Week 1 Start or Sit: QB & TE Rankings, Sleepers & Tough Calls (Ep. 2179)
25m 57s
The Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast delivers a detailed Week 1 quarterback and tight end ranking analysis, emphasizing matchup quality, offensive line health, and player upside. Joe Burrow leads the top 12 due to elite performance and favorable scheduling, while Jaden Daniels and Drake May face scrutiny for harsh matchups and offensive line concerns, though both are still considered starters due to their rushing ability. Malik Willis gains traction as a top-tier option against the Raiders, driven by a weak defense and a move to use running backs like Devon Achan strategically. Matthew Stafford is viewed with caution due to potential fatigue from a long flight and a lack of rushing volume, despite strong past performances against the 49ers. On the tight end side, Brock Bowers and Trey McBride lead the rankings, with Harold Fannin and Dallas Goddard rising due to high target rates and favorable matchups—especially in the Browns-Jaguars game where tight end volume is expected to surge. Mark Andrews is considered a startable option in Baltimore due to Lamar Jackson’s historical targeting of tight ends, though his performance may be inconsistent. The hosts stress that while rankings are stable, volatility exists due to early-season adjustments, and recommend using the Fantasy Pros app to track real-time updates and optimize lineups. The episode concludes with a call to action for fans to engage with the platform, leave reviews, and follow the podcast across social media. A brief commercial segment promotes Grainger for industrial supply needs, highlighting its inventory depth and reliability for operations teams.
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Quarterbacks and tight ends, we've got your ranks for week one right here.
I'm Chris Welsh.
Welcome to Fantasy Pros, the Fantasy Football Podcast.
I've got Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice to help me out.
We're going to help you out.
We're going to be figuring the top 12 quarterbacks,
maybe a couple pieces outside, as well as the tight ends.
Who are we starting in week one?
It's crunch time.
Your drafts are over.
Let's get to it.
And that is exactly what we're going to be doing here today.
If you guys would like to follow along with us, fantasypros.com slash rankings.
I've mentioned in all of the rank episodes,
a little bit more volatile in this week one,
once all of the experts out there just jump in with all of their week one ranks.
So there can be some slight differences, but these are the hardcore group.
Erickson, D-Bro, Fitzy, myself, we've got our ranks in.
So this should give you a really good baseline,
especially if you want to do that comparing against,
what there ends up being.
But fantasypros.com slash rankings,
you can see it for all your different formats.
But gentlemen, let's just jump right into it.
No time to waste here with the top 12 quarterbacks.
This is what the big board looks like this week with Joe Burrow getting the top spot
up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
An A-plus rating, the only quarterback with an A-plus start and sit rating.
Ironically, though, the four-star matchup there, but they love it.
Josh Allen coming in at number two.
Lamar Jackson at three.
Jalen Hurts at four.
Justin Herbert at three.
At five.
Dak at six.
Jaden Daniels at seven.
We've got May at eight.
Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Jackson Dart, and Jared Goff.
Now, we've got a couple names in here.
I actually want to jump to this for a second.
This is one I didn't originally have on the sheet,
but I know this is important for Erickson.
And Erickson, I'm going to jump to you first,
and Fitzy will get your take on it.
Erickson, you and I have been of the like of maybe being a little bit down
on Jaden Daniels this year.
He has got a pretty poor matchup.
Rating-wise, this is like a two-star.
Only Drake May has been given a worse rating.
He comes in at seven.
Erickson is seven too high for Jaden Daniels,
and is your fear of Daniels maybe in draft season enough
to not put him as a top-12 quarterback in week one?
It is too high because I have him currently at eight behind Drake May,
whereas the ECR has Drake May behind Jaden Daniels.
So still a top-12 quarterback for me because I need to acknowledge that he can rush his way.
He can rush his way to a lot of fantasy production,
and that's how I constantly get burned.
And that'll probably come up again in this quarterback conversation is
that's how you get cooked in the rankings.
When you rank a rushing quarterback too low and they run,
you get annihilated.
So trying to capture that,
but also the concerns about them playing on the road against the Eagles.
Like there are a lot of really talented players,
such a deep defensive line,
elite cornerbacks across the board that can neutralize guys like Terry McLaurin,
Stephon Diggs.
