Friday Night Football Preview
The Packers and the Eagles will travel to Brazil to open their NFL seasons. This will be a new environment for these teams which always adds a variable NFL teams sometimes underestimate its impact. Which team will be ready to play in the first NFL game in the new continent?
Our Friday Night Football Preview breaks down all the fantasy football angles. Additionally, we’ve included a bonus look at Thursday’s Ravens vs. Chiefs contest.
Here is FullTime Fantasy‘s first-ever look at a Friday Night Football Preview.
What’s New on the Teams
Green Bay: Jordan Love emerged down the stretch last year and got paid handsomely for the flashes he showed in limited game action. He’s not a new player, but clearly, he’s thought of differently going into this season than last. Also, the Packers added Josh Jacobs as their new front-line running back after Aaron Jones departed for the Vikings.
The Packers seem to have an embarrassment of riches at receiver. However, it’s unclear if they have a dominant WR1 on this team. Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks all look like intriguing values in drafts. Additionally, Bo Melton and Grant DuBois have looked interesting as young receivers but their paths to consistent snaps are blocked.
Also, two solid tight ends, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, proved they could play last year. The amount of targets Love will have to work with could make many of the league’s quarterbacks jealous. Green Bay also used their first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman and it looks like he’ll start this year.
Philadelphia: The new shiny piece the Eagles added was Saquon Barkley on offense. They also switched offensive coordinators to Kellen Moore. Moore’s system has tended to pass to the RB more than the Eagles have in their recent history.
Defensively, the Eagles also changed coordinators and spent their first two draft picks on pieces to shore up their secondary. Their secondary was a problem last year. Will these young players patch that hole and return Philadelphia’s defense to a competitive standpoint?
Players to Watch
Philadelphia’s Offense: How much changed to one of the better offenses this year? There is a lot of talk about DeVonta Smith playing more in the slot – how will that impact the target distribution on this team? It’s been a pretty funnel offense with A.J. Brown and Smith accounting for over half the targets from Hurts. Will this change? Can a third receiver emerge? Will they use Barkley in the passing game more than they did D’Andre Swift?
Will Shipley: Shipley could be a passing down specialist and if Barkley were to miss time, he’d likely get into a timeshare with Kenneth Gainwell. The interesting question for week 1 waiver wires and drafts still to be completed is will Shipley have an offensive role that could take advantage of his skill set? It’s probably too early in the season to expect Shipley to gain traction but, his snap count should be monitored.
Jayden Reed: Due to the log jam at receiver for the Packers and him coming in third at snap share in a scrimmage, Reed doesn’t get the respect his rookie year performance earned last year. This will be our first look at how he is deployed by the Packers this year. Will he look like a lower snap slot-only player or will he figure into 2-WR sets more? Or will they run a ton of 11 personnel and it not matter?
Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks looked like the most efficient receiver for the Packers last year. But it also seems like he’ll have a limited role behind the first three receivers. What will Matt LaFleur do with the receiver rotation? Can Wicks see the field and with his play can he force himself into a meaningful snap share?
Green Bay’s RB2: AJ Dillon is on IR. MarShawn Lloyd is just starting his return from aggravating his hamstring – it’s not certain he’ll play in Week 1. Emanuel Wilson looks like he’ll be the RB2, but he’s also appeared on the injury report heading into week 1. How much will the Packers be able to utilize a second RB? If so which one and how much? How well will they perform?
Green Bay’s TE Rotation: Luke Musgrave vs Tucker Kraft. Kraft is dealing with some back soreness right now, so it’s unclear if that will impact his availability. But assuming they are both available how does the TE rotation look in Green Bay? Will both tight ends counterfeit each other’s opportunity at fantasy goodness or will one emerge and become a TE1 this year?
This should be another great game to watch and see how these two teams enter the year and fight for a critical first win of the season. No team with playoff expectations wants to start the year 0-1.
Good luck to all the fantasy GMs as they put the pieces to the puzzle together in the NFL’s first Friday Night Football Preview.
As a bonus, here is more on Thursday’s season opener. For an in-depth fantasy breakdown and Jody’s best bet, click here.
Thursday Night Football Preview
The Chiefs and the Ravens lock horns to open up the NFL season this year which will potentially be a preview of the AFC championship game. It’s a critical game for these teams to get off to a good start on the season and should be a great game for fans and fantasy managers alike.
