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| Wednesday, September 9, 2020 |
| Take as long as you need to set your Week 1 lineup. You don't need to lock that thing until just before Thursday's game between the Texans and Chiefs kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET, so use the next day and change to do as much research as you can. The good news is, you won't have to go any farther than this newsletter. |
| Today, we're taking a look at the Week 1 rankings of Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings, and previewing each position for the week. We're looking at how many rookies you can trust without seeing them play, who needs to get off to a fast start, and which so-called starters may not be worth your trust. Thursday, we'll have Jamey's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em calls and Dave's game previews to help you lock in those lineups, too. |
| Of course, for those of you who still have your drafts tonight, here's what you need to dominate: |
Draft Day Cheat Sheet Jamey Eisenberg's Sleepers 3.0 | Breakouts 3.0 | Busts 3.0 Heath Cummings' Sleepers 3.0 | Breakouts 3.0 | Busts 3.0 QB Tiers 6.0 | QB Draft Day Strategies RB Tiers 6.0 | RB Draft Day Strategies WR Tiers 6.0 | WR Draft Day Strategies TE Tiers 6.0 | TE Draft Day Strategies
Late-round gems |
| And here's what the rest of today's newsletter has in store to help you get ready for Week 1: |
| 📊Week 1 Rankings: Biggest questions 🔍Week 1 Position Previews 📰News and notes |
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| 📊Week 1 Rankings: Biggest questions |
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| When our experts submit their rankings for each week of the Fantasy season, I send out a survey back their way, asking them a handful of key questions about the rankings heading into that week. It's my chance to act as the audience surrogate and see from which big topics I can squeeze some answers out of the guys. We'll feature some of the biggest questions from that piece in this newsletter each week, starting with one on a rookie running back class that looks a lot less trustworthy in the light of Week 1. |
| Adam Aizer and Heath Cummings talked about the same topic on Wednesday's episode of the Fantasy Football Today In 5 podcast. Head on over to Spotify, Apple or wherever else you consume podcasts to subscribe to Fantasy Football Today in 5 and get the latest Fantasy news you need to know about in five minutes every morning. |
| Can I trust anyone in Washington, Tampa or Detroit's backfields? |
| Jamey Eisenberg: Yes in Washington where Antonio Gibson is worth using as a flex option in Week 1 against the Eagles. Maybe in Tampa Bay, where Leonard Fournette will hopefully establish himself as the lead rusher. And no in Detroit unless the Lions turn to D'Andre Swift early in the year. Dave Richard: Antonio Gibson is worth a PPR flex start. I suppose Kerryon Johnson can be similarly viewed. Ronald Jones is a desperation start unless Leonard Fournette is inactive come Sunday — then he'd be a No. 2 rusher. Heath Cummings: Trust? Nah. But both Johnson and Gibson are flex-worthy. If Fournette is unable to get ramped up then Jones would be as well. |
| Which WR most needs a fast start to gain your trust? |
| Jamey: A.J. Green. I'd like to see him look healthy and play well in a tough matchup against the Chargers. If he's anywhere close to his pre-2019 form he could emerge as a weekly starter in all leagues. Dave: Unequivocally, T.Y. Hilton. He and Philip Rivers need to show off their training camp connection. If he proves to be Rivers' new version of Keenan Allen, he'll earn weekly top-15 rankings. Heath: Hilton and Green have elite histories, but I'd feel a lot better about starting them if I saw a good performance in Week 1. I'm probably starting Hilton this week, but I'd rather see it from Green first. |
| Check out the rest of the biggest questions about the Week 1 rankings here. |
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| 🔍Week 1 Position Previews |
| Every Tuesday, Heath Cummings previews each position, providing injury insights, key stats to know, the best waiver-wire adds, DFS targets, and more for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Here's a brief rundown of each position, along with a number you need to know and out expert consensus top-12 rankings before you go read Heath's full breakdowns: |
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| QB Preview |
| If you drafted like me, you won't have much of a decision to make — you're starting the one quarterback you drafted. Most people do tend to take two quarterbacks, and unless you have one of the top five or six players at the position, playing the matchups is perfectly reasonable, which means it's perfectly reasonable to consider starting Gardner Minshew over Aaron Rodgers. |
| Number to know: 42.2 -- Ben Roethlisberger threw more than 40 passes per game in 2018. It will be very interesting to see just how pass-heavy the Steelers are in 2020. |
| Consensus Expert Top 12 |
| Patrick Mahomes Lamar Jackson Dak Prescott Russell Wilson Deshaun Watson Kyler Murray Josh Allen Matt Ryan Tom Brady Drew Brees Carson Wentz Matthew Stafford |
| RB Preview |
| We have even less clarity on the running back position than in a typical season heading into Week 1, with more than one-third of the league's backfield roles around the NFL legitimately in question. That means you might need more help than usual filling those spots this season. |
| Number to know: 20.3 -- James Conner averaged 20.3 Fantasy points per game from Week 1 of 2018 through Week 8 of 2019. He's a No. 1 running back whenever he's healthy. |
| Consensus Expert Top 12 |
| Christian McCaffrey Ezekiel Elliott Saquon Barkley Austin Ekeler Alvin Kamara Dalvin Cook Josh Jacobs Derrick Henry Joe Mixon James Conner Miles Sanders Clyde Edwards-Helaire |
| WR Preview |
| You should have no shortage of wide receiver options to choose from for Week 1, but there's still a lot we need to learn from Week 1. Like, how good are A.J. Green and T.Y. Hilton at this point, and how big will DeAndre Hopkins' role be in Arizona? Plus there's the huge rookie class that enters the season as the great unknowns at the position thanks to this unprecedented preseason. |
| Number to know: 255 -- Terry McLaurin had 255 yards and two touchdowns in two games against the Eagles last year. Those were his two biggest yardage totals of the season. |
| Consensus Expert Top 12 |
| Michael Thomas Davante Adams Tyreek Hill Julio Jones D.J. Moore Chris Godwin Allen Robinson Cooper Kupp Calvin Ridley Tyler Lockett Kenny Golladay JuJu Smith-Schuster |
| TE Preview |
| When you were drafting tight end, the position looked pretty deep. Now that you have to lock someone into your lineup, you realize that while the position is deep on potential, there aren't more than about a half-dozen you can definitely rely on in any given week. Week 1 is the rest of the lot's chance to prove themselves. |
| Number to know: 16.1 -- It's worth remembering that Arizona was the free space last year, giving up 30% more Fantasy points per game to tight ends than any other team. |
| Consensus Expert Top 12 |
| Travis Kelce Mark Andrews George Kittle Zach Ertz Darren Waller Hunter Henry Tyler Higbee Hayden Hurst Blake Jarwin Evan Engram Jonnu Smith Jared Cook |
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| 📰News and notes |
| Leonard Fournette will have a "solid role" in Week 1. Of course, what that actually means remains to be seen. Bruce Arians has already said Ronald Jones will be the starter, but that hasn't historically meant much for Jones' value. If you have to start one, Jones is the best option of the two, but we'll hopefully know a lot more about how this will work out once we actually see this Bucs offense in action. … Mike Tomlin: "There's no question" James Conner is Pittsburgh's bell cow back. That doesn't come as much of a surprise based on reports out of camp — or, you know, how Tomlin has always used his running backs — but it's still nice to get confirmation. Conner is a must-start Fantasy back when healthy. Benny Snell won't have much stand-alone value when Conner is healthy, but he figures to take on that role if needed. … Brandin Cooks (quad) did not practice Tuesday. That's a move in the wrong direction, and puts Cooks availability very much in doubt for Thursday's opener. Will Fuller would be an even better starting option if Cooks is out, and Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills move into the starting conversation in deeper leagues and for DFS. … Jalen Reagor (shoulder) should be back for Week 2. He's coming back from a partially torn labrum, so we'll see what impact that has, but every indication out of camp was that Reagor was set for a significant role. He's a terrific stash candidate if he's out there on the wire. … DeVante Parker (undisclosed) was back at practice Tuesday . He's been limited or absent for more than a week, but it never seemed like his status for Week 1 was in doubt. It's a tough matchup against the Patriots, but Parker arguably had the best game of any player against Stephon Gillmore in Week 17 last season, and will be a low-end starting WR. … The Patriots will "ease" Sony Michel in for Week 1. No surprise there, given that Michel just started practicing last week, but this should mean a solid role for Rex Burkhead in addition to James White. Burkhead showed a real connection with Cam Newton in camp, and it wouldn't be a shock if he led the Patriots backfield in Week 1. … A.J. Dillon is expected to be the No. 3 RB in Green Bay. And Jordan Love is the No. 3 QB. That's fine. Dillon remains a stash candidate, and it might be in a spot where if something happens to Aaron Jones, he leapfrogs Jamaal Williams. But he isn't likely to have any Fantasy appeal unless there's an injury ahead of him. |
| The Fantasy Football Today Draft Guide is here, and I promise, you'll want to have it by your side on Draft Day. We've boiled down everything you need to draft in one place, with consensus expert rankings and auction values, tiers, a round-by-round walkthrough, and Draft Day strategies and rules from Jamey, Dave, Heath and Ben. It's the next best thing to having them next to you while you draft. Head here to sign up for it, because it's absolutely free — which seems like a good value to me. |
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