Good morning.

Welcome to the first Sunday of the 2024 season. We made it.

Scott Hanson is currently thawing out somewhere in Inglewood, California, getting ready to bless our TV screens. So let’s not waste anymore time and dive right into everything you need to know for Week 1…

INJURY REPORT 🚑

Love Goes Down

Jordan Love is believed to have sprained his MCL and is expected to miss 3-6 weeks. Fortunately, it looks like he avoided a season-ending injury, but while he’s out, the entire Green Bay offense will take a big hit.

Who’s In, Who’s Out?

👍 Expected to play:

• Steelers RB Jaylen Warren

• Falcons TE Kyle Pitts

• Vikings WR Jordan Addison

• Bears WR Keenan Allen

• Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins

• Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett

👎 Unlikely to play:

• Steelers QB Russell Wilson — Justin Fields is an intriguing stream in his absence

• Bengals WR Tee Higgins — expect Andrei Iosivas to see more work

• Colts WR Josh Downs

• Dolphins WR Malik Washington

🤷‍♂️ Gametime decision:

• Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase

SPONSOR

STARTS & SITS 🧐

Quarterback

✅ Start ‘Em:

Jared Goff vs LAR: The Rams allowed the 4th most fantasy points to opposing QBs last season, per Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, and they’re dealing with injuries at cornerback. Derion Kendrick is out for the year with a torn ACL, while Darious Williams is on IR with a hamstring injury. Expect Goff to put up big numbers in what should be an offensive track meet.

Tua Tagovailoa vs JAX: The Jags secondary ranked 7th in the league in 2023 in passing yards allowed (4,355). Add in that the Jaguars have one of the better defensive fronts in the NFL in terms of stopping the run and the game plan for the Dolphins could be to take advantage of this team through the air with the multitude of weapons at their disposal, per FantasyPros’ Brandon Murchison.

Baker Mayfield vs WAS: The Commanders gave up the most fantasy points to opposing QBs last season, and Mayfield closed out 2023 with at least 20.3 fantasy points in four of his final five outings, per CBSSports’ Jamey Eisenberg. He’s an ideal QB2/streaming candidate.

❌ Sit ‘Em:

Dak Prescott @ CLE: Although his season totals were impressive last year, Prescott was pretty inconsistent. He finished as a top 4 QB in seven games but ranked QB16 or worse in another seven, with only three finishes between QB5 and QB15 (per PFF’s Nathan Jahnke). And this week he takes on a Browns D that allowed the 3rd fewest fantasy points to QBs last season.

Brock Purdy vs NYJ: The 49ers’ offense could start a bit slow after Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Aaron Banks and Trent Williams missed so much practice leading up to the season, and a matchup against the Jets won’t help. New York yielded just 187.2 passing yards per game (6.1 YPA) and by far the fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points to QBs last year, per Yahoo’s Dalton Del Don.

Aaron Rodgers @ SF and Kirk Cousins vs PIT: It would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with 40 and 36-year-old QBs coming off Achilles tears. If you have other options, leave the old guys on your bench for now.

Running Back

✅ Start ‘Em:

James Cook vs ARI: The Cardinals allowed the most fantasy points to RBs last season. In fact, they allowed 15-plus points to the position 10 times, including five runners who scored 27+ fantasy points, per SI’s Michael Fabiano. Look for James to Cook this week.

De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert vs JAX: With an over/under of 49 points, we should see some fireworks in this matchup. Last season, the Jaguars were No. 12 in most fantasy points allowed to RBs and No. 1 in most receptions allowed to the position, per Eisenberg.

Chuba Hubbard @ NO: “Hubbard is capable of playing in all situations (88.6% catch rate last year) and the Saints present an ordinary defensive matchup for Sunday. HC Dave Canales made Rachaad White a sneaky fantasy hero last year, and he can do something similar with Hubbard now,” per Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski.

❌ Sit ‘Em:

Chase Brown @ NE: The Patriots were very stingy against the run last season, earning the 3rd best PFF run-defense grade in the NFL (80.7) and allowing just 3.4 yards per carry to RBs (second fewest in the NFL) in 2023, per PFF’s Michelle Magdziuk.

Devin Singletary vs MIN: The Vikings allowed just 3.8 yards per carry last season, per RotoBaller’s Joey Pollizze, and New York is already dealing with multiple injuries across its offensive line. It's best to probably sit him to open the season.

Austin Ekeler @ TB: Tampa allowed the 5th fewest rushing yards and 5th fewest fantasy PPG to RBs last season, per NFL.com’s Michael F. Florio. He’s also a passing down back on a team with a rushing QB, so his upside this season is sure to be limited.

