There was much more scoring than usual in Week 1 with some familiar names leading the charge from Josh Allen and Derrick Henry to some potential breakouts like Christian Watson, Jalen Coker and Isaiah Likely. This week offers a new slate of matchups to dissect and snap counts to analyze, and injuries to sort out. We’ll aim to locate the best values of the week with one cornerstone play from each of the four positions.
This article is aimed to be practical and quickly digestible.
>> Worried about injuries if you draft early? Don’t sweat it; you have two post-draft edits for each lineup
Jayden Daniels (QB – WAS)
It will be popular to pick on the Cowboys’ defense this year, and particularly their secondary. Jaxson Dart lit this unit up for 23/29, 230 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, and 54 rushing yards in Week 1. While Dart may be a breakout fantasy QB, Daniels still runs laps around him and has slate-breaking upside for Week 2. This game opened at a 51.5 over/under, plus the Commanders are 4.5 point underdogs which makes a near-ideal game script. Daniels is well-worth a first round pick in FanDrill this week and could be taken as high as #4 overall (Allen, Jackson, Gibbs).
J.K. Dobbins (RB – DEN)
Dobbins was among the Week 1 busts, but that’s going to happen to opponents of the Chiefs’ stifling defense all season, especially if the game gets out of hand. The fact is, we have a clear starter, as indicated by snap count when the game was close. This week, the Broncos are home favorites against the Jags. While it’s not an ideal matchup, that affords us a significant value for the starting running back behind the best run-blocking offensive line in the league. Don’t forget, he was on pace for over 1,300 rushing yards and 7 TDs last year before the injury. There’s 3-TD upside from this contrarian late-round pick.
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Matthew Golden (WR – GB)
Unlike Dobbins above, who may be rostered in less than 2% of lineups, Golden should be popular if the Fanalysts don’t rank him as aggressively as social media is clamoring for. This is a rare case where I’ll encourage you to join the masses by reaching for a player. No matter the momentum in his ADP, it is not enough. He was the #1 wideout in Expected Fantasy Points last week. That’s to say that his opportunities in targets, snap count, routes run, and air yards indicate he will be heavily utilized in Green Bay’s offense. Add in a matchup versus the Jets and I can assure you he’ll never be drafted this low again.
Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU)
Say hello to your 11th round pick this week. In fact, he’s such a must-draft, that I wouldn’t fault you for reaching into the 10th or even 9th to ensure you land this value tight end. Over 20% Week 1 target share? Check. High over/under? Check. Best positional matchup on the slate? Checkmate. The Bengals were so much worse than every other team at defending tight ends last season that the gap between #1 and #2 was larger than the gap between #2 and #23. Need I say more? No, just draft the man.
Jett Morris is a Sr. Fantasy Analyst for FanDrill. Follow him on Twitter @JettMorris for more fantasy sports content.
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