Philadelphia Eagles Lead Top 5 NFL Offenses To Target In Week 1 of Fantasy Football
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Week one of the NFL season has arrived, and now it is time to lock in. Fantasy football is a marathon, not a sprint, but if we can attack the entire season with ferocity, we will succeed. Every monday I will be coming to you with a list of the top five offenses this upcoming week. We will touch on matchups, history, weather, injuries, and much more. These are the best five offenses in week one.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
It is not surprising at all that the defending champions are first on this list. Everything works in their way this Thursday.
Per betting odds, the Eagles have the highest implied total of the week at 27 points. They are also coming into the game fully healthy, of course, as it is just week one. In 2024, the Eagles shattered the Cowboys by a combined 75-13 over their two matchups. The Eagles will bring the same exact attack and with a new offensive head coach in Brian Schottenheimer, I am not too optimistic that they fix their defensive issues.
The Cowboys have the 24th ranked defense, per FPI, and they parted ways this week with Micah Parsons. Matt Eberflus is their new defensive coordinator, and he is a very good one, but he may take time to ramp this defense up fully, especially with no Parsons.
2. Green Bay Packers
I come into this season very optimistic in the Lions defense, but this matchup fairs subpar for them. The Packers played quite well against the Lions in 2024, despite losing both matchups. They lost in a combined 7 points over two games, nearly beating the Lions at Ford Field in a 34-31 affair.
Now that the Lions add a new defensive coordinator, I fear they may have a ramp up period. Kelvin Sheppard takes over this role as a linebacker heavy coach. This will ask him to rely heavily on his coordinators to do their jobs. I do not love the chemistry setup in their defensive staff and this provides a prime spot for Matt LaFleur to expose the Lions.
The Lions greatest strengths as at safety and linebacker. I expect LaFleur to attack with Josh Jacobs and a short pass attack, as per usual, the wear down the Lions defense methodically.
3. Detroit Lions
This game is probably my over play of the week. The Packers defense is not bad by any means. In fact, they rank 9th per FPI. The Lions offense is just too bulletproof to ever hate.
The Packers have a very nice pass rush, but their run stop can be taken advantage of. Their strengths lie on the edge, not the interior. As the Lions may well have the best offensive line in football, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery run should the ball down their throat. This opens it up for Goff to attack Keishawn Nixon and Nate Hobbs with Amon-Ra St Brown and Jameson Williams.
4. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens absolutely dominated the Bobby Babich defense in their regular season matchup in 2024. The Ravens won that game 35-10. In their playoff meeting, the Ravens folded in the playoffs, once again, losing 27-25. Both games, the Ravens did score just fine. In fact, 25 points was on the low-end of outcomes for the Ravens,
Like the Packers, the Bills have a much worse run stop than a pass rush. This will let the Ravens attack in many different run attacks, between Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Keaton Mitchell. The Bills also ranked in the worse half versus tight ends last year. Nothing has changed, and so Mark Andrews is primed to go off and offset any leverage that the Bills have with Trey Benford locking down Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman. Tre'Davious White has not been the same since his injury.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No unit comes as prepared as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield has found his home in Tampa Bay, and this team has been lethal on offense. The team ranked 3rd in NFL total offense in 2024, and they only get better this year.
To go matchup by matchup, the Falcons have a run stop that is small in size compared to this Buccaneers offensive line. AJ Terrell and Mike Hughes are good corners, but not shutdown enough to stop Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka. They are two wide receivers that require little separation. They will go and get the ball, and Baker will let it rip.
As far as a pass rush, the Falcons lack much to be desired. Jeff Ulbrich is the new defensive coordinator, and he is a respectable one, but he lacks to talent to make it a factor. The Buccaneers will be able to call any plays they want and it will never become a mental battle for their new OC, Josh Grizzard.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.