The New Hotness - Who Should be the 1.01?

For months now, fantasy football fans have been burning up the best ball drafts and dynasty startup drafts for their fantasy football leagues and for all that time, there have been pretty much two names at the top of the draft board. Christian McCaffrey and Ceedee Lamb have reigned supreme as the de facto 1.01 selections depending on league format for the better part of the offseason. However, Ceedee Lamb has recently turned down his latest contract offer and CMC is dealing with a minor calf injury coming off of a 400 touch season. This begs the question, who should be the consensus 1.01 in upcoming Redraft Fantasy Football Leagues?

The Chalk Pick - Tyreek Hill

For as much as I believe in the talent of Tyreek Hill, I also never believed he’d be ready to retire when he said. Tyreek now has a new contract and is returning to arguably an even better situation than last season. The Miami Dolphins are set to return with Tua Tagovaiola and Mike McDaniels at the helm as quarterback and head coach respectively. They’ve added depth pieces in Jaylen Wright and Malik Washington. I see no reason Tyreek Hill can’t repeat what is normally an outlier season for most wide receivers, hitting the 1800 yard plateau in back to back seasons. I rarely believe in setting such lofty projections, but the Cheetah has proven unstoppable and I don’t see that changing this season.

My Favorite Pick - Bijan Robinson

What a difference a season makes. Last year, I was out on Bijan Robinson at his average draft price, as I expected him to have a good but not generational rookie season under former Head Coach Arthur Smith. Generally speaking, targeting young, ascending, talented running backs in their sophomore season is always a good idea. When it comes to Bijan though, rarely have the stars aligned for him to have a true fantasy breaking season such as the hiring of three quarters of the Rams coaching staff, led by Raheem Morris, as well as an upgrade at quarterback in Kirko Chains (Kirk Cousins). Add in the fact that the Atlanta Falcons have one of the best schedules per Warren Sharp Analytics and there’s a strong case to be made that Bijan Robinson could be the 1.01 in ANY fantasy football format.

The Dark Horse - Breece Hall

Everything I said about Bijan Robinson is also true of Breece Hall. Assuming the health of Aaron Rodgers, Breece Hall enters an improved version of the same situation he was in last year, when he presented as a fantasy gamebreaker down the stretch of the season. Barring health issues, of which the Jets seem accursed, there’s no reason Breece Hall can’t compete for the RB1 position in fantasy football. Similarly to Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall also presents as a pass catching option with the ability to have a fantasy breaking type season. I think the only argument that can be made against Breece is the looming bad omens of the Jets’ history.

Mr. Consistency - Amon Ra St. Brown

Shoutout to @JCMoneyDesign of the Sports Affiliation. We recently held a Mock Draft episode together and I asked JC who he would consider as a 1.01 in redraft. He surprised me when he said Amon Ra St. Brown. As much as I love the Sun God, I admittedly view him as an elite, consistent wide receiver but a slight tier down from Tyreek Hill, Ceedee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson when all things are square. However, the Detroit Lions are still a young ascending team. It would be foolish to think it impossible for Amon Ra St Brown to continue evolving. He is capable of a monstrous receiving season, especially since the Detroit Lions have a tremendous schedule that features a dozen inside dome games. 

Do Not Overlook - AJ Brown

Although the entire Philadelphia Eagles team cratered towards the end of last season, AJ Brown’s end of season was still better than you remember. What if I told you that through the final 5 games of the fantasy football season, AJ Brown saw 53 targets for 32 receptions and 397 yards. What went away was the touchdowns and the efficiency from the first half of the season. Even still, AJ Brown has finished with back to back seasons with just under 1500 yards and a combined 18 touchdowns. He is the dominant wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and an argument can be made that Jalen Hurts is still ascending as a natural passer of the football at the quarterback position. With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in town, it will be interesting to see if Hurts and in turn AJ Brown can take a step forward, enough for Brown to crack firmly into the top 3 fantasy football wide receiver producers.