It'll be his first game with Jaden Daniels.
And I'm concerned about that offensive line holding up.
So yeah,
Daniels is a shaky start for me.
You got to play him because he's a stud.
He's Superman,
but not really excited about it.
Pitsy,
do you feel any different about Jaden Daniels?
Just like you feel because that is still a starter.
Even if you rank him at eight,
he's still a starter,
but that lacked confidence.
Do you maybe lack a little bit or bring a little bit more confidence to even if,
you know,
the Eagles are all over,
he's going to be even running for his life.
That might equate to like some really heavy rushing stats.
Or do you have a little bit more,
or concern about Daniels in this week?
One matchup.
I do have concern.
And this is blind faith in the rushing ability.
Cause I do not feel good about a quarterback playing behind an offensive
line.
That was termed inoperable in a recent joint practice between the
commanders and the Ravens.
Inoperable is not the word you want to hear with the offensive line,
protecting your fantasy quarterback.
No.
So the only reason I bring this up is I think it's interesting because the
only quarterback from a draft perspective that jumped like really jumped.
I'm not going to even use Herbert.
Cause I got Herbert higher,
but it's Dak Prescott.
Dak is the only one that really jumped in over Daniels.
Do you think people should be giving more of a,
of a concerted look at guys like Caleb Williams that are going up against
Carolina or Jackson dart?
Who's got Dallas?
Like where do you Fitzy have?
I don't think,
I don't know if I heard you say it,
where do you have Daniels?
And should we be giving a little bit more consideration of some of those
quarterbacks with,
or the great matchups or is this regardless of offensive line and bad
matchup?
It just talent is too much to really put in a Jackson dart over.
I've got to make QB six and I've got to have a rethink on this because
yeah,
right now,
I mean,
if I did have,
I mean,
I'd never have two quarterbacks as good,
but like if I had Jaden Daniels and Dak,
I'd probably feel a lot more comfortable with back in week one.
All right.
Another quarterback that has one of these concerns,
at least from a matchup perspective,
it is the worst matchup grade on the top 12.
And it's Drake May.
Against the Seattle Seahawks.
His ECR is eight and you guys are on opposite ends here.
So Erickson,
you are on the positive take here.
You are above ECR for Drake May.
So let's focus on that here for a second,
regardless of really bad graded matchup.
Drake May's relatively special,
but Seahawks,
you don't love to see you've got him at six.
So talk to us about Drake May.
Yeah.
So if he wasn't facing the Seahawks,
he had a neutral matchup.
He would be a top three quarterback,
I think probably by consensus.
So I think that,
ranking him down at even six is capturing.
Yeah.
He has a tough matchup on the road.
We saw it last year with the Superbowl.
It was obviously bad.
His final stat line,
295 yards,
two touchdowns,
two picks.
He also rushed six times for 43 yards.
It's really hard to take that and copy and paste it to this year
because that game was so weirdly scripted in terms of Seahawks
were out to a big lead.
Drake May was catching points and they were throwing it all over
the place.
He was also injured playing through a shoulder injury.
The offensive line was,
he was also injured while Campbell was not healthy.
So I'm a little bit more optimistic about him in this spot
than it was in the Superbowl where there's no more Stefan digs.
There's no Keishon booty,
but in their places,
they've upgraded to AJ Brown and Romeo Dobbs.
So I think that matters.
I think it matters that the offensive line is healthy and the fact
that they could have another negative game script as underdogs on the
road.
I think that means more passing attempts for Drake May.
So yes,
that could invite more interceptions fumbles potentially,
but I think he's going to be chucking the ball.
Over 35 times if they can't run the football against Seattle.
So I think the volume is going to be there for Drake May.
And he can also make plays with his legs.
So I think he's still an elite player and I'm not as scared off by
the matchup.
I think I am considering the matchup by moving him down to six.
Cause if not,
he would be probably two or three for me.
Oh,
Fitzy Fitz comes in and drops a 12 bomb on us.
Not even a top 10 quarterback this week for Drake May.
So he does.
I mean,
obviously I think we know where the concerns are,
but let's get some details on what pushed him down to 12.
And Erickson knows I love Drake May.
