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Mike Fanelli gives his fantasy football bold predictions for Week 1 of the NFL season, giving fantasy players something to think about when setting their lineups.
Week 1 is here, and I have my first edition of fantasy football bold predictions. This week’s list of bold predictions will include Sam Howell, J.K. Dobbins, Aaron Jones, Michael Thomas, and Tyler Higbee.
Every week, I will provide some fun and bold fantasy football predictions. While these bold predictions aren’t the most likely outcomes, they are things I believe could happen this week.
Let’s look at my five bold predictions for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.
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Sam Howell…
Ends Week 1 as a top-five quarterback.
Sam Howell only played one game as a rookie in 2022. Yet, he had a solid performance in Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys. The former North Carolina star completed only 57.9% of his pass attempts. However, he had 169 passing yards and a touchdown in the game. More importantly, Howell had five rushing attempts for 35 yards and a touchdown in the win.
After signing Jacoby Brissett in free agency, the Washington Commanders had an open competition at quarterback. However, it wasn’t much of a competition, as Howell easily won the starting job. The former North Carolina star was outstanding during the preseason. He completed 75.7% of his pass attempts for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Furthermore, Howell averaged 0.68 fantasy points per pass attempt during the preseason.
Can the former North Carolina star keep that momentum heading into Week 1? Howell faces the Arizona Cardinals this week. Last year, they surrendered 18 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, the 11th-most in the NFL. However, they lost several starters on defense during the offseason, including J.J. Watt. With Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson at his disposal, Howell will rip apart Arizona’s defense and have a top-five finish.
J.K. Dobbins…
Has over 120 rushing yards against the Houston Texans.
The former Ohio State star running back had an excellent rookie season, totaling 134 rushing attempts for 805 yards and nine touchdowns. More importantly, J.K. Dobbins averaged six yards per rushing attempt that year. He also had 160 rushing yards in the Week 17 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, a career-high.
Unfortunately, Dobbins suffered a severe knee injury during the 2021 preseason, ending his year before it started. Furthermore, the injury impacted his production last year. He missed nine games because of a knee injury. However, the former Ohio State star was excellent to end 2022. Dobbins averaged 99.3 rushing yards per game and seven yards per rushing attempt over his final four contests.
Meanwhile, the Texans were the worst team at stopping running backs last year. They gave up 28.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game to running backs in 2022, the most in the NFL. More importantly, the Texans surrendered 2,412 rushing yards to running backs (141.9 yards per game), 248 more than any other team. Now that Dobbins is healthy and in a contract year, he will have a massive performance against an awful run defense.
Aaron Jones…
Finishes Week 1 as a top-five running back.
Much has changed over the past two years for the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, and Allen Lazard are gone, leaving Jordan Love, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs to take over as the starters. However, the one thing that remains the same is Aaron Jones. Last year, the veteran running back was the RB9, averaging 12.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game.
Furthermore, the former Texas-El Paso star had 1,121 rushing yards last season, a career-high. More importantly, the Packers could be without Watson and Doubs for Love’s second career start on Sunday. Both wide receivers have hamstring injuries, leaving an extremely inexperienced receiver core to pick up the slack. Therefore, don’t be surprised if Jones has a significant role in the passing game on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears had struggled to slow down opposing running backs last season. They gave up 25.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game to running backs, the second-most in the NFL. Furthermore, the Bears gave up the second-most rushing touchdowns to running backs. Jones averaged 16 touches and 19 fantasy points per game in the two matchups against the Bears in 2022. Don’t be surprised if he has a 20-25 touch performance in Week 1.
Michael Thomas…
Joins Chris Olave in having over 100 receiving yards against the Tennessee Titans.
Unfortunately, Michael Thomas has struggled with injuries over the past few years. The star wide receiver has missed 80% of the games over the past three seasons because of injuries. However, he is reportedly as healthy as he’s been in the past two years. Last season, the former Ohio State wide receiver was productive before getting hurt, averaging 5.3 receptions on 7.3 targets for 57 receiving yards and a touchdown per game over the first three weeks.
Meanwhile, Chris Olave stepped up with Thomas out of the lineup. The former first-round pick had 72 receptions on 119 targets for 1,042 receiving yards and four touchdowns last season. More importantly, he joined Garrett Wilson as the only two rookie wide receivers with over 1,000 receiving yards in 2022. The former Buckeye is a popular sophomore-year breakout candidate.
The New Orleans Saints have an excellent matchup in Week 1. They face a Titans defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed last season, let alone talented wide receivers. Tennessee gave up 33.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the most in the NFL. Furthermore, the Titans gave up 3,199 receiving yards to the position, the third-most in the league. Expect a big performance from Derek Carr and both of his star wide receivers.
Tyler Higbee…
Is the overall TE1 in Week 1.
After their impressive win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56, the Los Angeles Rams fell apart last season. The team partly struggled because of injuries, especially after losing Cooper Kupp to a season-ending high ankle sprain. However, fantasy players hoped the superstar would return to his old form in 2023. Unfortunately, Kupp has struggled with hamstring injuries over the past six weeks and won’t play on Sunday.
However, that is good news for Tyler Higbee’s fantasy value. The veteran tight end was the TE8 last season, averaging 6.8 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. With Kupp out this week, the former Western Kentucky star will have to step up as a go-to weapon for Matthew Stafford against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks.
Last year, the Seahawks had no answers for stopping opposing tight ends. They surrendered 14.8 fantasy points per game to tight ends, the most in the NFL. Furthermore, Seattle also gave up the most receiving yards to the position in 2022. The Seahawks will have no trouble scoring points on the Rams’ defense, forcing Matthew Stafford to throw the ball more than the team would have hoped. With Travis Kelce missing Week 1 and Mark Andrews banged up, Higbee has the chance to be the TE1 this week.
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