Aww’s And Naw’s For Week 1

Aww Quarterbacks

Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (away vs. Indianapolis Colts) – If you own guys like Jimmy Garoppolo (on the road vs. Minnesota Vikings), Big Ben (away vs. Cleveland Browns), or even Patrick Mahomes (away vs. LA Chargers)…then Dalton is your guy!! The Colts defense is still not great so he should be able to expose them in this great fantasy matchup.

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (away vs. Oakland Raiders) – Last year on the road, Goff averaged over 21 fantasy points. This matchup against a Kahil Mack-less Oakland’s defense, Goff should have another solid road performance, especially with Todd Gurley, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks as his core unit.

Phillip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers (home vs. Kansas City Chiefs) – The Chiefs defense are pretty bad and Rivers will be able to pass on them all day.

 

Naw Quarterbacks

Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (away vs. Minnesota Vikings) – I like Jimmy “G” this season, BUT not on the road against a stingy Vikings’ defense.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (away vs. Los Angeles Chargers) – The Chargers has a nice defense this year and as much as I like Mahomes to have a breakout season, it may not start off strong in week one.

 

Aww Running Backs

James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers (away vs. Cleveland Browns) – Why not??? Since Le’Veon Bell is still holding out, Conner will be looking for a huge workload in this favorable matchup against the Browns.

Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (away vs. New Orleans Saints) – One of my breakout candidates this season, Barber has a good matchup against the Saints, who last season in Week 17, gave up 71 rushing yards and 18 receiving (with a touchdown) to him.

Royce Freeman, Denver Broncos (home vs. Seattle Seahawks) – I think Freeman will be this year’s Kareem Hunt of last season and may end up being top five in rushing (if healthy). Remember when the Seahawks defense was good? Well, not anymore ladies and gentlemen.

 

Naw Running Backs

Alfred Morris and Matt Breida, San Francisco 49ers (away vs. Minnesota Vikings) – What a bummer, Jarick McKinnon tore his ACL and now is out for the year because he truly wanted to play against his old team. Now Morris and Breida will have to suffer on the road against the Vikings who are dominant against the run.

LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills (away vs. Baltimore Ravens) – I love my Buffalo Bills but with Nathan Peterman as the starter and a bad offensive line, the Ravens will stack the line and give McCoy trouble.

 

Aww Wide Receivers

Golden Tate, Detroit Lions (home vs. New York Jets) – In a PPR format, Tate is one of the Kings and a home matchup against the Jets is a definite start for him.

Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos (home vs. Seattle Seahawks) – Sanders will benefit greatly from quarterback Case Keenum because his passing style meshes well with Sanders’ inside/outside dirty work.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts (home vs. Cincinnati Bengals) – I know I gave T.Y. a lot of “Naw’s” last season but Andrew Luck is BACK and this is a great home matchup for Hilton to put up good fantasy numbers.

 

Naw Wide Receivers

Robbie Anderson, New York Jets (away vs. Detroit Lions) – With Sam Darnold making his first NFL start on the road, it’s hard to expect Anderson to have some good opportunities to make plays this week, especially down the field. Plus, Anderson should see plenty of coverage from Darius Slay, which is a tough matchup for him.

Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders (home vs. Los Angeles Rams) – You’re probably not going to bench Cooper this week but he has a tough matchup with Aqib Talib and/or Marcus Peters glued to him. I do expect a bounce back season for Cooper, but not this weekend.

 

Aww Tight Ends

Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts (home vs. Cincinnati Bengals) – Outside of T.Y. Hilton, Doyle should be the next to see plenty of targets from Andrew Luck.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars (away vs. New York Giants) – The Giants defense were the worst against tight ends in 2017 and there’s no indication that they’re that much better.

 

Naw Tight Ends

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) – I hope I’m wrong about this because I own Njoku in a few leagues but I am worried about this matchup against the Steelers. Pittsburgh allowed the fewest touchdowns for tight ends last season with just two.

 

Aww Team Defense

Baltimore Ravens (home vs. Buffalo Bills) – All I see is flashbacks of Nathan Peterman throwing five interceptions in one half last season. The Ravens defense is a must start.

 

Naw Team Defense

Houston Texans (away vs. New England Patriots) – Good defense but not so good when you’re playing against Tom Brady.