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News to Know Before Kickoff: Quinshon Judkins, Christian McCaffrey, and More
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Paramount+, we deliver the news you need before kickoff, the biggest mismatches of the week, DraftKings and FanDuel DFS recommendations, and more!
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Paramount+:
It is go time, folks. We’ve enjoyed a two game appetizer, but now is time for the Week 1 main course...
12 games on the Main Slate. 7 hours of commercial free-ish Red Zone! A SNF capper featuring the Bills/Ravens.
What more could you want…other than some concrete news on Christian McCaffrey?
Speaking of which, here are four things you should know before setting your lineup…
1. CMC expected to go, but he’s not 100%. The fantasy community justifiably freaked out this week after CMC missed Friday’s practice with a calf injury, but he said he is feeling great and that “things get blown out of proportion.” He is expected to play today, but we won’t know for sure until 2:30pm ET. Be sure to check inactives then and also have a back-up plan from the late games ready just in case (Brian Robinson Jr., J.K. Dobbins, Nick Chubb, etc.).
2. Travis Hunter is going to play WR today. Adam Schefter reported what we’ve been hoping to hear all summer long: the plan is for Hunter to be an “every-down WR and situational corner” today vs. the Panthers. He’s still a rookie in his first career game (Malik Nabers went 7-66 in Week 1 last year, for example), so keep expectations in check, but he’s a solid WR3 in 12-team leagues. If you are on the fence, check out our start/sit tool (presented by our fantasy-loving partners at Xfinity).
3. JaMo got paid. As if we needed any other proof that the Lions fully expect Jameson Williams to take the leap to superstardom in 2025, they signed him to a 3-year, $83M extension last night with $67M guaranteed. Seems good? He’s an easy start today—even though the Lions have a bizarrely low team total (22.5).
4. The Browns signed Quinshon Judkins. He won’t play this week (and the league is still conducting its investigation), but Judkins needs to be rostered everywhere. Expect to see a large dose of Jerome Ford vs. the Bengals today with some Dylan Sampson sprinkled in. See exactly where we have them ranked here.
Alright, if you need me, I’ll be sweating my teams all day over at Fantasy HQ.
Good luck, everyone…
| THE MIKE’S HARD FANTASY SCOREBOARD WILL CHANGE YOUR SUNDAYS |
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Stream Lions vs. Packers Live on Paramount+
Stream Lions vs. Packers live on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on Paramount+! With the NFL on CBS, you can catch local and featured national games like this all season long.
Editors’ Picks
Football Sundays are so back! Rejoice. Time to find your favorite spot on the couch for as much uninterrupted football watching so you can celebrate—and tilt—at your fantasy teams. Make sure one of your screens is set to the Mike’s Hard Fantasy Scoreboard and watch YOUR teams’ points roll up. If you haven’t already, make sure to sync your leagues (it’s quick and easy). The Xfinity start/sit tool will help you with any last-minute decisions. Now go enjoy some last-minute advice. Happy football season!
Freedman’s Favorites
Matthew Freedman is hitting all skill positions and sharing his “favorite” picks every week. Here are all four:
Buy, Sell, Hold
Are you streaming at TE? Cooterdoodle has you covered, as well as handing out advice on players to say adios to as well as those you should be holding on to.
WR/CB Matchups
Could we have a prime matchup in IND-MIA? Chris Allen covers all the WR/CB matchups to target and avoid in Week 1.
Mismatch Report: Big Pressure in the Dawg Pound
This is no longer the Mismatch Manifesto. It was such a good section of a larger article last year, it needed its own space. Ian Hartitz has the weekly Mismatch Report, where he combs through all the Week 1 games and finds some of the biggest mismatches that can help fantasy managers setting their lineups.
A superstar QB is facing a ferocious pass rush. There are several running backs in smash spots. Sunday Night Football could be a classic opener. All this is here and more. Make sure to check out Ian’s informative—and entertaining—piece. ⤵️
DraftKings DFS Week 1: A Denver Stack Will Score Points a Mile High
A Year 2 quarterback (Bo Nix), who found his footing to finish his rookie year hot, and his top WR option (Courtland Sutton), with Sean Payton dialing up the plays? Sign us up. Geoff Ulrich identifies great stacks and some other great plays on DraftKings for Week 1.
This being the opening Sunday, there are great values all over the slate. Geoff has them for you to help you get the 2025 season off to a great start.⤵️
FanDuel DFS Week 1: Achane in a Smash Spot
If you’re a FanDuel player, Geoff Ulrich has you covered, too. The differences—salaries and scoring— in the formats calls for different players to target for slate-breaking wins. De’Von Achace is one of those players. Now given a clean bill of health, Achane is a great play this week. In fact, there’s a game stack in this article that is quite tasty.
DFS bargain hunters, this article has you covered, because who doesn’t like to see a low-priced player (or two) pop to zoom you up the scoreboard? Yup, this article has many recommendations to help you build optimal lineups. ⬇️
Around the Watercooler
It’s Week 1. You know what to do!
👀 Nothing like a Sunday morning Start/Sit session. Starting at 10 a.m. ET.
🚨 Week 1 Rankings: We have last looks, risers/fallers and you can even create rankings for your custom scoring.
🤔 Helping you out with these tough Start/Sit decisions.
👀 Dee-Fense! Or, DST! OK, it doesn’t hit the same. Anyway, here are Week 1 DST Streamers.
🚑 Will CMC play? The Week 1 Injury Report has contingency options.
🤪 Are you a sicko? These starts are for you.
🎤 Presenting the Sounds of Fantasy Football! Get your order in today.
🤭 Come to think of it, we meant to draft QJ and Javonte.
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