What’s New on the Teams
Baltimore: It’s well-publicized that that Derrick Henry has come over to take the keys to the power running game. However, the Ravens have three new offensive linemen this year. Will the line be able to perform to previous levels and enable Henry to plow through the defense while they also have to be aware of the threat Lamar Jackson poses as a rushing QB will be a key to this game? Kansas City’s defense is solid up front.
The Ravens also have a change in linebacker (Patrick Queen lost in free agency) which adds a question mark in their run defense. However, Baltimore’s secondary should remain strong and will be tested by the Chiefs’ array of weapons.
Kansas City: The Chiefs will be without L’Jarius Snead at cornerback this year and that could leave them a bit light in the defensive backfield. They still have a strong proven corner in Trent McDuffie who will match up with Zay Flowers for much of the game.
Fortunately, the Ravens don’t have a deep arsenal of proven wide receiver talent. They do, however, have a couple of tight ends that could threaten defense. Will Mark Andrews need to spend some time supporting the new offensive line or will they need to play a second TE to help out blocking and not unlock Isaiah Likely as a 2nd receiving TE?
Clyde-Edwards Helaire will miss this game as he’s on IR. To replace him, the Chiefs signed Samaje Perine, who may even be a better fit for third down and 2-minute drill roles. But, will he be ready to contribute in Week 1? Also, the Chiefs brought in Carson Steele – a bruising fullback who might enhance their goal-line offense.
On the receiver front, the Chiefs brought in Hollywood Brown in free agency, but he will miss week 1. Kelce and Rice return to threaten the underneath game and Xavier Worthy will be used as the deep threat. He likely doesn’t start but mixes in as they acclimate him to the NFL. Worthy is a 21-year-old rookie that the Chiefs moved up in the first round to draft. He is an ideal fit for what the Chiefs want to get back to – a more vertical passing attack.
Players to Watch
Isaiah Likely: Likely provided strong fantasy TE play after Mark Andrews got injured, but didn’t see the field enough with a healthy Andrews last year. There is some talk about the Ravens moving to more ’12’ personnel (one running back, 2 TEs) to get Likely on the field. Monitoring Likely’s usage may give us a hint as to what he could do moving forward. Can he see a 70% snap share or is he just a rare handcuff TE for fantasy owners?
Baltimore’s Offense: This is year two with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken whose tendency is to run a more open offense – much was promised last year with Odell Beckham Jr. and Flowers added to former first-round draft pick Bateman on the roster. But the Ravens rarely trailed in games forcing positive game scripts and a more run-heavy approach than planned.
But, what Monken learned is that Likely might need to be on the field more to get his best weapons deployed. However, the Chiefs’ secondary has some unproven faces. How will the Ravens choose to attack and if they do fall behind? Will we see a more up-tempo game and what Lamar can do with his arm in these situations?
Justice Hill: It’s hard to believe Hill could carve out a significant share of the offense behind Derrick Henry that he wasn’t able to do with Gus Edwards. But, if they find themselves in a negative game script, Hill looks like the guy they could turn to as a passing down back. We often saw Henry sitting on the bench in Tennessee when the game script turned against his power-running style.
Xavier Worthy: Worthy is steamed up draft boards, but what will his role be especially when Hollywood Brown returns? The Chiefs like to play Justin Watson a lot due to his blocking ability down field, but they don’t target him much. Rashee Rice started slow last year and Reid is notorious for working rookies in slowly. How will they manage Worthy’s snaps? Will Worthy flash with his elite speed?
Samaje Perine: Perine just joined the team after being cut by the Broncos. He was targeted in fantasy drafts as there are rumors of him stepping into the Jerrick McKinnon role. This could be overstated as Pacheco is a more developed player than when McKinnon played alongside him. Perine’s role in Week 1 could also be minimized as he learns the playbook and his teammates. But he potentially inherits a productive role in this offense so trying to read the tea leaves based on Week 1 usage will be important.
Carson Steele: With CEH on IR, Steele could find himself playing some snaps. Will it be limited to a short-yardage role? Getting goal-line opportunities for such a high-powered offense might put him on the fantasy radar. Especially in best ball formats. What kind of contingent value would he have if Pacheco were to miss games? When will Edwards-Helaire return or will he be out for the season? We’ve only seen Steele against second- and third-team defenses, will his power game translate against the Ravens starting defense? There is a lot to look at with this interesting prospect.
Thanks for reading our Friday Night Football Preview.
