Fantasy Football Whiplash! | Week 1 News & Notes (2024)

Welcome to “Fantasy Whiplash!,” where I’ll floor it around the turns each Tuesday with the fantasy football news that affects your team and league.

This weekly series will include a little bit of everything: Waiver mentions, gambling lines that may influence your lineup, game previews and even some notable starts/sits.

Above all, the aim is to keep you abreast of all the latest noteworthy developments in the NFL and how they affect you, the manager. There may include trending thoughts by industry analysts on Twitter/X and my takes on certain subjects. The aim is to benefit everyone, from the casual fan to the accomplished veteran.

Get it? Good. Let’s keep the stream of consciousness flowing and become a go-to stop as you embark on another week.

Pedal to the metal, let’s ride.

Fantasy Football News & Notes for Week 1

Fantasy Football News

Chase-ing That Bag

It sounds like Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals are this close to getting a deal done. After last week’s on-again, off-again practice saga, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport dropped this little gem, speculating on Chase’s contract demand:

Since that time, talks have reportedly been heating up. The latest update was that Chase was 90 minutes late to an autograph session on Saturday, with everyone there echoing the same thing: The wide receiver was jovial and in high spirits. Upon asking about this, an unnamed source close to the team told me, “It’s about that time. Terms and conditions.” It sounds as though they have reached the fine print phase, and the odds of settling the saga seem high.

As of Monday, Chase was not practicing but rather “helping out” in a limited capacity. All eyes will be glued to the news on Tuesday, as the team prefers to get him signed in time for the official practice week.

Ricky Pearsall (WR, San Francisco 49ers)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot “through-and-through” (per his mother, Erin Pearsall) in his shoulder during a botched robbery attempt on Saturday.

I hate the timing of putting a fantasy spin on such gut-wrenching news, but real-life situations dictate developments for a player on your team. Unfortunately for Pearsall, it’s been a tough offseason; he missed multiple practices with a hamstring injury at the beginning of camp and suffered a shoulder subluxation (read: it popped out and back in), causing him to miss more practice time. When it looked as though a healthy Pearsall had the inside track to a starting role and heavy workload, the team finally re-signed Brandon Aiyuk.

The gunshot wound will take some time to heal. He’s been placed on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list and out for at least four games. Pearsall was already ticketed to a depth role as a rookie, at least to start the season.

Hold On Tight!

“REJOICE,” sayeth the Lord. We’ve passed the point of no return: No more Sundays sans football! However, we get the first course fired up with a Thursday night rematch of last year’s AFC Championship, where the Kansas City Chiefs bested the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 for a trip to the Super Bowl.

There are some changes this time around: The Chiefs added rookie burner Xavier Worthy (Texas), and the Ravens will fly in with future Hall-of-Famer Derrick Henry manning the ground game. Both are must-starts on Thursday night, although throughout the season, Worthy may prove to be a large boom/bust proposition.

I expect the Chiefs to play with their new toy in primetime. The Kansas City defense is no joke, but Baltimore will lean heavily on “King Henry,” who can only benefit Lamar Jackson‘s own running game. Start all your studs.

Further South

Let’s follow that up with an exciting matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles from Sao Paulo in the first-ever regular-season game in South America. It will be interesting to see where the fans’ allegiance lies more. Expect a raucous crowd for the matchup.

Both teams should rise to the occasion. With so many unknowns with the field conditions, etc., the total line of 48.5 seems appropriate. Regardless, we will get an idea of the Packers’ game plan with their wide receiving corps, with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs slated to start. Fantasy football managers feeling dangerous can go ahead and plug in slot receiver Jayden Reed if there aren’t better options. I’d caution against it until we see the usage that he, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft get. For teams that roster Musgrave as their TE1, start him with confidence.

Don’t forget to set up your free trial for Peacock to stream the game. I can’t believe I had to say that. Gross.

