one of those slogs that you don't, you're kind of looking at the game and saying, well, I'm not really happy with much of what happened. Yeah, just try, be prepared to not overreact. Now, the wide receiver room, no one's starting a Patriot. Is that fair? That is.

fair and should be accurate. Damien Harris from Andre Stevenson. Fascinating. That's going to be really intense to see. Does Ramandre Stevenson move into the past catching role? Now the kind of a hitch in that giddy up is a Thai Montgomery was practicing earlier this week and it looks like he may go and he was kind of moving in line to be the new James White for that team. So if he is in or out. I think that would sway how I play Stevenson this week. So would you play Steven, like, let's say Thai Montgomery is not there. Because right now, I'm not sure he's going to be there. Would you play Ramandre Stevenson over Damien Harris? Yes, because I think that the Patriots are going to lose. Or at least be down for. Where do you land on that, Andy? I just feel nervous about Damian Harrison week one. So. Yep.

I feel like maybe you were asking that question from a much deeper place. I was. I was asking. Was that personal? Well, I was really, yeah. I mean, I've got Damien Harris in the League of Record and I really want him to be the one now. So this is really, that's my analysis is just desire. Well, then I really hope that it's from Andre Stevenson. Thanks. With the Chase Edmund's groin situation, you have a couple of questions that have been popular on the start sit tool on the website, which by the way, anybody can go to the fantasy footballers.com. Plug in the names.

You can get an answer on what our rankings say, and we will lay out some of the pros and cons for each player heading into the week. But Chase Edmonds is in the top three starts hit questions, and two of them play tonight. So your decision has to get made with ambiguity. I got through that word right there. Yeah, it's close enough. Chase Edmonds, Alan Robinson, Chase Edmonds game Davis. The wide outs. For both. Yes. I'll play the whiteouts. Yeah. I would do it too. It's New England. It's a tough one. If Chase is full participant, which I haven't seen a practice report yet, I will play Chase. Otherwise. Over both? Gabe Davis? I mean, it's kind of like I think there were a bunch of questions Andy was asking or answering the other day of known points of the running back position versus hopeful upside points from the wide receiver.

I guess in reality, we're not going to have enough information by he's probably going to be a limited participant and then you've got to start those wide receivers tonight. Are you confident that the carry counts for Chase Edmonds will be stable during the year when he's healthy? That's my biggest curious. I don't know if he's going to get seven or six and then just be involved in the passing game. Yeah, no, I'm personally very confident that he'll be north of 10 carries a game. The Baltimore Ravens. Taking on the New York Jets in New York, Baltimore 7-point road favorites, according to the draft king sports book, the over-under is 44 and a half. It puts the Jets under 19 points in this game at home. Joe Flacco gets the start for the Jets and head coach Robert Saleh, saying it's unlikely that we see Zach Wilson before week four at Pittsburgh. Lamar Jackson on the other side, it's wheels up, he's in your lineup.

Rashad Bateman, it's going to be a test. We're going to find out. Is he the alpha or just a guy that's contributing? Is it the Mark Andrews show and, you know, the rest of the game? Sure. Bateman is one of those players where you're really hoping you see that target threshold that we talked about. And then we have Elijah Moore on the other side, along with Garrett Wilson making his debut, Corey Davis, Breece Hall, Michael Carter in the backfield. And I... It's going to be very interesting to see what that workload looks like in week one. Over on the jet side, I think it's a pretty easy decision here. Elijah Moore is in for me because I am confident in his role. Like Joe Flacco, real small sample size playing last year with Elijah Moore, but did heavily target him. Of course, some things have changed. But Elijah Moore's talent, I think, cannot be denied for this team. Garrett Wilson was their first round pick, but.

Preseason, at least the way they used him there, it didn't look like he was going to be completely ready to be like a full-time guy in week one. So it's just, it's Elijah Moore. And then at the running back position, that's where the decision is. Jason, you're in, you're riding shotgun, embrace lightning over here. Are you starting him against the Baltimore Ravens with? What level of confidence? Between 1 to 10, what is your confidence of Brees Hall this week? I mean, it's a 5. If it was a good matchup, I might go to a 7, but this isn't a great matchup, and week 1 is probably the least involved that I think you're going to see him through the course of the season. That being said, this is a player that...

