Welcome to Week 1 of the 2024 Fantasy Football season!
John McGlynn, here. You can find me on X at @JohnMcGlynn75. I host The Dynasty Evaluation Show, which you can find here on the Fantasy In Frames YouTube page. I’m also a host and content creator of our weekly FLEX ‘EM Segments on the Fantasy In Frames TikTok page!
I’m bailing out the crew this week, who are late posting our traditional Plays and Fades for Week 1 (2024), by giving you my version. It will include three plays and three fades, one per scoring setting. For more information on Plays and Fades recommendations throughout the season, click here.
Here we go!
Plays
(PPR) Rachaad White vs #32 Washington
Rachaad white had 70 targets and 64 receptions last year from his dump-off-loving QB Baker Mayfield. You know what’s different about this year’s Buccaneers offense? Nothing. All the same, players are back, the same players that have their timing and routes down to a science early in the season because of their familiarity with each other and the fact that Tampa Bay gets to start week one against one of the league’s worst rushing defenses puts White pretty high on my list of must starts.
Jared Goff vs #28 LAR revenge game
Jared Goff probably wakes up every morning, drinks his coffee, and dreams about being able to face the Los Angeles Rams. After all, this is the team that kicked him to the curb in favor of Matthew Stafford. Well, that dream is about to become a reality. Now Goff has a whole arsenal of weapons, including a thunder-and-lightning backfield of Jahmyr Gibbs & David Montgomery, a superstar who is still on the rise in Amon-Ra St. Brown, a big-time playmaker who is expected to take a huge step forward this year in Jameson Williams, and an unstoppable young TE in Sam LaPorta. The only thing Goff has to worry about is whether the Lion’s defense can stop the potent Ram’s offense. This might turn into a high-scoring shootout, which is only a plus for fantasy managers!
(Non PPR) Christian Watson vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Christian Watson is an absolute menace to any defense because of his long speed and ability to split the defense. He has turned four or five catches into 100-plus yards and multiple touchdowns on multiple occasions. The only thing that slowed down Christian Watson was his lingering hamstring injuries. That seems to be a thing of the past as Watson worked with medical professionals to even out his hamstring muscles and his running techniques this offseason. In a scoring format where multiple receptions are not as important and long and back-breaking scoring plays like the standard format, Watson is a league winner and should be started as the cool kids say, “On the reg.”
Fades
(PPR) Brandon Aiyuk vs #1 NYJ
Brandon Aiyuk is a fantastic player, and there are not many weeks where I would suggest fading him, but he had a very long contract dispute this offseason that just got resolved last week. That puts him behind the eight-ball for a lot of valuable practice reps with quarterback Brock Purdy. They do have great chemistry together as Aiyuk had Seventy-Five receptions on 105 targets for over Thirteen hundred yards and seven touchdowns. Now I’m not saying to bench Aiyuk all season, I’m just saying to temper expectations for his week one performance in terms of fantasy production. We will all be crossing our fingers as we stick Aiyuk in our Week One lineups, but a missed off-season and a matchup with the top-ranked New York Jets defense is not a recipe for success in my eyes.
(Half PPR) Tony Pollard #6 Chicago
Tony Pollard is in a very weird situation where he is no longer the lead dog on his team. He may not even be the lead dog of his backfield this season. A new pass-happy offense will probably limit the carries in this backfield as a whole, and the receptions out of the backfield may be a virtual even split with a talented back like Tyjae Spears, who is more than capable of reeling in all of the Will Levis’ dumps offs. The Titans have an improved offensive line, more players like Calvin Ridley, and a very underrated Tyler Boyd to steal the target share, and this offense might be more focused on the passing game than the running game as a whole. All of these factors just put Pollard in a very unsexy role. Avoiding Pollard except for a flex play consideration might be the way to play this hand until we better grasp this team’s vision and plan.
(Non PPR) Austin Ekeler vs #4 Tampa Bay
As a fantasy manager who was a true Brian Robinson doubter, being proven wrong was fine, but I got my face rubbed in it. Austin Ekeler is probably a better player than Antonio Gibson, and it hurts my feelings to say that. Still, there is no world where a running quarterback like Jayden Daniels dumps off to Ekeler anywhere near as much as Justin Herbert did in their time together on the Chargers. This offense screams ground and pound, quarterback keepers, and Terry McLaurin. Bringing Ekeler in seemed like a head-scratcher, but he won’t just sit on the sidelines for sixty minutes a game. Ekeler will get his touches. Just how often and how many of those deadly screen passes that made him a fantasy football league winner he gets this year is sure to be a fraction of what he saw in the past. Unfortunately, so will his fantasy football scores.
Be the first to comment