What to Watch for Around the NFL

With so many teams not tipping their hands in the preseason, including few playing their starters for more than a series, it’s our first chance to see what player evaluations we completely botched.

Here are things to watch for, keeping in mind that a lot of weird stuff happens in Week 1:

What’s the Wideout Hierarchy in Chicago?

Reports of 240-pound Keenan Allen may be a little premature, given that he is coming off a season with his most career catches (108) since 2013. His route-running hasn’t gained any weight; he continues to be the best in the business.

D.J. Moore is a stud who reeled in 96 balls from the likes of Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent. He now becomes the presumed No. 1 for rookie phenom Caleb Williams (USC). Fellow rookie Rome Odunze (Washington) lit some downfield fireworks in the preseason, living up to his pedigree. All three are likely in for a big year, with a different name leading the charge each week.

Who Totes the Rock?

Finally, we’ll get some clarity on a pair of perplexing backfields. Well, perhaps they’re not so perplexing if you have already flag-planted, but it will be interesting to see what pans out in Tennessee and Washington.

Will Tony Pollard and Brian Robinson Jr. be the early-down, between-the-tackles busters, with Tyjae Spears and Austin Ekeler in a more pace-changing role? That’s where my money is. An injury to any of these players or fumble issues (I’m looking at YOU, “BRob”) could skyrocket the value of their backfield foil. Suffice it to say, we’ll get some resolution before next week’s fantasy football news.

Will the Real Wideout Please Stand Up?

I wrote about this in a “Before You Draft” article where I tackled some crowded roster situations, and Footballguys’ Jeff Bell has the same idea. Khalil Shakir was one of “my guys” from the jump this season. Dalton Kincaid won’t get much of a fight from Dawson Knox (although we’ll have some of those “Wrong guy!” moments).

Overall, I believe Shakir will be the performer to have. Curtis Samuel might get the most targets, but the ceiling for Shakir is barely visible from the ground for a potential third-year breakout. He is also the only wide receiver with a built-in rapport with quarterback Josh Allen.

As for Keon Coleman, I’m afraid he’s in for a tough rookie season and is already on your fantasy roster’s hot seat. If you are wishy-washy on one of your bench players and Shakir went undrafted, I suggest snatching him up immediately.

Total Football

As noted, the Titans are visiting Soldier Field and the Bears on Sunday. I’m fairly sure Tennessee can’t possibly ruin Williams’ home and NFL regular season debut, but the total of 44.5 seems wrong to me. Will Levis‘s team reloaded with Pollard and now boasts a trio of capable wide receivers in Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd. Not to mention, there is a real backfield wildcard with a devastating stiff arm in Spears.

Long story short, I don’t think either defense is well-rounded enough to halt the scoring. Chicago’s line is Swiss cheese, and even a very capable defensive backfield will be tested this early in the season.

Who has two thumbs and is betting OVER 44.5 all day long? This guy. Know what else that means? There could be a lot of pieces of the scoring pie to go around.

More Fantasy Football News in Cincinnati

Rookie Jermaine Burton from Alabama will need a lot of help to get heavily involved for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s had major trouble picking up the playbook, and an unnamed source close to the situation said he has “a long way to go.” Expect them to get him on the field occasionally in four-wide sets and the return game to display his athleticism.

Conversely, the slot appears to belong to Andrei Iosivas, with a dash of Trenton Irwin sprinkled in. The latter is not fantasy-relevant without an injury to Chase. Burton likely won’t be either until forced into duty. He’s on the roster hot seat until he sees an uptick in snaps, and it could be a while.