I mean,
we,
this is a mutual admiration for us with the Patriots quarterback,
even though it's Erickson's team.
The,
the Seattle defense is just so,
so good.
And the 12s are going to be in full throats for this game.
I,
maybe it takes some time for May to sync up and build chemistry with
new wide receivers,
AJ Brown and Romeo Dobbs.
So I just,
it's kind of a tough spot for me.
And I,
I,
I feel if you have him,
you're starting him,
but I just,
I'm not expecting a,
one of his better games of the 2026 season in week one.
But you like,
do you like Daniels over May still?
Cause that's what he has to.
I think I do.
I mean,
you said you're starting him,
but if you're in a 10 team league,
you're telling people that you're not starting him.
Yeah.
And that's,
I mean,
that's tough.
The Philly defense is good,
but I think the Seattle defense is better.
Yeah.
Who's the,
who are the two quarterbacks you have in front of Drake May?
Just curious.
My two quarterbacks.
Yes.
Immediately ahead of him,
Jared Goff,
Matthew Stafford.
Okay.
All right.
We're going to talk about,
I think we might talk about one of those.
Now I know why when I brought up Jackson dart,
I realized why you didn't jump to it or nobody.
Neither one of you guys jumped to the defense of,
Hey,
it's a good matchup because you guys are both lower on Jackson dart.
He comes in at 11 on this list,
but you do not have him as starting,
a starting quarterback in the top 12.
So Erickson,
why don't you jump in with it?
You have got him at 13 fits.
He's got him at 14.
So you guys are kind of,
you know,
you're kind of,
you're kind of,
you're kind of lockstep.
Talk to us about Jackson dart.
This is where I think I might be wrong,
where I have him ranked,
because I think we did this last year where at least speaking personally,
I felt like I was lower on dart every single week.
And he continued to rub it in my face every single week,
despite him playing on the road at the Eagles on the road against the Denver
Broncos.
And he would just have these monster games because of the rushing that he was
offering.
So we talked about the Dallas defense and their secondary.
I think that's probably their biggest weakness at their cornerback.
When we were talking about Malik neighbors who were still kind of lukewarm as
a pick still a 75% Malik neighbors is a boost for Jackson dart in this
Giants passing attack.
The Giants surprisingly have like the 14th highest implied team total,
which is pretty strong.
They are playing at home,
which I think does also work in their favor against a high power Dallas
offense.
So I think I have to probably move him up.
You just look at last year.
So his rookie season,
he was third and fantasy points per drop back,
which tied with Drake may over 20,
Fantasy points per game, 40 and a half rushing yards per game.
So I think I have to just manually move him up
because he has way too much upside as a rusher.
I don't think he's going to stop running,
and the Dallas defense does have some holes in that secondary still.
Fitzy, you didn't seem compelled when I brought Jackson Dart
to make any case for him,
so I'm going to guess you're not as compelled as Erickson to make a move.
Yeah, I mean, I just—
If Malik Nabors plays, which seems like a pretty big if at this point,
he's probably not playing anything close to a full complement of snaps.
So I think the Dallas defense should be better
under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Yeah, I'm just—
I'm not that enthusiastic about darts generally or for Week 1.
All right, well, we can get some enthusiasm out of Fitzy
because here are two quarterbacks that he is higher than Erickson on.
As mentioned, Matthew Stafford comes in as ECR 13,
so he does not—
He does not make this list.
Erickson's got him lower at 16, but Fitzy, you've got him at 11.
And then one of the most talked about on this channel, quarterbacks,
is Malik Willis, who comes in at ECR 19.
You both are higher, but Fitzy takes the cake at 13.
Erickson, you're at 18.
Fitz, let's get the quick positive take on both of these quarterbacks,
and then Erickson can have any retorts that he wants
on potential negatives or just being lower.
But Stafford going up against the 49ers, you have as a QB 1,
and then Malik Willis is almost there.
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Yeah, Stafford played the 49ers twice last year.
In week five, he lit them up for 389 yards,
three touchdowns, no interceptions.
Sorry to bring this up, Wallace.
I know, he just destroyed.
He's Ezekiel Elliott on them.
Yeah, and then week 10,
380 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions.
49ers pass defense gave up the 10th most passing yardage
and 11th most touchdown passes to quarterbacks last year.
