Each week, our staff here at QB List will be previewing all the fantasy-relevant things you should be on the lookout for in this week’s games. Today, we preview all the upcoming action in Week 1 of the Regular Season.
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Packers at Bears
Game Info
Kickoff: Thursday, September 5th at 8:20 pm EST
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Betting Odds: CHI -3, 46.5 Total via Oddsshark
Network: NBC
Sleeper Spotlight: Jake Kumerow
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
- Aaron Rodgers
So long DeShone Kizer. It seems I was right last week when I assumed the Kizer experiment was over in Green Bay. Let’s be honest though, who cares!?! The regular season is finally here and you couldn’t ask for a better Week 1 matchup. People are excited to see a healthy and rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers back on the field after the star quarterback sat out the entire preseason. There are plenty of uncertainties surrounding this Green Bay offense but I believe we will see a much more efficient Rodgers this year with Matt LaFleur’s playcalling. The new Packers head coach is just as excited to get out there as Rodgers. Chicago’s stout defense with prove a challenging initial test.
Running Backs
- Aaron Jones
- Jamaal Williams
- Dexter Williams
If I’m not mistaken, starting running back Aaron Jones did not play a single snap in this year’s preseason. That should be a good sign considering many of the starters didn’t suit up. After a few weeks of football, I think people will be kicking themselves for passing on Jones in fantasy drafts. It should be interesting to see just how much of the share of carries he ends up with. He’s still clearly the best back on this team right now, but how much will Jamaal Williams and Dexter Williams get involved with such an important early divisional game on the line? One of the two may get some passing down reps but I doubt either has enough work to become fantasy relevant overnight.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Davante Adams
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling
- Geronimo Allison
- Jake Kumerow
- Trevor Davis
- Darrius Shepherd
- Jimmy Graham
Packers fans should be excited to finally see the return of exotic wide receiver sets. Hell, Pack fans will be happy just to see some five-WR sets again. The question is who, among the talented Packers receivers, is used the most? Players like Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Geronimo Allison should be safe starts with solid floors but how often will we see Jake Kumerow, Trevor Davis, and Darrius Shepherd? One of the latter could break out and suddenly become a waiver wire target. Kumerow is a great playmaker with a nose for the end zone and Davis seems to already have some plays drawn specifically for him. Tight end Jimmy Graham has said he wants to prove he can still play the position at an elite level. He will try to prove he’s still got it against a Bears defense that was top 10 against tight ends last year.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
- Mitchell Trubisky
Bears head coach Matt Nagy also happens to be no fan of playing his starters during the preseason. There was no exception for his starting quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky, who didn’t see any preseason action. Fans are looking for Trubisky to take another step up this season. He was 15th among fantasy quarterbacks last year but many still think he has unrealized potential. I’ll be looking for how well he spreads the ball around against the Packers. In big games, Trubisky can get flustered and go back to relying on his slot receiver too much. He’s done this since his college days.
Running Backs
- Tarik Cohen
- David Montgomery
Okay, I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I know what this team is doing with their running backs. To be honest, I’m personally staying far away from this backfield this year because I just know whomever I pick will be the wrong guy. What I do know is that Matt Nagy loves to run the ball, or at least he claims to. Tarik Cohen was a top 20 back last year. Yeah, sure, maybe David Montgomery is a “better fit” for the Nagy system. In reality, nobody knows what this backfield will look like unless they’re coaching the Bears. I will say that an RBBC could severely limit any upside in this backfield.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Taylor Gabriel
- Anthony Miller
- Allen Robinson
Allen Robinson is coming off an injury-riddled season. It will be hard to trust him as anything more than a fringe WR2 this week. He should have some big games this year but will be inconsistent. I’m expecting Taylor Gabriel to have a big game. As I said earlier, Trubisky tends to target his slot wide receivers, especially in big games. Not to mention the Packers’ weakest area of pass protection is likely near the hash marks since they don’t have much inside linebacker talent. I think Anthony Miller is going to have himself a great season. Trubisky is beginning to trust him and many receivers take a big step up in their sophomore season. It seems the Packers’ secondary has improved during the offseason. It should be interesting to see how well these receivers perform.
–Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse)