Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections and Rankings: New Changes After Major Injury Updates
The injury designations have come by the many in the lead-up to the first Football Sunday of the NFL season. Our fantasy football expectations have endured quite the mix-up. The projections below are the latest, cleanest version as of Saturday evening, September 12. Use these for your most vital start 'em, sit 'em decisions.
Quarterback Updates
Justin Herbert is one of my favorite picks of the week. He has risen from QB12 to QB9 since our original Wednesday posting. Housekeeping foresees an even better week for the must-start.
My favorite non-QB1's of the week features Tyler Shough, who expects to play in a pass-script against the heavily favored Detroit Lions. CJ Stroud is also a player to eye up against the Buffalo Bills, who are my 29th-rated coverage grouping of the week.
Running Back Updates
Javonte Williams is a name to love this week as the Cowboys are without Malik Davis for the season. The only backup listed currently is Emari Demercado. Expect Williams to have a massive chunk of the Cowboys' rushing offense this week (78%).
After all, Alvin Kamara is going to play this week. He was never expected to be active, but Kamara defies the odds. Nonetheless, Travis Etienne Jr. is not affected in any meaningful way. He will retain his workload, and rather, Kendre Miller will lose his initial upgrade. I would still bench Kamara, given the uncertainty regarding his true health heading into the game.
Wide Receiver Updates
Malik Nabers is still questionable to play. It must be understood that this list is purely for projections, not rankings. If ranking, Nabers will fall much further given the risk that he may not be active. If we do get Nabers playing over 90% of health, he is the WR14 with a receiving-yardage time share in the high 20s.
The Buccaneers have listed Emeka Egbuka as active. Reports suggest a consensus that Egbuka will not be significantly affected by his turf toe. He can be safely started as a WR2 on your roster.
Odunze told the media that he will play in Week 1. I would not bank on Odunze playing to his regular level of efficiency. While still projected as the WR25, I would exercise much caution in playing Odunze. That is a start 'em, sit 'em debate, depending on who the replacement options are. Figure upside and where it may trump Odunze's less-than-90% ceiling. I probably give him the start over all wideouts rated WR35 or lower.
Tre Tucker rises in my projections as the Sleeper of the Week. With Brock Bowers out, Tucker rises to a 26% projected yard share of the Raiders' passing offense. The Dolphins are the worst-rated coverage grouping in the NFL.
Tight End Updates
There is only one major adjustement to the Week 1 Tight End Projections. It finds high hopes for Michael Mayer, who steps in to the Raiders' TE1 role with Bowers out 1-2 weeks.
Mayer is projected for a 22% yard share of the Raiders 199 projected passing yards this week. I also have him scoring 0.3 touchdowns. The biggest value found here is that Mayer's yards per reception is about 20% higher without Bowers (10.9 yards) than it is with Bowers.
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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.