Their pass rush was completely anemic.
Part of that was injury-related.
Maybe things get a little better with Nick Bosa back,
or at least I think he's expected back for week one.
But Bosa's getting a little older.
He turns 29 next month.
I just don't think this is a matchup to dread at all.
I think Stafford picks up.
He left off last season.
And then with Malik Willis,
he's a threat to run for 100 yards in any given game.
And a matchup with the Raiders is not one to fear.
I love Malik Willis this week.
Oh, keep me.
Good luck keeping us off Malik Willis in the prop show
when me and Erickson get it over on Betting Pros.
Erickson, you're not as high as Fitzy on these.
And I want to say you're kind of anti-Stafford.
I think we've talked about this.
I think you're worried about the trip, the Australia run.
But you are.
A little bit more positive on Malik Willis on the ECR,
just not where Fitzy is.
Any positive, negative takes?
Negative on Stafford?
Anything you want to add on Willis?
I don't have anything else to retort for the Matthew Stafford analysis
because, again, I look back at those names and in my notes,
he torched this defense twice last year.
So this is kind of like a scary fade for me with Matthew Stafford.
The Rams have the fifth highest applied team total.
So I'm just kind of betting that, hey, he's not a mobile quarterback.
So we're not adding any rushing.
Maybe this game isn't as high scoring as the total would suggest.
I've talked about that when we were talking about Kyron Williams on the running back show.
I'm kind of banking on this game's in Australia.
They're playing at 1030 in the morning.
He's coming off a long flight.
Maybe his back's a little bit sore.
That's how I'm going to bet against Matthew Stafford.
So I'm willing to be wrong here and bend the knee to Pat Fitzmorris for Matthew Stafford
having a monster game.
But I'm just looking at the optics, just not as high on this particular matchup.
And it's because I just like a lot of these other quarterbacks, including Malik Willis.
I want to buy more into this rushing.
So I actually move Willis up to quarterback 15.
And I love that Fitz has him as QB 13.
I want to move him even higher.
I look at the Raiders defense and I agree with Fitzy that this is not a defense that
I am shaking in my boots about.
I'm really scared.
Rob Leonard is the new defensive coordinator.
He's been the D-line coach for the Raiders since 2023.
He's an unproven guy.
You have a rookie head coach calling his first game on the Raiders side for Clint Kubiak.
I know that the Dolphins also have Jeff.
It's going to be his first game as well.
I just don't think this is a scenario where, oh, yeah, the Raiders are just such a good
team and they're going to destroy the Miami Dolphins.
I don't think that their rosters are.
Yes, the Raiders have a better roster, but I don't think it's like so unmatched where
the Dolphins can't keep this like close.
So to me, I get vibes of maybe this could be like a Justin Fields game from week one
last year where the Dolphins unveil like this all new type of offense with Malik Willis
using his legs with Devon Achan.
One of the things that I noticed, too, when I was reading up on Rob Leonard,
so promoted the defensive coordinator, he's installing a system that was modeled by Mike
McDonald from Seattle's defense.
What was Seattle awful at?
One of the worst things because they gave up a lot of this production running back targets.
So I think that Achan could have a monster game alongside Malik Willis.
Those guys could be running up and down the field at Allegiant Stadium and the Raiders
would be like, why don't we just put Fernanda Mendoza in the game?
Come on, get Kirk Cousins out of there.
So I like being high on Malik Willis this week.
You're supposed to say Chris Bell in there, too.
But yes, I'm going to buy what you're going to do.
All right.
They're your quarterbacks.
Couple quarterbacks outside the top 12.
You can look at if you're looking to make some adjustments.
Let's go look at tight ends now and let's pull up the big board here.
Top 12 tight ends on ECR half PPR.
Coming in at number one is Brock Bowers going up against Miami.
Trey McBride at two.
Loveland at three.
Tyler Warren at four.
No surprises here.
Coming in five is Kyle Pitts.
We've got Tucker Kraft getting to the top six spot, even though I know some people are a little bit.
Concerned about him.
Sam Laporta, Harold Fanon, Dallas Goddard, Travis Kelsey, Jawan Johnson and Isaiah likely rounding out the rest of it.
Some interesting names in there.
