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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’m back with another edition of fantasy football bold predictions. This week’s list of bold predictions will include Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence, Rachaad White, Nico Collins, and Dalton Kincaid.
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 2024 NFL season.
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Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford…
Combine for 550 passing yards
The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams will have two of the better passing attacks this season. Fantasy players should expect this Sunday night matchup to be a high-scoring contest. The over/under for this game is 52 points on DraftKings, the highest total in Week 1. Many have high hopes for this game after the Lions and Rams had an outstanding battle during the playoff matchup last season.
Goff had 277 passing yards in the Wild Card win over the Rams. Meanwhile, Stafford totaled 367 passing yards in the loss. Both quarterbacks played extremely well, totaling 644 passing yards despite neither player having more than 36 pass attempts. More importantly, both defenses in this game struggled to stop the pass in 2023.
Former Ram Jared Goff with a dart to former Ram Josh Reynolds.
📺: #LARvsDET on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/BMG9C6CXOw— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024
Last year, the Lions surrendered 4,568 passing yards, the third most in the NFL. By comparison, the Rams gave up 4,195 passing yards, the 13th most in the league. Meanwhile, both teams have elite run defenses. Fantasy players shouldn’t be surprised if both teams abandon the run to exploit young and inexperienced secondaries. Goff and Stafford have top-8 upside in Week 1, thanks to their anticipated high-scoring matchup.
Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa…
Both finish as top-seven quarterbacks
The two young quarterbacks signed massive contract extensions in the offseason, making them two of the highest-paid passers in the NFL. More importantly, fantasy players had high hopes for Lawrence and Tagovailoa last season. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins were supposed to be high-scoring and fantasy-friendly offenses. However, both quarterbacks failed to live up to the offseason hype. Lawrence was the QB12, averaging 16.4 fantasy points per game despite the addition of Calvin Ridley.
Meanwhile, Tagovailoa was the QB11, averaging 15.9 fantasy points per game. While both quarterbacks struggled in 2023, most Week 1 fantasy rankings have Lawrence and Tagovailoa as top-15 quarterbacks. However, fantasy players should view them as low-end QB1s with significant upside because of their matchup.
Jacksonville and Miami have subpar pass defenses. Furthermore, the Dolphins might be without their top two pass-rushers from last season on Sunday. DraftKings has the over/under for this game at 49 points, one of the highest totals in Week 1. Furthermore, Lawrence’s passing prop is 251.5 yards, while Tagovailoa’s is 269.5 yards. This matchup should be a high-scoring contest with both quarterbacks making multiple big-time fantasy plays.
Rachaad White…
Finishes the week as a top-three running back
White had a breakout year last season. He was the RB7, averaging 13.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The former Arizona State star had 272 rushing attempts for 990 yards and six touchdowns. More importantly, White was an unstoppable force in the passing game, totaling 64 receptions on 70 targets for 549 receiving yards and three touchdowns last year. He finished fourth among running backs in receptions.
Baker dishes it to Rachaad White and he does the rest for a 43-yard TD!
📺: #TENvsTB on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/yxJ9NGW7lh— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
After having a featured role last season, many fantasy players believe White will regress in 2024. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added Bucky Irving during the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, the coaching staff has praised the rookie while talking about riding the hot hand out of the backfield. However, White will be the starter on Sunday against the Washington Commanders. Thankfully, he couldn’t have asked for a better opening-week matchup.
The Commanders had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year. While the arrival of Dan Quinn will help, Washington should have one of the worst defenses again in 2024. It gave up 25.7 fantasy points per game to running backs last season, the second most in the league. Furthermore, the Commanders gave up the fourth-most receptions to running backs (94). This game should be a high-scoring contest, giving White a massive upside.
Nico Collins…
Has at least 125 receiving yards against the Indianapolis Colts
While the San Francisco 49ers have the top set of weapons in the NFL, the Houston Texans have the best trio of wide receivers. Collins is coming off a career year, averaging 14.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, leading the team in receptions (80), targets (109), receiving yards (1,297), and touchdowns (eight). More importantly, the former Michigan star has one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
C.J. Stroud and Collins destroyed the Colts in 2023. The star receiver had 14 receptions on 18 targets for 341 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the two games against the AFC South division rivals last year. He finished both matchups with at least 146 receiving yards, including 195 in the final contest of the regular season.
Indianapolis struggled to slow out outside pass-catchers in 2023. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Colts had the eight-highest target rate (44%) by pass-catchers lined up outside. Furthermore, they allowed the 11th-highest yards per route run average (2.07) to pass-catchers lined up out wide last year. Collins is primarily an outside receiver. He should have another massive performance against the division rivals.
Dalton Kincaid…
Scores two touchdowns, matching his rookie-year total
While Isaiah Likely had an outstanding performance against the Kansas City Chiefs last night, he won’t be the best fantasy tight end in Week 1. That honor will go to Kincaid, as the second-year player will have a massive performance against the Arizona Cardinals. Last year, he had only two receiving touchdowns despite totaling 73 receptions and 91 targets.
Dalton Kincaid's first career TD puts the @BuffaloBills in the lead!#TBvsBUF on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/E5pvHuys2o pic.twitter.com/fx9xatwl4H— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2023
However, the Buffalo Bills lost Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in the offseason, opening up 241 targets from last season’s squad. Furthermore, 17 of the Bills’ 29 receiving touchdowns in 2023 came from players no longer with the team (58.6%). Therefore, Josh Allen will need a new go-to guy this year, with Kincaid being the most likely option.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals struggled against tight ends in 2023. They surrendered the third-most receiving touchdowns to tight ends (seven). Furthermore, Arizona gave up the most red-zone touchdowns (26) and end-zone touchdowns (18) in the NFL last season (per Fantasy Points Data). After totaling only two touchdowns as a rookie, Kincaid will double his career total in Week 1.
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