| | | | Tuesday, September 7, 2021 | | With Week 1 officially here, you might be wondering what kind of coverage you can expect from the CBS Fantasy crew this season. Well, Fantasy Football Today producer Ben Schragger put together a nice little rundown of our multi-media schedule over on the FFT Facebook page, so that's a good place to start. Here's what we'll have coming for you every week this season: | | Eight FFT podcast episodesSeven FFT in 5 episodes Six FFT episodes on CBS Sports HQ -- Mon-Fri, 12 p.m. ET, Sunday at 10 a.m.Three live YouTube streams on the FFT page -- Tuesday from 8-9 p.m. (waiver wire questions), Thursdays from 2-3 p.m. (lineup help), and Sunday from 11:30-1 (start/sit questions) 2 FFT DFS Show episodes -- Tuesday with an early look at pricing and lineups, Thursday with a game-by-game deep dive, and lineups | | No word on whether there will be any partridges in any pear trees or French hens. In addition to that, I'll have the newsletter here in your inbox every morning, Sunday through Friday, with an additional Sunday night version with a quick recap of the day's actions plus an early look at the waiver wire. And that's in addition to our weekly position previews, rankings breakdowns, waiver-wire targets, and start/sit advice on CBSSports.com/Fantasy. | | No matter what your preferred method of delivery is, we've got a plan to keep you covered. The sprint to the end of the season has already begun, and today's edition of the newsletter is here to continue to help you get ready for Week 1. If you've still got a draft coming up in the final few days before the season kicks off, make sure to head to our Draft Day Cheat Sheet, where you can find all of our rankings, position previews, sleepers/breakouts/busts, and more to get ready for your draft -- and check out my top-200 and position-by-position rankings, too! | | Here's what else today's newsletter has in store: | | Jamey Eisenberg's Week 1 Waiver-Wire Targets🎯Week 1 Entrance Survey❓Rankings Notes📝 Injuries, News, and Notes🚑 | | If you've got any questions about your Week 1 lineups or any early trades you're trying to make, send them to Chris.Towers@CBSi.com, as always, for tomorrow's mailbag! | | Week 1 Waiver Targets | | | | Jamey's top waiver-wire targets for Week 1 also doubles as a late-round sleeper target list for those of you still drafting, so definitely head here to see what he's got to say about the 32 players he's looking for in either scenario. Here are his top picks at each position: | | Quarterbacks: Trey Lance (64%), Jameis Winston (62%), Ben Roethlisberger (63%), Tua Tagovailoa (63%), Ryan Fitzpatrick (41%)Running backs: Giovani Bernard (60%), Rhamondre Stevenson (56%), Ty'Son Williams (38%), Tevin Coleman (46%), Wayne Gallman (28%)Wide receivers: Jakobi Meyers (64%), Darnell Mooney (60%), Mike Williams (65%), Elijah Moore (48%), Henry Ruggs (53%)Tight ends: Zach Ertz (63%), Gerald Everett (46%), Hunter Henry (51%) | | Week 1 Survey | | | | Every week, CBS Fantasy editor Dan Schneier sends us a list of questions to preview the upcoming week. Here are my answers to this week's survey: | | 1. Which QB ranked outside the top 12 in ADP will finish in the top 12 in Week 1? | | Matt Ryan (QB15 in ADP). We still don't know quite what to expect from the Falcons offense under Arthur Smith, but I'm still operating under the assumption that they'll at least be more pass-heavy than your typical team given the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Ryan benefits from a high implied team total for the Falcons as well as my assumption that the passing game will still be the primary way this team moves the ball, and a two-touchdown game is a reasonable expectation here, at least. | | 2. Which RB ranked outside the top 24 in ADP will finish in the top 24 in Week 1? | | Gus Edwards (RB29). I'm surprised Edwards' ADP didn't end up pushing into the top 24 for the position, but that makes answering this question much easier. I'm lower on Edwards than most -- technically he's RB25 for me, but it's not hard to see him ending up inside of the top 20. I'll have more a little later on about why I'm not quite as bull-ish on Edwards as most, but he's an easy start for Week 1 against the Raiders. | | 3. Which WR ranked outside the top 36 in ADP will finish in the top 36 in Week 1? | | Corey Davis. Davis' ADP never pushed too high because nobody really views him as a high-upside player -- if you were looking for that in this Jets offense, you were looking for Elijah Moore. However, Davis is exactly the kind of player who tends to rank higher in weekly rankings than preseason rankings, because so many players get pushed up draft boards based on theoretical roles and upside they may come into later in the season. We're pretty confident Davis is going to be the Jets' top target on offense, and that makes him a solid WR3 option for PPR leagues especially to open the season. | | 4. Which TE ranked outside the top 12 in ADP will finish in the top 12 in Week 1? | | Jonnu Smith. I've got Smith as a top-eight tight end, so this wasn't even a tough decision. He got the most money in NFL history for a tight end except for Kyle Pitts' rookie contract, and I expect him to be the top target in this offense, or at least right there with Jakobi Meyers. That volume alone puts him into must-start territory for me at the position. | | 5. Who is your favorite matchup-based sleeper to get in your lineups and on all DFS rosters? | | If Jamison Crowder doesn't play for the Jets, it's Moore. If not, how about this one: David Johnson. There are sexier options out there, to be sure, and I'd have to be pretty desperate to play him in a season-long league. However, the Texans are home underdogs against a bad Jaguars defense and the Texans receiving corps is badly depleted, meaning Johnson could very well have a significant role in the passing game. Johnson won't have much of a role as a rusher, which means there's no floor here, but I think Johnson could surprise for at least one week as a PPR sleeper. | | Rankings Notes | | I'm planning on touching on the majority of the Fantasy relevant players in the rankings throughout each week, so here's a few more. For my full rankings and some more notes for Week 1 for QB, RB, WR, TE, and my FLEX top 150, head here. | | Gus Edwards (RB25)/Damien Harris (RB31) -- Why so low? Edwards is 19th in the FantasyPros' consensus Week 1 rankings and Harris is 23rd, so I'm a decent bit behind the pack on those two in particular. Because neither is likely to be much of a contributor in the passing game, their outcomes are fairly straightforward: You're likely to get something like 60-80 yards from both in any given week, but if they're going to push into double digits in scoring, they'll probably need touchdowns to do it.. That could always happen -- I wouldn't be at all surprised if both scored multiple times this week! -- but most weeks, they probably won't find the end zone. Other players in their range may be less likely to top 60 rushing yards or find the end zone on a carry, but their passing game roles give them more than one avenue to success for Fantasy. I worry I'm too low on Ezekiel Elliott at RB9 for the season opener, and I may end up moving him up before the end of the week. He's a must-start player, but Tampa is a tough matchup, and I probably wouldn't move him any higher than RB8, either way. I don't really know what to do with the Rams, Dolphins, Cardinals, Lions, Texans, Broncos, Jets, Bills, or Buccaneers backfields for Week 1. I hope I'll have a better sense on all of them after Week 1, but it'll be important not to overreact to what we see in Week 1 one way or another, because so much of RB usage can come down to game script and other factors that may not transfer from week to week. I also don't know what to really expect from the Eagles, Steelers, Jaguars, Browns, Giants, 49ers, Cardinals, Lions, Washington, Jets, or Bengals when it comes to their receiving hierarchy for Week 1. More than just target share or even production, I'll be curious to take a deep dive into their snap and route shares, because there's probably a bit more value in those stats in a small sample size. Justin Herbert is the player I'm most worried I'll be too low on at QB this week, which was also true in the preseason. I'm expecting a little bit of a step back from his record-breaking rookie season, but I'm not super confident in that call. He has good weapons around him, he's athletic and has a coaching staff that has spent the offseason tailoring their approach to his skills. If he starts running more this season, I'm going to be way too low on him. | | Injuries, news and notes | | Trey Lance (finger) has not been cleared to throw -- That may not be a big part of Lance's early-season usage anyway, but it still seems pretty important for him to be cleared to play. There's still a chance it happens in time for Week 1 against the Lions, but the expectation should be that he's in a Taysom Hill-like role. You're stashing for the upside, not because you should be planning to use him right now. Saquon Barkley is close to being fully cleared -- That's per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who notes the team will make a final decision on his availability for Week 1 Thursday. The expectation is he'll play, but with a limited role. What that means is hard to say, but he's more like a No. 2 RB for me if he plays this week. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) is expected to play in Week 1 -- It didn't seem like there was much question of that, but now we'll want to keep an eye on Chiefs practice throughout the week just to make sure he's cleared to play. We'll also want to keep a close eye on Edwards-Helaire's usage on third downs and in short-yardage situations in Week 1, because those will be key to him hitting his upside. Justice Hill suffered a ruptured Achilles -- This happened last week, and explains why the team had veterans Le'Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman in for workouts Monday. It's not clear if the Ravens plan on signing or someone else, but they have just two healthy running backs on the roster, so expect to see them add someone. Whether that someone will be Fantasy relevant remains to be seen, but I'm expecting Edwards to be the lead back for as long as he can handle it, with Ty'Son Williams the change-of-pace back for now. It's Williams' role that is most at risk from a veteran signee, I think. The Jaguars signed Duke Johnson to their practice squad -- That's potentially bad news for James Robinson given Johnson's playmaking skills in the passing game. Johnson can be activated from the practice squad on game day three times from the practice squad, so we'll see if he has a role come Week 1. I'm not adjusting my expectations for Robinson, but I'm watching now. The Rams expect Sony Michel to play in Week 1 -- It's not a question of health, it's just a question of whether he'll be up to speed on the playbook. I'm expecting he will, but will open as a complementary piece to Darrell Henderson. That may not last, however, so make sure Michel (83% rostered) isn't available in your leagues. Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) was back at practice Monday -- Aiyuk missed last week's sessions, but it looks like he's on track to play in Week 1. He's in the RB3 discussion for me, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he emerged as the clear No. 2 alongside George Kittle in this offense. The key concern for Curtis Samuel (groin) heading into Week 1 is conditioning -- Samuel has been working his way back from a groin injury suffered back in May, but it sounds like he's pretty close to 100% healthy. Of course, that could change with one wrong step in practice, and Washington is going to continue to play it safe. It sounds like he's going to play in Week 1, but may be on a snap count. I have high expectations for Samuel this season, but I wouldn't be starting him in Week 1. Anthony Miller (shoulder) was limited at practice in his return -- Miller has had a lot of trouble with shoulder injuries so far in his NFL career, and it sounded like this one would have a longer timetable, so it was a surprise to see him practicing ahead of Week 1. He could have a healthy role in the offense if he's cleared; if not, the Texans will be even more shorthanded. He's behind Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins in my eyes at the very least. Jamison Crowder (COVID) could be cleared for Week 1 -- Crowder is apparently vaccinated, so he'll simply need to return two negative COVID tests separated by 24 hours to be allowed to return. We'll keep an eye on this one, because his presence would certainly hurt rookie Elijah Moore's chances of getting off to a quick start. The question if Crowder does play is if Moore will play on the outside opposite Corey Davis or if he'll be more of a bit player to open his career. Mark Andrews signed a four-year extension -- Andrews will get the third-most guaranteed money ever for a tight end on the deal, and locks him in with this offense for the foreseeable future. He might have more upside on a different offense, but he also may not be the No. 1 option in another passing game, so he's just fine where he is. Noah Fant (leg) was back at practice Monday -- Fant has dealt with a number of nagging injuries so far, and it's frustrating that he has another one ahead of Week 1. However, it sounds like he's going to be able to play in Week 1 and should be viewed as a low-end No. 1 TE with significant upside. Evan Engram (calf) missed Monday's practice -- Engram could be in line for a big role with Kenny Golladay missing so much of camp with his injury, but now it looks like Engram is probably a long shot to play in Week 1. Kyle Rudolph will be in the discussion as a touchdown-or-bust streamer if Engram is out, though do you really want to tie your Fantasy hopes to a guy catching a touchdown from Daniel Jones? Not really. Will Lutz (groin) was placed on IR -- Aldrick Rosas is on the practice squad and will likely kick for the Saints while Lutz is out, which could be the first eight weeks of the season. Seahawks LT Duane Brown practiced for the first time Monday -- Brown has been absent from camp and practices while holding out for a new contract, but he was back Monday and should be ready to go for Week 1. He is expected to get an update to his contract before the season starts, and the Seahawks will be happy to have their left tackle back. Miami may be without their starting LT Austin Jackson (COVID) -- It's not clear if Jackson is vaccinated or not or whether he tested positive or was a close contact, but this certainly puts his Week 1 status in jeopardy. The Dolphins were hoping Jackson could take a step forward in his second season since being the No. 18 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but his potential absence could leave Miami shorthanded against the Patriots. The Panthers will be without starting RG John Miller (COVID) -- That will push 2019 sixth-round pick Dennis Daley into the starting lineup for Week 1 against the Jets. Luckily, that matchup should mean they won't be overwhelmed on the line, and it's possible Daley might have stepped into the starting lineup eventually anyway. The Athletic's Joseph Person predicted that Monday. | | | | | | | | Soccer Lives on Paramount+ | | Start a Football Pool Today! | Stream 2,000+ soccer matches a year from UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Serie A, NWSL, USMNT & USWNT in Concacaf qualifiers and much more. Start your free trial today!
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