I don't expect a huge amount of volume in this game, especially if the Ravens get out to a big lead. We're going to see two things. One, we're going to see how involved is he in the passing game, assuming that the jets are down? That's going to be a huge telling point. And two, can he rip off an explosive play or two that really makes up for it? You know, maybe he has... you know, 12 carries, but ends up with, among those 12 carries has a 66-yard touchdown run. That's why I love Breece Hall is his athleticism and ability to have a game-breaking play. And I think over the course of the season, there's going to be several of those. And it's going to be after those happen that they start saying, we've got to get this guy the ball more and more. So week one against the Ravens isn't.

my favorite situation. I have him on a ton of my teams and where I have him most most often. That's a hard word. Most. Most often he's on my bench this week. There are players that I am playing that, you know, you draft him and I'm putting those players ahead of him this week. I have Michael Carter nine spots ahead of Breece Hall this week. They're massive underdogs and I think he will be just throwing the ball a lot in the second half. You love Elijah Moore this week, Mike. We'll talk more about that. And I agree completely with that. J.K. Dobbins, no. Probably not going to be out there, although Harbaugh has been positive about his ascension. So I watched that press conference where he said that. He's like, oh, you know, he's been ascending, but we'll make a decision on running backs later in the week. And it didn't seem as positive as the kind of the quote that is being circulated around there. Lamar Jackson.

was talking about like, oh, I hope we have them in a couple of weeks. It was like, you shouldn't have said that. I mean, that says to me, like, they're not expecting to have J.K. Dobbins there, and the head coach knows better than to say it. I think Mike Davis will be out there a ton. And the Jets were the worst team in football against the run. So you want a sneaky start. I do not care about Kenyon Drake as it pertains to whether I would throw Mike Davis out there. He has the, he has shown himself to be good in the past blocking situation.

and trustworthy and this team is willing to just give the ball to somebody that's trustworthy even if they're not efficient. Jason, close your ears. Close your ears real quick. Andy. Yes, I would. Breece Hall or Mike Davis. Yeah, I would. I mean, look, I told you to close you here. No, I knew what was coming and I knew the answer from a mile away. Where are you at on that, Mike? I was the one asking the question. I mean, it's a legitimate question because you've got a team that's going to be up and they're going to be running the ball, but it's Mike Davis. It's the exact opposite situation of Breesall. You have old guy that can't move well and is going to be inefficient, has much better, probably odds of scoring a touchdown versus young guy behind, touch the ball less, but far more explosive. Yeah, it's.

If I'm shooting for, like if I just want a nice stable floor, I'll go with Mike Davis. But even though the opportunities and things will be there, the ceiling, yeah, I don't, I still don't think it's there for Mike Davis compared to Brees Hall. I got to, I got to, I got to, bet on number 40. Whichever. 43? Yeah. I mean, this is a, this is bet like. You have Brees Hall 44? This week, yeah. Wow. Yeah. Someone hates Brees Hall. No, I mean, if he had looked, if he had looked better in the preseason than he did, you know, there are a lot of really explosive players that have come out of college that haven't really given you the rookie year that you hope for. I mean, betting on long touchdown runs is not something I'm willing to do in week one against Baltimore. Brees might do it, but, you know,

Mixing was pretty explosive coming out of college and DeAndre Swift. So you're saying you'll bet against it? No, I don't know if I want to make a bet that gets lost by one carry. Okay. I mean, do you want to bet total work? Probably not, right? No. No. It's irrelevant. It might become very relevant soon. Jacksonville. Another player that we're going to disagree on Jason. Jacksonville. Taking on the Washington commanders in Washington. Washington is two and a half point home favorites. The overall under is 44. Trevor Lawrence, the good vibes on the Jacksonville side. I don't know if it's just neutral vibes, but that seems so much better than what it was last year. What would you describe the vibes in Jacksonville last year as? Toxic, noxious, dark, smelly. Poisonous. So.

