After one hectic off-season where Melvin Gordon is still holding out, an old fan favorite in Antonio Brown became one of the most hated players in the entire league, and one of the league’s best QBs in Andrew Luck called it a career at age 29, football is back. Tonight the Packers will travel to Chicago to take on the Bears in the season opener. Football season also (obviously) marks the beginning of the fantasy football season, which we will dive into right now. 

Must Start:

Kerryon Johnson- Running Back- Detroit Lions: He is one of my favorite players heading into the 2019 season. He no longer has to share touches between Theo Riddick and LeGarrette Blunt which allows him to be a full feature back in Detroit. Johnson will face the worst ranked rushing defense in the league from 2018 in Arizona. He can easily throw up massive numbers against this defense especially in an offense who does not have many wide receiver threats.

Cooper Kupp- Wide Receiver- Los Angeles Rams: This play is so sneaky good it’s crazy. Kupp is ranked as WR3 on a depth chart that consist of Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, but that means nothing. Kupp will likely line up against Javien Elliot who is only 5’11”. Kupp is 6’4” coming out from the slot and will have a great mismatch against Elliot as the Panther defense will need to focus on all the other dynamic weapons in this offense.

Dede Westbrook- Wide Receiver- Jacksonville Jaguars: Travis Kelce told reporters they are going to pass when you think they will pass and will pass when you think they will run. This bears well in accompany to the fact the chiefs pass defense was so poor last year. They made a few adjustments with the signing Tyrann Mathieu and some other pieces, but it sounds like Mathieu will also miss week 1 with an injury. The odds of a shootout here are high and the odds the Jags will be losing are also very high. Westbrook has had an amazing pre-season and solidified himself as Nick Foles’s favorite target. Look for tons of volume going to Westbrook late in the game and throughout in order to try to keep pace with this amazing offense.

Do Not Start:

Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders- Running Backs- Philadelphia Eagles: This for me has nothing to do with the ability of either of these backs. I think both are great. The committee in Philly is so unclear it is too risky to throw either of these guys even into FLEX rolls. Even against a Redskins team who was average against the run at best last year you cannot trust either of these guys until we wait a couple weeks and see how this committee pans out. My money is on Sanders taking over not that long into the season though.

Derrick Henry- Running Back- Tennessee Titans: I think Derrick Henry is a great running back. Just not when it comes to fantasy football. He is a part of a low pace offense and has a play caller using a playbook that isn’t even his own. The Browns also have a much improved defense along with a solid front 7. I have a very hard time seeing Henry having a good game (let alone a good season) unless he gets a bundle of goal line carries to save him. The Browns also look to have a very productive offense which will lead to the Titans trying to keep pace and will most likely result in more passing from them.

Aaron Jones- Running Back- Green Bay Packers: Another MUST sit right here. Only in scenarios where you have an elite running back like Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffery, Alvin Kamara, or Zeke are you allowed to start a RB against the Bears. They lost no one in their amazing rush defense last year led by Khalil Mack and until they show otherwise this year, we treat them as the elite rushing defense they are. They only gave up an average of 80 rushing yards per game last year and that is a scary total you do not want to mess with. Aaron Jones may get volume but he is still a super risky play.

Sleepers For 2019:

James Washington- Wide Receiver- Pittsburgh Steelers: This man has the opportunity of a lifetime. He is in an almost identical situation as JuJu-Smith had last year. Washington is hidden behind an elite WR1 and will be constantly matched up with a CB2. Washington offers elite route running and is very quick. He showed great flashes in preseason and will look to solidify the spot as WR2 early this season.

David Montgomery- Running Back- Chicago Bears: This is a “sleeper” a lot of people were aware of, but he’s still under the radar. I don’t like trusting the bears in fantasy unless we are talking D/ST but we are looking at a work horse back emerging in Chicago. He is big and has solid pass catching ability. Tarik Cohen is still an elite pass catching back but don’t be surprised when Montgomery makes Cohen unplayable in fantasy.

Darren Waller- Tight End- Oakland Raiders: This is a strange one. I know. I am still super high on this guy though. He is the sole TE in Oakland where there is only one man competing for targets. His name is Antonio Brown. After that though it’s wide open and look what Jared Cook was able to do in an offense that loves using TEs. Waller is a great athlete with great size and I firmly will burst onto the scene in the first few weeks.