What to know before Thursday Night Football
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images via wjla.com)
Well, week one of the NFL has come and gone already, and it did not disappoint. The Texans (who I’ve written off for the season) made Urban Meyer wish he could go back to the NCAA. Aaron Rodgers led his Packers against the Saints, and got SLAUGHTERED. Which, quick side note. If this continues for him, I’m 100% buying in on the “Rodgers only returned to the Packers to sabotage their season conspiracy theory.” I mean, I wouldn’t put it past the guy, and I think he has a right to. Back to the bit, Tom Brady has the fountain of youth in his backyard. Christian McCaffrey was the RB1 last week, WITHOUT scoring a touchdown. Then Kyler Murray decided to show you all why he is the QB1 in fantasy football.
Fun stuff, but now we move forward. Week 2 is upon us, and it starts off with a lackluster match-up out of the NFC East. The Washington Football Team (man that sucks to say) against the New York Giants. Gross. I’m here once again to give you some pointers and hints on your fantasy football squad, as well as some DFS ideas for the evening.
I’m more or less disappointed in the match-up mainly because my boy Fitzmagic is out for most of the season. As a shareholder of his in fantasy football, I wish I could’ve seen him play this game, not because New York’s defense stinks, in fact it's not terrible, but I feel like he could’ve carved them up.
In strolls Taylor Heinicke, a less than ideal situation. Less than ideal due to the small sample size. He has 9 career regular season games under his belt, not counting last week, and only started 2. He is efficient though. 59 of 92 for a completion percentage of 64%, with 589 yards and 3 TD’s. He did have 3 interceptions in there, but that was all in his starts for Carolina in 2018. Last year he started in the WFT’s playoff game, throwing for over 300 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. The upside to Heinicke with this small sample size? Not much. BUT. There is a lot of unknown with him, and he may prove to you this season he has something hiding that has never been shown. If you’re in a QB pinch somehow, or are feeling savvy with a streamer, the Giants aren’t the worst as far as opponents go. Just tread lightly and lower expectations.
The major upside to Fitzpatrick’s departure. ANTONIO GIBSON. The guy was already slotted for a huge season according to the fantasy football community, and now with Fitz sidelined, expect him to be handed the rock. He is a must play, in all formats and in DFS. Last week he had the most targets for the WFT with 5, granted there was not much to go around, he still led the team in targets. So you can bet that he is going to play a major part in the passing game, and J.D. McKissic may be a thing of the past. Start him. Heinicke will need that security blanket, and it's either going to be Gibson, or the next fellow I’m going to talk about.
Logan Thomas is interesting. Targeted just 3 times last week, but they had a weird game script going on with Fitz exiting. I expect him to be one of the two security blankets for Heinicke this season. So be on the lookout for target shares. I’m not saying it's 100% going to happen, but a lot of quarterbacks, especially ones with not a lot of NFL game experience lean on one target to get the ball to. I see Thomas being that guy. As a TE who had a great season last year, I’m not sure that doesn’t happen again, and could be in store for a solid evening on Thursday Night Football.
As a Terry McLaurin shareholder, I’m not 100% panicked, but I’m also very concerned how last week's injury to Fitz is going to affect his production. He’s a high capital draft pick, and it’s a bummer this happened week 1. Still, you have to start him, he’s just too good. Who knows, maybe I’m completely off on Thomas and Gibson being the security blankets. Maybe Terry is the man that keeps this air attack relevant. Start him. Just be sure you’re not expecting major numbers until you see Heinicke’s tendencies. Then go ahead and panic. But for Thursday night, I expect Terry to get his, and have a decent game.
Oh New York. What are we to do with you? You’re a dumpster fire, well, kind of, on offense at least. There are not a lot of positives for fantasy football outside of the “Big Apple.” I’m just not sure I trust anyone on the team for any kind of upside when it comes to fantasy football tonight.
That being said, don’t hear what I’m not saying about New York, or for a more specific example, Saquon Barkley. As far as my personal opinion goes, I think Barkley is going to be fine, but not any time soon. I have three major reasons why I feel that way. First, it's a short week. Barkley is obviously not 100% ready, and he won’t be this week. Being injured and having a short week doesn’t bode well for a relevant fantasy football performance on a Thursday night. Secondly, he’s going to be limited in action. You don’t want your RB1 in fantasy limited, ever, even if his name is Saquon Barkley. He carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards against Denver. I don’t honestly see him getting any more than 15 carries at the most tonight. Lastly, Washington’s defense, especially rushing, is damn good. They’re hungry, and they’ll be coming for Barkley, and for the next guy I’ll talk about. It’s hard to sit Saquon, but you honestly might be better off this week, and he will not be in my DFS lineup for the night.
Daniel “Fumble” Jones. Ok, that's not his real name, but it might as well should be. I pulled out the stats last week on him in my “Sit ‘Em Down” section of the week's preview and it ain’t pretty. In 28 games, Jones has fumbled 30 times. 30!! That also includes one last week against San Diego. It has to be embarrassing, I’m honestly embarrassed for him. Sprinkle in 22 interceptions why don’t ya. It’s ugly. The WFT is going to be coming for blood, and they won’t let up. Jones should be sitting where he belongs, on your fantasy football bench, or even better, the waiver wire, and is damn near unplayable in DFS contests.
There is only one Giants pass catcher I’m truly interested in this week, and it’s Sterling Shepard. The reports out of camp and preseason were that Shepard has looked the best he ever has, and that may have translated last week against Denver, another solid defense. Shepard caught 7 balls for 113 yards and 1 touchdown, AND he was targeted 9 times. Solid start for him in fantasy football. If Daniel Jones is going to be on the run for most of the game (and he will), expect him to throw to his most reliable target. No! Not Slayton or Golladay, but Shepard. There is an obvious connection with the two, and if you’re building a Thursday night “Captains” type DFS game, I think he could be a relevant option.
It probably won’t be a pretty game on Thursday Night Football, but I think if you play your cards right, stick to who is seeing the volume, and who has the potential to do something with the ball after it's in their hands, then you should be fine. Just don’t expect it to be a star studded game.
I miss Fitzmagic in all of his bearded glory already.
Washington 20, New York 13
SKOL
- JD