Quick Hits

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Stefon Diggs will easily lead the Texans in targets in 2024. Mark it down.
The Jahan Dotson signing in Philadelphia is significant. Why? It’s good for DeVonta Smith. He does his most damage lined up in the slot, and this should be his best season yet.
PSA: Chase Brown is not a good enough blocker to be the early-down back in Cincinnati.
The drafting of Blake Corum is exactly what we thought it was and was further supported by the announcement that Kyren Williams will return punts. I don’t care that he’s done it before; he’s built like a Ram in a glass menagerie and will start ceding touches to Corum from the jump.
In a similar situation, the Arizona Cardinals will run James Conner until his legs fall off (they might), and aside from significant injury, it will remain a one-two punch throughout the season once Trey Benson gets involved.
Devin Singletary might have been the best value of drafts this season. He will get a lot of volume via carries and catches. I have absolutely zero confidence that the Giants won’t completely screw the pooch on how to use former Purdue Boilermaker Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Fantasy Football News: Injury Watch

Is Aaron Rodgers fully healed? Probably. Do we want to see Tyrod Taylor? Probably not.

For that matter, is Kirk Cousins? Your guess is as good as mine. Do we want to see Michael Penix Jr.? A thousand times, yes!

People who are relying on the return of Jonathon Brooks (Texas) and Nick Chubb to rescue their running back room will be very disappointed. Brooks will need to ramp up, and like it or not, he’ll share carries with the woefully inefficient Chuba Hubbard with nothing for the Panthers to play for.

The case for Chubb is even worse. Great, he can lift weights. He’s not returning until Week 7 or 8 at best and could not until after the team’s Week 10 bye. When he does, he could be a shell of his former self, not a fantasy savior. Speaking of which, D’Onta Foreman holds strong value as the compliment to Jerome Ford this season.

Will They Stay Upright?

We’ll need to keep our eyes on quarterback injuries, especially in 2024. Last season was a deluge of bad luck that saw multiple franchise quarterbacks dropping like flies. Was it an anomaly? I left my crystal ball in my other pants, so I don’t know.

Regardless, there are others to keep an eye on, including Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert. Stafford has typically been reliable regarding injury risk, but he is another year older and tends to get dinged up.

Herbert is a more worrisome case. The needle did not move much when the Chargers got their hands on Taylor Heinicke from Atlanta, but maybe it should have. Easton Stick did not perform admirably in the preseason. That is compounded by the fact that Herbert is dealing with Plantar fasciitis, which tends to linger or worsen with constant activity. Plus, it hurts like hell.

Get Excited!

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The Rookies Have Landed

There are highly anticipated rookies ready to step into the spotlight, and I’ve only named a few here. The excitement is palpable, awaiting the debuts of Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Bowers and Malik Nabers, among others! The injection of youth at receiving positions this year will only be rivaled by the running backs of next season.

Three rookie quarterbacks will open the season leading their team, and the clock is ticking for Drake Maye to take over the reins in New England and join them. Additionally, returning QBs like Joe Burrow, Anthony Richardson and Deshaun Watson are set to electrify the fantasy football landscape.

The Veterans Are Back

Can the Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb dominance continue in Dallas? Will Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta do even more to solidify themselves as must-draft fantasy stalwarts? Is offseason darling George Pickens ready to set a new benchmark as a WR1, no matter who is under center? Will C.J. Stroud prove that he’s the real deal? Most importantly, do all these big-money wide receiver contracts show up on the field? Who did we over-draft? Who did we let slip by?

Time to shift into high gear and start answering those questions.

More “Whiplash!” To Come

Next Tuesday, I’ll be back with some tangible information regarding starts/sits, a few waiver claims and a bit of reaction on whether Week 1 performances are season-long indicators or just “flash-in-the-pan” moments. I’ll see you back next Tuesday for all your fantasy football news needs.

Start your studs, trust your drafts, talk some smack and get your popcorn ready. It’s time for the first week of (fantasy) football!

Check out all of our content for Week 1 of the fantasy football season:

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Thanks for checking out this weeks Whiplash! Track me down on X @BuyAndSellYou for more redraft and dynasty content. Beginning Week 1, I’ll be back fielding your last-minute start/sit questions from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET every single Sunday!

*Photo Credit: Katie Stratman – USA TODAY Sports*

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