After being used sparingly during the pre-season
Dalvin Cook handled 22 touches in Week 1.
Grab a Helmet
Dalvin
Cook @ GB: Cook never made it to the Week 6 meeting
against Green Bay in 2017, meaning this will be his first game
action against the archrival Pack and the first time (obviously)
he dons the cleats at Lambeau Field. Though his Week 1 totals
were modest bordering on disappointing (16 carries for 40 yards
and 6 receptions for 55 more), he looked fit as a fiddle and no
worse for the wear after last year’s devastating ACL injury. In
other words, he survived to play another week and that’s half
the battle at the RB position. I don’t see how a Green Bay team
which struggled to contain Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen last
Sunday night (20 carries for 107 yards and 8 receptions for 41)
will be able to put the lid on a guy who’s basically both of those
guys combined. He scores on Sunday.
Christian
McCaffrey @ ATL: Ron Rivera told us back in July it
would be “ideal” if McCaffrey received 25-30 touches per game
in 2018. We knew he was full of it (only two backs received more
than 25 in Week 1, James Conner and Adrian Peterson), but I, for
one, am still optimistic 18-20 is doable for the dynamic Panthers’
sophomore. He carried it 10 times for 50 yards against Dallas
and was also targeted 9 times in the passing game, hauling in
6 balls for 45 more yards. His 9.5 points were precisely what
Dalvin Cook tallied, in other words, leaving us hungry for more
in Week 2. I think we’re likely to get it, especially now that
Greg Olsen is once again lost due to a re-fractured right foot.
Olsen has long served as Cam Newton’s security blanket and that
role seemingly transfers to his “son.” Start him.
Dion
Lewis v. HOU: Not much went right for Tennessee last
Sunday and to make matters worse, the game lasted a full 7 hours
and 10 minutes, about 7 hours longer than Titans fans probably
wanted it to. Maybe the NFL should think about starting the Fish
on the road every year to avoid the dodgy, late summer weather?
One bright spot for Tennessee was the newly acquired Lewis. The
former Patriot tallied an impressive 20 touches (15 rushes and
5 receptions) and turned them into 17 fantasy points, or double
the touches and more than quintuple the points of his more ballyhooed
teammate, Derrick Henry. It’s way too early to know how this true
job share will sort itself out, but Lewis causes bigger matchup
problems for opponents, meaning it will be hard for Mike Vrabel
and company to keep him off the field. I’d start him over Henry.
Grab a Gatorade
LeSean
McCoy v. SD: The schematic complexities of NFL defenses
are beyond the grasp of most average fans, myself very much included,
but the overarching goal is very simple and will never change:
mitigate the damage your opponent’s best weapons can do and you’re
more likely to win football games. Or, in the case of the Buffalo
Bills, best weapon (singular). There’s only the one and you can
bet the Bolts will be throwing eight or more in the box to take
McCoy away this Sunday. Josh Allen, who takes over after a(nother)
disastrous Nathan Peterman performance, is nowhere near ready
to run an NFL offense and, to be frank, may never be. He’s got
all the talent in the world and prototypical NFL measurables,
sure, but is a poor decision-maker and a highly inaccurate slinger.
Buffalo traded up for Jake Locker 2.0, in other words. Stay away
from Shady.
Jamaal
Williams v. MIN: If you’re scoring at home, that’s
TWO Packers I’m recommending you sit down in Week 2. Whoever said
I don’t have some journalistic integrity? I actually drafted/stashed
Aaron Jones in multiple leagues as I was not drinking the Mike
McCarthy “[Jamaal Williams is] poised to have a big year” Kool-Aid
this summer. Williams averaged just 3.6 yards/carry in 2017 and
lacks the explosion and/or niftiness you want from a modern NFL
rock-toter. If it weren’t for his precocious pass-blocking abilities,
he’d probably be an afterthought for the Pack. Pass-blocking is
important—nowhere more so than in Green Bay—but it doesn’t do
much for our fantasy bottom lines. Sit Williams against a nightmarish
Vikings front and go grab Jones in anticipation of his return
to the fold in Week 3. I think the latter emerges as the most
viable Packers running back as the season progresses.
Jordan
Wilkins @ WAS: Wilkins, a fifth-round pick in last
April’s draft, racked up a super-sneaky 17 touches in Week 1 as
the Colts dropped a competitive game to the Bengals, 34-23. I
say “super-sneaky” as if it’s a promising thing,
but the only thing sneaky about it is that nobody really noticed.
Wilkins converted those 17 touches into a paltry 6.1 fantasy points,
barely enough to move the fantasy interest meter, and now faces
the likelihood of sharing the workload with Marlon Mack, who’s
returned to practice this week and could possibly be ready to
play in DC on Sunday. Regardless who ends up garnering the lion’s
share of work for Indy—Mack, Wilkins, or even Nyheim Hines—I
don’t like any of the Colts backs against a Washington team
that ran the ball a league-high 34 times and dominated time of
possession last Sunday. Be wary of Wilkins.