We're in a much better – We're in a place of hope, right? Travis E.T.N. Back out on the field gets to make his – this is debut as an NFL running back. And then you have Christian Kirk, the new wide receiver, reliable target for Trevor Lawrence. Let all starters and targets in the preseason. That's what you wanted to see. You get to see Evan Engrell, Mike, your favorite player in the National Football League. Second favorite. And who's the first? Probably Traylands. Yeah. Tray Lance. Evan Ingram. No, it's the running back on the other side of the matchup here. So Antonio Gibson, who will be the starter in this game. Jady McKissick, who we didn't really get to see in the preseason, also going to be involved. And the game, it's a pretty close matchup right here. Yeah. Can't catch me out. Yesterday, we mentioned McKissick on the Spotify Live, and I kept watching for it.

Oh, did he? That'll be the new thing. No. And it never happened. That's the new thing is we just, we sit. Got to keep you on your toes. Fully tensed up waiting for it. It's way worse than even the old hype train. For us. For us, it's far more scary. But, you know, you look at this game in decision making wise for fantasy. Look, week one, if you drafted a player at a high position, then you're confident putting them in your lineup most often. In this game, there are some kind of lower drafted players. Christian Kirk went later. Jehan Dodson went later. Antonio Gibson went later. McKissick. Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence. So where are you, are you looking to get any of these guys to force them to jackknife them into your lineup this week?

I think that this game is chock full of wonderful pivot options, not guys that you're trying to force into your lineup. But when you look at some of the injuries to other wide receivers that are cropping up and you're saying, you know, well, what are my other options behind them? A Christian Kirk is a great option. Kirk or Deontay Johnson? Perfect example. I think Christian Kirk is a good enough player, assured of enough targets with a good enough matchup where I would take that. I would take Christian Kirk. over Deontay Johnson, not knowing if he plays a few snaps and re-agravates the shoulder. Last year, Washington was horrific against opposing fantasy quarterbacks and wide receivers. So you talk about Kirk. You know, nobody's starting Lawrence this week, but you got your eye on him to say.

Maybe we get something out of Trevor Lawrence this year, or is it more of the same in Jacksonville? I do think Trevor Lawrence is a fun start in two quarterback leagues where he might be sitting there with other options. You know, obviously in this game, I would start him over Carson Wentz on the other side of the ball if you're in a two QB league and hope you get what you drafted last year. Where are you, Andy, with the Jacksonville running backs? James Robinson sounds like he's going to go. I would expect Travis ETN to receive. Three times the snaps of James Robinson in this game. So then you wouldn't be scared off of starting ETN? I think he's a good flex play this week. Yeah. I think James Robinson will be watching just to see what the, you know, if he's taking Trevisian ETIN off the field, if he's getting some first and second downwork, you know, he is not a player that has depended on getting to the outside edge and putting a foot into the ground and cutting up field.

He is a between the tackles, take what the defense gives you, grinder. So I would not expect him to get very many snaps in this first week. And the matchup's not bad for ETN. So that's kind of where I'm at. All right. Terry McLaren. I mean, yeah, I guess. Yeah, I mean, you've got to start Terry McLaren. You drafted him to be a starter. Terry McLaren. This isn't a scary matchup. Yeah, I guess. Is that the song? It is the song, and I hate that is the song. I hate it so, so much. The Winstinch. I mean, I don't like that guy. I think McLaurin has a good start this week. I'm not, I'm not. He should be good. I don't even think he's neutral. I think this is a really good matchup for him. He's going to come out. This is their debut. Come on, Mike. This is their debut with Carson Wince. I'm.

I would be happy to start Tara McLaurin. He'll probably be either the 57th best receiver on the week or the third best. Yeah. He'll probably be the 45th best or the fourth best, Mike. Yeah. That's quite a coin flip that you're going with. Let's put, at least when he blew up last year, the first two games that he blew up, the Giants, the Falcons. Okay. So you're looking at when the matchup said maybe he'll do something, maybe he does. Okay. Can we go with that? Yeah, I can take the match up there. And then just wait and see on Jahan Dodson. We just talked about it. Rookie wide receiver, see how established he'll be, but he should be starting. Yeah. He's a great bench, dash. And keep an eye on Curtis Samuel, not for Curtis Samuel. But I am very curious kind of how this offense plays out with those three wide receivers. And.