Again, like Tucker.
I think the big question we've had is, like, do you just trust it?
I think we all trust like Tucker Kraft's touchdown.
Equity is great.
Erickson, you had a little bit of concern on extra point.
Is he still a top like eight tight end for you this week?
Because you wanted to do Jawan Johnson over him.
I just love Jawan Johnson this week.
I have no reservations about what he could do in that game.
There's no.
Concern about snap count.
There's no concern about target share.
All I know is that Jawan Johnson is going to eat in week one.
Whereas Tucker Kraft, we don't know how many snaps he's going to play.
We're hoping that he can be efficient as he was last year before his injury.
And he has way more competition for targets.
I mean, he's got Watson and golden and read.
So I think that craft, yeah, is always the more higher upside play when it comes to touchdowns.
But I mean, who has a higher applied team total this week, the green Bay Packers or the new Orleans saints.
It's probably pretty close.
So I actually prefer Jawan Johnson, especially in like a full PPR, where if he's racking up underneath receptions,
where Tucker Kraft does most of his damage after the catch with big yardage numbers.
Where do you have Jawan ranked Erickson?
Nine.
And then Tucker Kraft is 10.
Yeah.
I want to ask you that craft or Jawan Johnson for you, Fitzy.
So I've, I've got craft up at six and I've got Jawan Johnson at 10.
I just, I'm not sure I buy the snap limitation thing for craft.
Uh, another tight end, uh, kind of interesting is Harold Fannin.
You guys have got some differences, but you're both higher than ECR.
Uh, I'm, I have a general, like lower sense of it.
Just adding in so many pass catchers, Jawan, uh, Deshaun Watson.
But Harold Fannin comes in as ECR eight going up into get Jaguars.
You guys both have them higher fits.
You got them at five.
So talk to us about Fannin at five here.
The Jaguars gave up the sixth most receptions and 10th most receiving yards to tight ends last year.
And I just, I think Fannin is really good.
And I do worry about the quarterback.
I'd rather it be Shadur, who we saw could feed Fannin effectively.
But even with Watson, I think Watson is going to be able to look like he's going to get Fannin the ball and some easy completions, some short area stuff.
And Fannin, this guy is just I have so much respect for him.
He led FBS big school football in receptions and receiving yards his final season at Bowling Green in 2024.
Like over 1,500 yards, over 100 catches.
Comes to the Browns and has 72 catches for 731 yards and six TDs as a rookie.
Leads the Browns in all receiving categories.
Like this guy is such an unheralded star.
Unheralded.
See what I did there?
Yeah, man.
I just even with my reservations about the quarterback, like I think Deshaun Watson could still get Fannin to a good game in week.
One and I might be overblowing a little bit.
It's just I don't know conception looks like a player that they're going to move around and try to get the ball in some of those short yardage.
Yeah, I think they're going to just like scheme up to get the ball in his hands.
And they really didn't have like playmakers last year and they have added in more playmakers.
So you got Samson, you got Judkins, you had Fannin, but now you're bringing in Boston, you're bringing in conception.
They're going to figure some stupid thing out with Jerry Judy.
They got Isaiah Bond, who, you know, they actually have some weapons, the denominator of all of that.
And then Deshaun Watson just does makes me feel a little bit.
A squeamish, especially when thinking of him over craft and over Jawan Johnson.
But Erickson, you've got him at seven.
So you're just like one spot on ECR.
Now I'm trying to remember, do you have craft and Jawan Johnson over him or is it just Jawan Johnson?
I have Fannin over craft.
I just think that Fannin is a better bet for just sheer volume.
I feel very confident that he's going to see eight, nine, ten targets.
Cleveland Browns.
They're going to be facing negative game script.
They're catching seven and a half points on the road against the Jaguars.
Jaguars, you can't run on.
So I think the Browns are going to be feeding Quinn Sean Judkins to a brick wall, and that's going to go nowhere in the second half.
They're just going to be throwing the ball with Deshaun Watson to guys like Harold Fannin and Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston.
So I think that there's going to be plenty of volume for Fannin.
Fitz mentioned that the Jags were a bottom ten defense versus tight ends last season, and that was with Devin Lloyd, one of their main linebackers.
He's not on the team anymore.
So I think that this is a good matchup for Harold Fannin, especially when the Jaguars have retained most of the same personnel.
It's the same scheme.
So I do think that there is an actual you can actually use last year's tight end stats projecting this team a little bit forward.
So I'm just confident about the volume for Fannin.
Dallas Goddard.
That's definitely a name that kind of pops up.
I think as people are going to look on ECR as a guy that wasn't going inside like the top 12.
He's in the top ten here.
He's at nine.
You guys are both higher Erickson.
This is your spot.
This is your spot.
This is your spot where Fitzy's got Fannin at five.
You've got Goddard at five.
And obviously Goddard, you know, historically can kind of eat without A.J.
Brown, but the offense is a little bit different.
So you've got him at five.
So you're kind of an all in on Goddard this week.
Either Dallas Goddard or Devontae Smith is going to smash because both guys have extremely high ceilings.
What we've seen in the past without A.J.
Brown in the lineup per sharp football stats.
Dallas Goddard owns a 26 percent target rate per outrun with A.J.
Brown off the field.
That would have ranked first among all.
All tight ends last season over the last two seasons.
He's over 12 fantasy points per game and half PPR without A.J.
Brown in the lineup.
Mekhi Lemon.
We're expecting kind of slow out of the gates because of all the time that he has missed.
Notabene Wicks.
Yes, he is fun.
But I think that Jalen Hurts has established rapport with Dallas Goddard in this new offense.
I think that's his safety blanket.
It's a security blanket.
So I think he's going to go towards Dallas Goddard a lot, especially when it's the Washington
Commanders.
Just a terrible defense overall.
I know they tried to improve things.
But Sonny Stiles is a rookie.
He's fun.
I think Dallas Goddard is going to see touchdown equity potential, a lot of volume.
So I think he should be a top five tight end.
Fitz, you kind of co-sign.
You're at ECR.
Anything you want to add in any excitement on Goddard?
Do you think this is just like a very proper place?
Again, putting, I mean, Jawan Johnson, I guess, would be the one under because you said you
had him at 10.
Kelsey's back there.
Isaiah Likely going against Dallas.
Like all those guys belong below Dallas Goddard, too.
Yes.
And I think.
I'm a little worried that Goddard averaged a career low nine point nine yards per catch
last season, only seven point two yards per target, which is more than a full yard below
his career average.
And the 11 touchdowns, I think six of them came on shovel passes inside the five yard
line.
And that seems like it was maybe a unique page from the Kevin Petillo playbook.
Not something we can really count on Sean Mannion continuing to do dialing up those
those shovel passes from short range.
But.
Yeah, I just.
Without A.J.
Brown, it stands to reason that Dallas Goddard might be a bigger part of the offense, at
least early in the season until Makai Lemon shows what he can do.
Final tight end to talk about did not make the top 12.
This is interesting because Fitz, you have made him a top 12 guy.
He's number 12 on your list.
So that's a starting tight end.
And I'm actually surprised it's not with Erickson.
But this is Mark Andrews.
So, Fitzy, give us the case why Mark Andrews is a startable top 12 tight end this week.
Although we don't know exactly what the Ravens offense is going to look like with Declan
Doyle as the new offensive coordinator, Lamar Jackson has always heavily targeted his tight
ends in Lamar's seven seasons as a starter.
Ravens tight ends have ranked first, fifth, first, first, tenth, fourth and fourth in
percentage of team targets.
And Isaiah likely is gone.
So it stands to reason that a huge percentage of the tight end targets for Baltimore are
going to go to Mark Andrews.
And it's just a question of whether or not he's washed, because there were signs of
him being washed last season.
And the reports from training camp have not been very encouraging.
Erickson, you have been pretty glowingly talking about like Zay Flowers.
I'm going to guess that has probably something to do with it.
But you're you're thinking you have him at 16, so not even a top 15 tight end.
So any thoughts you want to end us with on Mark Andrews?
Touchdown or bust.
Very similar to what the bets were last year with him.
I talked about this with Zay Flowers that Lamar Jackson has these nuclear games in week
one.
So Mark Andrews, he could be washed and still catch two touchdowns.
So I want to acknowledge that that is very much in his range of outcomes.
If you drafted him, I would want to start him earlier in the season before things start
to continue to decline.
I don't have him anywhere.
He was one of my biggest fades in redraft because I am on the belief that he has way
past his prime.
But acknowledging in week one against some younger linebackers for the Colts, CJ Allen
specifically, you know.
Show off that veteran prowess, especially in the red zone.
It would not surprise me if he scores.
Well, any questions you guys have?
Obviously, we're here on the shows and the live streams and podcasts and discord.
But make sure you guys have locked in on the fantasy pros app and sync your leagues, even
if the drafts are over.
Obviously, the drafts are over, I guess, at this point, since we're focusing on week
one.
But with the drafts over, because you can get all the intel on what waivers, what trades
to make, all the moves that you're looking to do and get set for optimized lineups.
We got you covered over on fantasy pros.
So you can go to the website.
You can download the app.
Make sure you do that.
Get prepped for the week.
We're going to do the best job we possibly can with tons of episodes and answering all
your questions.
But that is the greatest way to take it with you at all times.
Go over to fantasy pros.
Get locked in today.
That is going to do it.
Quarterback and tight end ranks are in the books.
Week one ranks are in the books.
Fantasy pros dot com slash rankings.
If you want to peruse and see what they look like, even up to the minute with Wednesday
and Thursday and the weekend games, that's going to do it for us, though.
For Andrew Erickson, Pat Fitzmaurice.
I'm Chris Welsh.
Good luck in week one.
And we will talk to you next time right here on fantasy pros.
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Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The podcast ranks top quarterbacks for Week 1, with Joe Burrow leading due to an A-plus start and favorable matchup, followed by Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts.
Jaden Daniels and Drake May face significant concerns due to poor matchups and offensive line vulnerabilities, though both are still considered viable starters with volume and rushing upside.
Malik Willis and Matthew Stafford receive strong evaluations
Summary:
The Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast delivers a detailed Week 1 quarterback and tight end ranking analysis, emphasizing matchup quality, offensive line health, and player upside. Joe Burrow leads the top 12 due to elite performance and favorable scheduling, while Jaden Daniels and Drake May face scrutiny for harsh matchups and offensive line concerns, though both are still considered starters due to their rushing ability. Malik Willis gains traction as a top-tier option against the Raiders, driven by a weak defense and a move to use running backs like Devon Achan strategically.
Matthew Stafford is viewed with caution due to potential fatigue from a long flight and a lack of rushing volume, despite strong past performances against the 49ers. On the tight end side, Brock Bowers and Trey McBride lead the rankings, with Harold Fannin and Dallas Goddard rising due to high target rates and favorable matchups—especially in the Browns-Jaguars game where tight end volume is expected to surge. Mark Andrews is considered a startable option in Baltimore due to Lamar Jackson’s historical targeting of tight ends, though his performance may be inconsistent.
The hosts stress that while rankings are stable, volatility exists due to early-season adjustments, and recommend using the Fantasy Pros app to track real-time updates and optimize lineups. The episode concludes with a call to action for fans to engage with the platform, leave reviews, and follow the podcast across social media. A brief commercial segment promotes Grainger for industrial supply needs, highlighting its inventory depth and reliability for operations teams.
FAQs
Joe Burrow is ranked No. 1, followed by Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Jaden Daniels, Drake May, Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Jackson Dart, and Jared Goff.
Daniels faces a tough matchup against the Eagles with a weak offensive line and a strong defense. His rushing ability is a concern, and concerns about the offensive line's performance could limit his production.
Yes, despite the tough matchup, Drake May is viewed as a strong option due to improved offensive line health and a healthier roster. The Seahawks' defense is expected to be less aggressive, allowing more passing attempts.
Malik Willis is seen as a threat to run for 100 yards, and the Raiders' defense is vulnerable due to a new defensive coordinator and a lack of proven pass rush. The offense is expected to use his legs effectively.
The Jaguars' defense gave up the most receptions and yards to tight ends last year, and Fannin has proven receiving ability at the FBS level. The Browns are expected to use him heavily in a negative game script.
Goddard has a high target rate when A.J. Brown is inactive and has shown consistent production. He is expected to see volume and touchdown opportunities against a weak Washington Commanders defense.
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