After months of planning and prepping to dominate your fantasy leagues, all that work is finally ready to pay off with the first season of the 2025 fantasy year upon us! This is the week that we really start to learn how the ambiguous backfields will be deployed and which rookies earned the workload we were hoping for all summer. Most of all, we finally get to put our drafting to the test and see if we can’t secure that first “W” of the fantasy season!
Through each week of the season, I’ll be here weekly to walk through each position to see where fantasy managers may be able to get an edge when setting weekly lineups!
Of course, always refer to the Ballers rankings before locking in those final lineups!
Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence
QB - JAX
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
One of the more polarizing offenses over the summer centered around the new-look Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence. Through his first four seasons, Lawrence has been a bit of a disappointment for fantasy managers, only finishing inside the top 12 on a season once back in 2022, when he was the QB8. The hope for Lawrence, though, is that the addition of new Head Coach Liam Cohen, upgrading the Jacksonville offense as a whole, can lift his fantasy ceiling into a more consistent QB for fantasy managers.
Lawrence will have a real shot to impress fantasy managers who went with a “late round QB” strategy in drafts with a juicy matchup against Carolina to kick things off this season. The Panthers’ defense allowed the most passing TDs in the league in 2024, and while they took steps this offseason to improve on that side of the ball, they still are regarded as one of the worst secondaries to start 2025. If Lawrence and the Jaguars offense are really going to take the step forward that some fantasy managers are hoping for, they will need to take full advantage of their matchup this week, or there will be plenty of questions around if Lawrence can be a usable QB at all this season.
Jayden Daniels
QB - WAS
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
After what can only be described as an awesome rookie season, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about having Jayden Daniels on your fantasy roster to start the season. Daniels’ QB5 finish as a rookie came on the heels of 891 rushing yards and six rushing TDs, behind only Lamar Jackson for QBs last season. Where fantasy managers should be hoping to see improvement from Daniels heading into his second season should be in the passing game with WR Terry McLaurin returning with a fresh new contract and the addition of Deebo Samuel to the offense, providing another versatile weapon for the Commanders’ aerial attack.
For things to pick back up where Daniels left off in 2024, he may have a more difficult-than-expected matchup with the Giants in Week 1. While New York as a whole hasn’t been great in recent years, their defensive front looks to be one of the best in the league this season, especially along the defensive line where they added Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in the draft. In 2024, the Commanders allowed the 8th-most sacks in the league, while the Giants’ defense recorded the 9th-most sacks. Fantasy managers didn’t spend a high draft pick on Daniels to not play him in Week 1, but don’t be surprised if there isn’t a massive return on that large investment to kick off the season.
Running Backs
Breece Hall
RB - NYJ
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
Possibly one of the most debated RBs over the offseason was Breece Hall and his status within the new-look Jets offense. New York brought in a new coaching staff with the hiring of Aaron Glenn, and there’s been enough talk of having a committee backfield to give fantasy managers pause about exactly how valuable Hall could be for their rosters this season. Despite how nasty it felt, Hall still finished as the RB17 last season, mainly due to his work in the receiving game, where he finished with 57 receptions for 483 yards and 3 TDs.
If all the uncertainty wasn’t enough, the Jets get a tough matchup against one of the best defenses in the league in Week 1 against Pittsburgh. Last season, the Steelers allowed the fifth-lowest yards per rush and the sixth-fewest rushing yards in the league, and are bringing back everything on their defensive line while adding another 1st-Round pick to their rotation up front. Based on the draft capital that fantasy managers had to give up to get Hall, it’s likely they don’t have a choice but to have them in their lineups this week, so this may be a “wait and see” approach, considering the tough matchup to start the year.
Scott Rausenberger-Imagn Images
Tyrone Tracy Jr.
RB - NYG
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
One of the keys to finding fantasy value at RB in drafts is taking a shot at ambiguous backfields, and none seems more uncertain than Tyrone Tracy’s role in New York. As a rookie, Tracy contributed to fantasy rosters with 7 top-24 RB finishes after really getting involved in the offense in Week 5. The uncertainty for Tracy heading into the season revolves around the addition of rookie RB Cam Skatteboo and exactly how much work he’ll get in the offense. Early in the season, though, it feels like this is Tracy’s job to lose.
Regardless of how the RB split works out for the Giants’ backfield, there should be room for success this week against the Commanders’ defense. Washington allowed the third-highest yards per carry and third-most rushing yards in the league last season. More importantly, Washington did little to improve its defensive line heading into 2025, so the opportunity for a hot start should be there for Tracy. Fantasy managers who snagged Tracy in the mid-rounds of drafts should at least be able to rely on him as a FLEX-level option to open the year.