Wide Receiver

✅ Start ‘Em:

Terry McLaurin @ TB: The Bucs had issues dealing with WRs last season as they allowed the 5th most completions through the air in 2023. The Bucs also gave up a whopping 37.7 FPPG to receivers too, per William Spencer of the Fantasy Football . With reports of Scary Terry being utilized all over the field, the Commanders will make sure the top pass catcher sees a ton of work coming his way.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs DEN: Broncos CB Patrick Surtain is likely to shadow D.K. Metcalf, which should push extra volume towards Smith-Njigba and Lockett in advantageous matchups. JSN will primarily see slot CB Ja'Quan McMillian, who ranked 72nd among 125 qualifying CBs in PFF coverage grade and 102nd in passer rating allowed in coverage last year, per DraftSharks’ Jared Smola.

Chris Godwin vs WAS: Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury’s teams always played at a fast pace when he was HC in Arizona. That should mean more chances for Godwin to be on the field and rack up PPR points from the slot.

❌ Sit ‘Em:

Diontae Johnson @ NO: Last season, the Saints defense allowed the 5th fewest points to perimeter receivers among home defenses. What's more, they allowed just one TD, per Fabiano. So, while Johnson might be a volume-based flex option, his matchup is a tough one.

Calvin Ridley @ CHI: “The matchup against Chicago's secondary, which is led by standout cornerback Jaylon Johnson, will be tough, and the Bears pass rush should be improved now that Montez Sweat had a full offseason with the team,” per Eisenberg.

Rome Odunze vs TEN: Exercise caution with a rookie WR projected to be 3rd on his team in targets. While the talent’s obvious with Odunze, it’d be best to wait and see how his usage looks before trusting him in your lineup.

Tight End

✅ Start ‘Em:

Dalton Kincaid vs ARI: “The Bills have an almost all-new receiving corps, and Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are both coming off preseason injuries. As a result, don’t be surprised if Kincaid leads the Bills receivers in targets vs. Arizona,” per Fabiano.

Hunter Henry vs CIN: The Bengals allowed the most passing yards per attempt, 4th most fantasy points per game to TEs and 5th most passing yards per game last year, per FantasySP’s Daniel Hepner. Even with expected improvement, this unit should be below average and able to be targeted with fantasy players.

❌ Sit ‘Em:

Jake Ferguson @ CLE: In 2023, there was only one team that allowed fewer than 3.8 receptions per game to opposing TEs: the Cleveland Browns. They were also the only team to surrender fewer than 40 yards per game to opposing TEs, per USA Today’s Joe Hoefling.

Brock Bowers @ LAC: Only two rookie TEs have scored nine-plus fantasy points in Week 1 over the past 10 seasons: T.J. Hockenson and, oddly, Will Dissly, per Magdziuk. The talent’s excited, but fade the rookie in Week 1.

POLL 📊

BEST BETS 💰

🥇 Titans @ Bears UNDER 44.5 total points (-114)

For most of the summer, the total for this game was between 42 and 43.5 points, but has risen due to the high-risk play style of both QBs, per The Ringer’s Anthony Dabbundo. Go against this overreaction and bet on two young QBs struggling to put up points.

🥈 De’Von Achane OVER 22.5 receiving yards (-113)

The Jags allowed the most receptions to opposing RBs last season, per Andrew Erickson of FantasyPros, and Achane is the preferred pass catching option in the Dolphins backfield. Plus, with his game-breaking speed, he really only needs one screen pass to go over this line.

🥉 George Pickens UNDER 54.5 receiving yards (-133)

Pickens finished with over 52.5 receiving yards in just 44% of his games played in 2023, per Erickson. Factor in the late switch from Russell Wilson to Justin Fields at QB, and Pickens is easy to fade.

Disclaimer: Gambling should be enjoyed as a form of entertainment. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose.

QUICK SLANTS 👀

📖 Read KC Joyner of The Athletic’s 32 Bold Fantasy Football Predictions to Shape Your Early-Season Strategy. One bold prediction: Don’t be surprised if Jaleel McLaughlin leads the Broncos running backs in fantasy points.

📖 Read Mike Fanelli of FantasyPros’ Last-Minute Waiver Wire Pickups and Injury Replacements if you’re in a pinch for Week 1.

🎙️Listen to The Yahoo Fantasy Forecast’s Week 1 Preview where they answer burning questions, analyze matchups to watch, and decide on "Make or Break” starts.

📺 Watch A Day in the Life of Scott Hanson for a behind-the-scenes look at how the 🐐 spends his Sundays:

TWEET OF THE DAY

Good luck this week.

See you Tuesday for Week 1 waivers.

- Marcus