Sit/Start Week 1: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, September 10th, at 1:00PM EST

Location: U.S Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Betting Odds: MN -6   O/U 45.5 Total via PFF.com

Network: CBS

Writer: Matt Prendergast (@amazingmattyp on X/Twitter)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Quarterback

Baker Mayfield (Sit, QB2)

Thematically, the Buccaneers have stayed true to their recent QB branding trend, moving from one TB (Tom Brady) to another TB (TerriBle). Sorry, that was horrible, but truly, as a starting Quarterback in today’s NFL, Baker Mayfield has proven to be a terrific commercial actor and product endorser. Outside of a SuperFlex situation, or an intense 20-plus member Guillotine league, there should be little to no situation where you would be flirting with the idea of running with Mr. Mayfield this opening week, particularly against a new-look Brian Flores Vikings defense that reports to be blitz-heavy and very much suited to the style of players Minnesota has on the roster. Jokes aside, Baker does bear watching these first couple weeks to see if he’ll have some value as a streamer or injury replacement down the line – he’s got the receiving corps to lift him up, and with a suspect defense that was depleted by defections this offseason, Tampa may be throwing a lot this year, but you’ve got a better QB on your roster.

Running Backs

Rachaad White (Start, RB2), Chase Edmonds (Sit)

Rachaad White‘s emergence as the RB to beat in TB last season served as a pleasant surprise for a Tampa squad that is in a deep rebuild process. His development should be greatly aided by the offseason additions of RB coach Skip Peete to address early fumbling concerns, and new OC Dane Canales who runs a wide zone scheme that plays to White’s skills and college successes. White is poised to make a great leap forward. While I have confidence the Flores-run Vikings D will show significant improvement over last year’s Ed ‘Sleepytime Tea’ Donatell scheme, there’s a LOT of yardage to make up there, and the Vikes have gotten younger, but not necessarily better (yet) at some of those key defensive positions. White should provide stability for this Bucs squad for week one.  Perennial Week 9 waiver-wire pickup/week 11 cut Chase Edmonds shouldn’t be considered a threat at carving out too many carries from White for the season, barring injury.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Mike Evans (Start, WR3), Chris Godwin (Start, WR2), Trey Palmer (Sit), Cade Otton (Sit, TE2) 

Mike Evans has a new QB, a new OC, a little groin issue, apparently a little contract issue, and is getting older; I don’t love any of these factors for the opening of the season, but thankfully for you, Mike Evans has never cared much for what I think. Evans has completed 8 seasons of one of the most remarkable examples of consistency from the receiver position I’ve seen: he’s never been under 1000 yards in any season. That said, I temper expectations for this first week based on all those components listed above – I think it will pay to play cautious with Tampa until we get a better breadth of how Baker responds to a fresh start. That said, Chris Godwin‘s strengths in the shorter game should pay better dividends in a new-scheme offense with a QB still getting comfortable, and that’s why I’ve got him ranked a little higher this week. Trey Palmer is definitively an ‘upside’ roster spot on deep benches this season – with limited college reps for most of his career, and his spot as WR3 ostensibly coming from Russell Gage’s injury, his looks will be limited and infrequent with Evans and Godwin playing. Cade Otton, whose name sounds like he’s the opening act at a Luke Bryan concert, had 42 receptions and 2 touchdowns last season playing with Tom Brady. He is no longer playing with Tom Brady. Rated as the 33rd TE by FantasyPros.com, you have better options.

Minnesota Vikings

Quarterbacks

Kirk Cousins (Start, QB1)

Let’s be crystal clear: I do not care for Kirk Cousins as a quarterback in the general sense of ‘sometimes a man just rubs you the wrong way’. It doesn’t help that sometimes one gets the feeling Minnesota kinda wishes they had somebody else too, but thankfully, even just a darting glance at the most basic statistics will show you that, in this opinion, I am an unmitigated moron.  Kirk is a QB1 without question. He has three consecutive seasons of over 4200 yards and 30 TDs (okay, one short last year), and his weapons cache has only gotten improved. A Week one matchup against a Tampa D that has lost some juice over the offseason (and finished last year 19th against WR2 and 3 in DVOA) will be a great starting block to launch the Vikings season. Couple these potential matchup exploits with the best receiver in the league challenging Jamel Dean all day, and you should expect a premier performance from Kirk in Week One.

Running Backs

Alexander Mattison (Start, RB2), Ty Chandler/Myles Gaskin (SIT)

I’m still not confident the Vikings front office thought this through. Alexander Mattison (wasn’t he one of the original signatures on the Constitution?) has shown flashes of Pretty Good over the past four seasons as the backup to Dalvin Cook. Nonetheless, he is being handed the bell cow gig while coming off his lowest production year in terms of carries and yardage and he saw his reception totals cut in half from his 2021 season. I’ve never seen Mattison show that natural big-play/game-breaker gene I prefer in a starting RB, and by and large, I don’t subscribe to a theory that posits an RB gets better as a backup for multiple years. That being said, you absolutely drafted him as your RB2, and you cannot get cute in week one. He has virtually no competition for carries, at least not unless Miles Gaskin can recapture some magic from three years ago in the next couple of weeks. The sheer volume alone will carry him to those RB2 numbers.

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

Justin Jefferson (Start, WR1), Jordan Addison (Start, Flex), K.J. Osborn (Sit, Flex), TJ Hockenson (Start, TE1)

Let’s not be stupid: If you could start an entire lineup of nothing but Justin Jefferson in each slot, you would click ‘Submit Roster’ so fast and hard that New Egg would automatically send you a new keyboard overnight. As is the case with all receivers, somebody is going to shut him down a couple of times this year, but Tampa Bay ain’t it. I like what we’ve seen with Jordan Addison so far, but as with all rookie receivers, temper expectations–especially in this situation where the Vikings don’t NEED him to be a world stomper out of the gate. Unless we see something develop that shows differently, Addison’s addition will lead to K.J. Osborn’s subtraction in consistent looks and opportunities.  I see them getting him a little more seasoning each week, and in an ideal situation, we may be looking at a legit WR2 by year’s end. Just let it breathe for now. Meanwhile, professional longhair TJ Hockenson just re-upped for all the tight end money; rest assured he’s schemed into the Vikings attack plans heavily, and barring any nagging injuries cropping up in the season – he’s been nursing a back this preseason – should be a set-and-forget option at the position all year.