by Brooksie
It is a new year, so the saying goes, you never know. This is not a remarkable saying, but it is true, kind of. Most people who you are going to start, you should probably start every week, unless you are in either a league with like 8 people or those who are nothing but hometown homers. So, let us assume your team is not stacked, and you do not have both Josh Allen and Justin Herbert on your team. If you have a top 8 quarterback, you should start them every week; you shouldn’t platoon your QBs. (That is an article for another time.) With this in mind, for each of the positions, I am going to assume, if you have a stud, you are going to start them, regardless of their matchup. So, for my start notations, these are the players, if you are unsure or unconfident about, or trying to decide between, then you should go ahead and start them without fear, well, at least without a gross amount of fear. So, here we go.
Quarterbacks:
Let me start with Jalen Hurts. Since he doesn’t get many passing yards, it is hard for me to give him stud status, but with the addition of A. J. Brown this could change. If he gets the passing yards along with his rushing yards and his rushing touchdowns, look out for this guy.
Derek Carr: He still has Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller and now you add Davante Adams to the mix. This could be Carr’s best year statistically. And they are playing the Chargers in Week one. This one has some serious shoot-out potential.
Kirk Cousins: New coach with a re-vamped passing offense. I am buying.
Running Backs:
Dameon Pierce: All words have been nothing but wonderful on this rookie during training camp. If you have the roster to wait and see, do it. But if you do not, don’t be afraid, go with the rook.
Travis Etienne: James Robinson is coming off injury too, and he is worse for wear than Etienne. So, until Robinson is 100, this is Etienne’s time to shine and prove himself. If you are starting Etienne, now is the time.
Antonio Gibson: Story Line – Established starter loses his job to a rookie. Rookie has a tragic accident and is out an extended period of time. Starter gets his job back due to an unfortunate situation. Starter proves he is still valuable. This is what is supposed to happen, right?
Wide Receivers:
Michael Thomas: He is supposed to be fine. New Orleans has a lot of weapons so not much double-teaming of him. Winston has a gun. Worth the risk starting him in week 1.
Robert Woods: Another one coming off a major injury. In Wood’s case, he is by far the main receiving weapon on his team. He will be the man due to sheer volume.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: Just like Woods, he will be the man on his team. While he also has an average quarterback throwing him the ball, he proved last year that volume is his friend.
Tight Ends:
Cole Kmet: I wouldn’t trust him as an elite yardage tight end, but 30-40 yards a game with a touchdown could be expected and acceptable. Plus, no more Jimmy Graham in Chicago, so his output does have the potential to extend even more.
Dalton Schultz: He has several things going for him, especially in week one. Dak is selfish and likes his passing stats. James Washington is hurt. No more Cooper. This leaves Schultz and Lamb. It is not unreasonable to expect 75 plus yards and a score from him.
Pat Freiermuth: Who is the best friend to a quarterback who is either a rookie or just average? The tight end that is who. It doesn’t hurt that he is 6’5” as well. He will have plenty of red zone targets this year.
Defense:
Let me start here with the eagles. This team has the potential to be a top 3 defense by the end of the year. And they have the Lions the first week.
Then, there is the ravens. There is always the ravens. They were a little down last year, but this team does not re-build; it re-loads. And they have the Jets the first week.
Finally, we have the Titans. This is one of those good, not great defenses, but this one is all about matchups. Until the Giants prove they are worth anything of note, take whoever is playing against them each week.