Wide Receivers
Jerry Jeudy
WR - CLE
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
The summer of uncertainty around who would be starting at QB for the Browns couldn’t have played out better for Jerry Jeudy. While Jeudy didn’t get to take part in the hot magma fantasy offense that Flacco led down the stretch of 2023 in Cleveland, fantasy managers got a taste of it last season when he ended the year as a top-24 WR in six of his last seven games for the Browns. With Flacco starting the year at QB for the Browns, there’s plenty of reason for fantasy managers to be optimistic that Jeudy can continue to deliver at a high rate for their rosters, at least until it’s time for one of the rookies to take over at QB.
There may not be a better matchup for a WR to get rolling than getting to take on the Bengals to start the season. Cincinnati did very little to improve a defense that allowed the fourth-most passing TDs in 2024 and the fourth-most passing plays over 40+ yards. With the second-highest expected game point total in Week 1, fantasy managers should be playing Jeudy confidently as a player who has top-12 written all over him this week.
Zay Flowers
WR - BAL
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
It feels hard for a player on one of the best offenses in the league for fantasy to have quietly finished as a top-24 WR last season and not be getting hyped up to start the year, but that’s where we’re at with Zay Flowers. In his second season, Flowers was a bit hit-or-miss for fantasy managers, with only one week where he didn’t finish as a top-13 WR or outside of the top-36 altogether. Still, Flowers remains one of the best receiving options on an offense that was top-8 in both passing yards and TDs last season, so there’s plenty of upside available.
A primetime matchup against another Super Bowl contender in the Bills should provide plenty of scoring opportunities for Flowers in Week 1. The two games between Baltimore and Buffalo in 2024 combined for a total of 97 points and currently is the only game in the opening week with a point total at 50. The question for fantasy managers with Flowers on their rosters will be how much they believe in what should be an improved secondary for Buffalo after the team invested their 1st-Round pick at CB and brought back CB Tre’Davious White to improve the back-end of a defense that allowed the ninth-most passing TDs last season.
Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
Chris Olave
WR - NO
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
Despite all the behind-the-game metrics that he hits, Chris Olave has to be one of the toughest players for fantasy managers to put their faith in to start 2025. Even when you don’t consider the revolving door that New Orleans has seen at QB since Olave got into the league, what may be more concerning are the multiple concussions that Olave has dealt with in recent years. While Olave should still be the leading WR option for the Saints in their new offense under Head Coach Kellen Moore, there may not be enough scoring to go around in what projects as one of the worst teams in the league.
For fantasy managers who took the swing on Olave in drafts, a tougher-than-it-seems matchup against the Cardinals to open the season might have his starter status up in the air. While Arizona’s defense allowed the fourth-highest completion percentage last season, an emerging secondary could be poised to take a step forward this season. When you add in that New Orleans has the third-lowest expected point total with just 18.5 points this week, there may not be enough to go around for Olave to return much value. It could be worth letting Olave sit on the bench this week and get an idea of what this Saints offense will look like before locking him into starting lineups.
Tight Ends
Evan Engram
TE - DEN
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
One of the under-the-radar additions in free agency had to be Evan Engram’s move to Denver this offseason. Engram disappointed fantasy managers last season after only playing in nine total games for the Jaguars in 2024. However, whenever Engram was on the field, he still averaged seven targets per game, including two games of 10 targets. Engram’s role in the Broncos offense could be the often hyped “joker” role for Sean Payton, which could pay off in a big way for fantasy managers.
A home matchup with Tennessee to open the season should be plenty of opportunity for fantasy managers to see how Engram can fit in with Bo Nix and this Denver offense. Even though the Titans finished as the worst team in the league, they still somehow allowed the fewest passing yards in the league last season. As a team, Tennessee only allowed 7.2 fantasy points per game to the TE position, so Engram could be a fringe top-12 TE despite Denver having the largest spread opening Week 1, favored by 8.5 points.
Kyle Pitts Sr.
TE - ATL
- - Consensus
- - Andy
- - Mike
- - Jason
It appears we’re going to do this to ourselves yet again and have a majority of the fantasy community cautiously optimistic about Kyle Pitts’ role in the Atlanta offense. It’s hard to remember, but Pitts was a top-12 TE in five of his first eight games in 2024 and unfortunately trailed off down the stretch of the season. In the three games that QB Michael Pennix Jr. started last season, Pitts did have a TE9 finish that mainly came on the back of a TD, but it can be encouraging for what it could mean going forward.
After finishing as one of the best teams to target with receiving options in 2024, the Buccaneers provide an intriguing matchup for Pitts to get off to a strong start this season. Tampa Bay allowed the third-most passing yards in 2024 and the eighth-most passing plays over 20 yards. Fantasy managers weren’t being asked to pay premium prices for Pitts in drafts this season, so he may end up on your bench to start the year, but Pitts may be worth a dart throw in this matchup.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/yp6Mqe3
No comments: