The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 1

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines cause football is back!!! After a long break, we have finally returned to this game we all love, and we will get to watch real NFL football games this week! Of course, with that excitement comes the gnawing questions about who to start or not for your fantasy roster. Well, thank goodness for Andy, Mike, and Jason, as they will be with us all season long to give their guidance! The Fantasy Footballers did switch things up a bit, bringing their patent-pending Starts of the Week segment to the show’s beginning now, so they can be open and honest about the players when they get into the matchups. If you want to check out the entire Thursday episode, click the link below.

Of course, if you still need more wisdom and are looking for like-minded people, make sure you join our Discord and become a part of the Footclan at jointhefoot.com. Now, without further ado, let’s break down The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 1!

Andy’s Starts of the Week

QB – Kyler Murray @ BUF

The Ballers have been high on Kyler the whole offseason. He fully recovered from the injury two seasons ago and has a new weapon to work with in Marvin Harrison Jr. When Kyler was on the NFL field, he averaged 20.3 fantasy points per game and 38 rushing yards. Zooming out even further, over the last three years, Kyler has been a top-12 quarterback 61% of the time, the fifth-highest rate among quarterbacks. He is facing a Buffalo defense that was very bent but didn’t break last season, ranking 26th in explosive rush rate allowed and 24th in explosive pass rate allowed. Buffalo is heavily favored, but that could mean the Cardinals are trying to keep up with the Bills for much of the game.

RB – Raheem Mostert/Devon Achane vs. JAX

It is one easy start and one hard start; they are from the same team. This game is one of the week’s higher over/under scores at 49.5 points. If you drafted Achane, you would start him because he was too high of a draft pick not to play him. He should be great, as Jacksonville allowed the most RB receptions in the NFL last year, and Achane is an elite receiver out of the backfield. Mike McDaniel knows how to use Achane’s speed and gets him in open space, and when he was on the field last year, he was the first read on 67% of his targets, which was first among RBs last year. Conversely, Mostert was a later draft pick, but he was the RB2 on the season last year. Yes, he is older, but before old legs start to get tired later in the season, he should still be the same RB who proved he could produce at a high level last year.

WR – Stefon Diggs vs. IND

All offseason, there has been a worry that Diggs has fallen off. This week, however, there is a report that Diggs is the receiver on the roster most used over the middle of the field. C.J. Stroud threw 26% of his targets to the middle of the field last year, number one in the NFL. Diggs has been named a team captain and is making his debut, so it will be necessary for the Texans to try and get Diggs going early. Houston also plays a Colts team that lives in Cover 3, meaning the middle of the field is where there is open space. All of that combines to make for a day where Diggs should produce.

TE – Dalton Kincaid vs. ARI

While everyone waits to figure out which WR will be the primary target for Josh Allen, we know that Kincaid has just as big a chance to take on that role. Arizona has zero pass rush and ranked dead last in blitz rate the previous year. The Cardinals don’t have the defensive players to keep up, and no one can stop Kincaid when Allen has to throw the ball. Last year, Arizona tied for the second most touchdowns to the TE position. Kincaid can start them off on the same road this season.

Jason’s Starts of the Week

QB – Tua Tagovailoa vs. JAX

Tua is awesome! Everyone is excited for this game, as the Dolphins and the Jaguars are both talented offenses with not great defenses. That bakes together for a delicious fantasy pie. Last year, the third most passing yards in a game of all time was Tua against the Chargers. The Dolphins are a team that starts hot at the beginning of the year and is challenging to prepare for because of Mike McDaniel’s ingenuity. They are a quick-strike offense, and all the weapons Tua uses to throw the ball are healthy. So, it is good to start your stud.

RB – James Cook vs. ARI

The Buffalo offense transformed last year over the second half of last year under their new offensive coordinator, Joe Brady. They averaged 37 rushing plays, which ranked first overall, with an NFL-high 208 rush attempts coming during that span of the season when tied. Cook averaged 20 opportunities per game over the second half of last year. So, the opportunities will be there, and the matchup is incredibly favorable. Last season, teams ran the ball 521 times against Arizona, the seventh most of any team in the previous decade, and the defense didn’t improve over the offseason. With Buffalo being a six-point home favorite, Cook should be a smash in Week 1.

WR – Malik Nabers vs. MIN

Do you want to have some fun in Week 1? Then it would help if you played Nabers to start the season. It is hard not to envision Nabers establishing himself as the alpha of the Giants’ WR room. Last year, the Vikings allowed the fifth most receiving yards and sixth most fantasy points to opposing WRs. It will not be surprising if Nabers soak up 25% of the targets, as the Giants face a defense run by Brian Flores, who loves to blitz more than anyone in the league, which means that Daniel Jones will have to find his best player early and get in rhythm with him to be able to move the ball.

TE – Evan Engram @ MIA

This game continues to be one we want to target, which is what Engram will have a ton of during the game. The Dolphins allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game to the TE position because they mostly use Cover 6 defense, which is weak in the flats area. That is where Engram lives and he should be able to put up a solid Week 1 output in full-PPR leagues.

Mike’s Starts of the Week

QB – Jared Goff vs. LAR

Andy has predicted the Lions to win the Super Bowl, and there is no better place to start that journey than at home against Matthew Stafford and the Rams in the highest over-under and highest implied total for a team on the week. Also, the Rams allowed the seventh most fantasy points to opposing QBs last year. Mix in the revenge narrative with Jared Goff having been thrown away for Stafford several years ago, and there is no reason to doubt Goff this week.

RB – Javonte Williams @ SEA

Javonte should see solid usage this week. Samaje Perine is gone, and all the targets he soaked up last year are up for grabs. Javonte was second among all RBs in NFL targets last year, and if that goes up, it is hard to see how he isn’t at least an RB2 this week. Seattle ranked 32nd in first downs allowed, 28th in points allowed per game, 30th in total yards per game, and 31st in rushing yards allowed. Seattle changed head coaches and brought in the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, who will try to improve these stats, but Javonte should still do very well. Rookie QB Bo Nix and the Sean Payton system should create plenty of receptions for Williams.

WR – Christian Watson @ PHI

Friday night in Brazil is a great way to start your season. We have to assume that his body is healthy, and even though he has struggled with his hamstring since entering the league, he carries no injury designation going into the game. The matchup was juicy last year as Philadelphia allowed the most fantasy points to the WRs the previous year and the most fantasy points to outside WRs. The Eagles changed their defensive coordinator, bringing in Vic Fangio to try and solve the issue, but with the info we have from last year, this should be a matchup with some real upside potential.

TE – Zach Ertz @ TB

I know we are all in shock that Mike believes in Ertz. Last year, the TE with the most targets in Week 1 was Zach Ertz, who had 10 of them. It might take you wearing some titanium underpants, but Ertz could be a good option for your team. For a young QB in Jayden Daniels, Ertz could be a trustworthy security blanket for Ertz. The Buccaneers allowed the second-most receiving yards and the second-most fantasy points to the TE position last year.