Noah Bobrowski
Equinox Staff
ALRIGHT. Draft aside, projections aside and all things fantasy aside. Yeah, I know, no fantasy talk for a second in a fantasy column, apologies in advance. Who will be the top ten of the week? Which teams will fail? Most importantly for all you could-be champs in leagues, which players will shine?
Let’s start today’s discussion and analysis with the players who will most likely succeed in this weeks outings. My job is to analyze the entire NFL so to do that and to stay unbiased I will make a ‘team of the week’ projection. This is what I see to be the best possible fantasy football lineup if every player was available.
To begin, the quarterback of the week, Kirk Cousins from the Vikings. Cousins was traded to the Vikings in the post-season of 2017 and has been looked at as a top 5 QB this season. Last year the Vikings had some conflict with quarterbacks getting injured, like Sam Bradford. This never stopped the super power team that is the Vikings, as the strong wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs aided in the team’s playoff run. Cousins has always shown elite QB potential and now that he is thrusted into a pretty spot with the dangerous WR duo, it’s open season. Moving onto the wide receivers, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins.
There is some concern hovering around Odell’s performance this week in the season opener against Jacksonville but let me calm the nerves on that. It is true that Odell has had subpar week one games in the past. It is also accurate that Jalen Ramsey may pose a big threat to Odell and Eli Manning’s completion percent.
What is also true is that the Giants now have something to offer that no defense is used to them being a real danger in – the run game. Rookie running back Saquon Barkley is good-to-go for his NFL debut, meaning the Giants are ready to unleash the TD predator from Penn State. With Barkley on the field it will be hard for defenses to cover the run game AND pass game. Also for the cherry on top, well more like three cherries, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Barkley are all potential receivers for defenses to worry about. Odell is ready and excited to comeback from his season ending injury and just signed a heavy 5-year $95 million RECORD deal. Yeah you play for $95 worth I bet you will try your hardest too. Oh and the other guy, DeAndre Hopkins? Yeah he was a top 10 player and a top 5 WR for three seasons straight. Add a hungry injury-free Deshaun Watson back at the QB helm for hopefully a full season? Game. Over. The two running backs of the week, Alvin Kamara from the Saint and Todd Gurley II from the Rams, have favorable matchups. Kamra faces a shaky Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that struggled greatly last season and with Mark Ingram’s 4-game suspension Kamara will be the main and only elite RB on the field. Gurley is projected as the number one fantasy player this season, and is playing the Oakland Raiders’ defense, which just lost one of its captains, Khalil Mack, to a trade. The Raiders will most likely have a bumpy start to the season without Mack. The remaining team of the week position are: Travis Kelce, TE, KC Chiefs; LA Rams, D/ST; Greg Zuerlein, K, Rams. If you are a fantasy team manager and are looking for a quick pick up this week, look towards free agents like Jordy Nelson, WR, Raiders or Jamaal Williams, RB, Packers. Next week will be the breakdown of week one and the week two analysis.
Noah Bobrowski can be contacted at
nbobrowski@kscequinox.com
