While we might only be one game into Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, it feels like the fantasy football season is already months old as anxiety levels seem to already be sitting at DEFCON-1. It doesn’t matter if you’ve spent the past two months doing research for your drafts or if you just picked up our Cheat Sheet last week and joined your office league, no one wants to open the season with a loss. We get it.

 

 

 

My email inbox, Discord DMs and all social channels from Twitter/X to my new TikTok account are routinely flooded with weekly start/sits, waiver wire questions and requests for trade evaluations. If you’ve been a part of the #FAmily for years, you know I’ve made it a part of my daily routine to answer everything thrown at me. 

Over time, I have come to realize that each week, most of the questions are the same. So, in an effort to help those who maybe don’t have the time to seek out answers each week, I am going to use this space to shed some of the best fantasy football advice by answering a few questions I believe will help more than just the person asking. 

I will still be in Discord, and you can still hit me up for the best fantasy football advice across all the usual avenues. This is just a way to get some of the more common questions answered that many of you are asking.

Welcome to Bender’s Mailbag!

 

 

 

NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Advice: Start/Sit, Waivers & Trades

Jason G. Asks…

First off, having McBride at tight end is irrelevant to the question. I get that everyone likes to pair up their quarterback with a strong pass-catching option, but it’s really not necessary. You think you’re getting double points for a touchdown, but in reality, you’re just getting points. If the two connect for three touchdowns in a game, that’s great, but what if they don’t connect at all? Where are you then?

The question of which quarterback to start is what’s really going on here. Everyone drafted Kyler Murray because of the potential breakout season and all that rushing upside. But he’s going on the road and playing the Buffalo Bills so now everyone who drafted him is looking to sit him for an option they drafted significantly later. Goff is facing the Rams in a game with a 52-point game total, and everyone is expecting a big shootout, so is using him a better option than Murray?

A quick glance at our Weekly Player Rankings puts the two right next to each other, but with a slight edge towards Murray and I agree with that. Yes, the Bills defense has been strong, but this is a new-look offense for Arizona even though it’s Year 2 of the Gannon/Petzing regime. Murray is 100% healthy, has a strong, supportive ground game and a fantastic new receiving threat in Marvin Harrison, Jr. 

This offense has the ability to really take off and the RPO work we are going to see will also help open up more rushing lanes for Murray. I also like the fact that the Bills secondary could have some issues in coverage and the loss of linebacker Matt Milano is going to affect the pass rush and the work across the middle. Goff is a rock-solid option and maybe even a little bit safer, but the ceiling for Murray is, in my opinion, higher. Remember, the Lions are still a run-first team with two very strong running backs to carry the football into the end zone.

 

 

 

Anthony R. Wants To Know…

After watching Likely post up 111 yards with a touchdown (and almost a second to tie the game) on nine catches, we knew this one was coming, didn’t we? The amount of 12-personnel (two-tight end sets) we witnessed in Thursday’s loss to the Chiefs was massive. We’re talking 53% of the snaps. The highest usage of 12-personnel last season was 42% by the Falcons, so this is definitely interesting. 

We should also note that Anthony has Evan Engram as his tight end and currently uses Chris Godwin and Gus Edwards in his two flex spots, so this would be a move that puts Likely into the mix for one of his flex spots. And you know what? I’m good with it. We know the offense Todd Monken runs and we can probably expect to see more of the same. Maybe not 53% of the snaps each game, but still a fair amount.

I do believe Mark Andrews, who was dealing with an injury over the last three weeks stemming from a car accident, is still the primary and will be treated as such as he continues to heal, but Likely isn’t going anywhere and should remain a strong asset. Will he pop like this every week? Definitely not, but he’ll continue to be in the mix.

I tried to love Gibson when he was first drafted out of Memphis as a hybrid running back/wide receiver by the Washington Commanders, but he’s never really stood out as someone the coaches are excited to get the ball to. He’ll work behind Rhamondre Stevenson in New England and given what we know about that team, is anyone excited about their rushing attack? Probably not. Make the swap and grab Likely who could prove to be an intriguing flex play at various points in the season.

 

 

 

Eric M. Writes…

Sadly, Eric, predicting touchdowns is a tough task. It’s more a matter of who has the strongest opportunity to have the ball in his hands the most. Opportunity creates yards and scoring, so that’s what we are looking for here. Typically, in a standard-scoring format, the lean goes to the running backs, though both McLaurin and Thomas, Jr. are big-play guys. 

I will rule out Thomas as the rookie field-stretcher in Jacksonville, even though we just saw Xavier Worthy go for two scores on Thursday. I like Miami’s secondary. So, it comes down to McLaurin as the No. 1 target for Jayden Daniels versus the running backs.

While we may not think much of the Raiders run defense, the question of which Chargers running back will see the most opportunities is difficult. Edwards is the plodder and should see the short-yardage and goal-line work, but will his work on the field be enough in comparison? There seems to be a lot of love for J.K. Dobbins over the past week or two. 

We know Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith is a run-first guy and would love nothing more than to beat his old team, so I do expect a heavy dose of Najee. Reports that Jaylen Warren (hamstring) will be available for Week 1 are nice, but we all know the problems with soft-tissue injuries and the Steelers may opt to hold him back a little bit. He’ll see some snaps, but Harris is more likely to be the workhorse.

And as much as I do like McLaurin and his potential for a big strike, we are dealing with a rookie quarterback on the road against a solid defensive unit in Tampa Bay. Daniels may have some growing pains, so in this case, I’ll still lean the running back and put Harris into the lineup.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Week 1 - NFL 2024

Best of luck to you all in Week 1 and keep those questions coming. You can reach out to me in the Fantasy Alarm Discord (just be sure to tag me or send a private DM) or feel free to email me at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com.

Keep crushing it, #FAmily!