Fantasy Football – Five Burning Questions After Preseason Week 1

Week 1 of the NFL preseason is officially in the books! We saw everything from sensational debuts to devastating injuries! In the wake of all that happened over the weekend, fantasy football owners are left with many questions that still need to be answered. Thank you for reading Fantasy Football – Five Burning Questions After Preseason Week 1! Be sure to follow me on twitter @BenMcD_Sports for more fantasy insight!

#1. How high should Saquon Barkley be drafted?

What a start for the heralded rookie out of Penn State! Already a consensus top 10 pick in fantasy drafts, he ripped off a 39 yard gain on his first NFL carry and seemingly confirmed all of the hype. Now the question is, how high is too high to draft the Giants RB? According to ESPN, Barkley’s current ADP is 6.4, which puts him directly behind Antonio Brown and the four big names at RB (Gurley, Bell, Elliot, David Johnson). Does he have a case to be moved into that top-tier? Take a look at the rookie year stats turned in by the two most previous running backs to be taken in the top 5 of the NFL Draft.

2016 – Ezekiel Elliot – 322/1,651/15 & 32/363/1 – #2 RB in standard scoring

2017 – Leonard Fournette – 268/1,040/9 & 36/302/1 – #8 RB standard scoring despite only playing 13 games.

One thing is clear – NFL teams who invest a top 5 pick in a running back expect to see major contributions in year one. The thing is, as great of prospects as Zeke and Fournette were; many scouts actually rate Barkley even higher. He is the superior receiver and will reportedly be leaned on in the passing game as well as being the bell cow in the running game. If Barkley continues to impress in the preseason, I would be shocked if his ADP doesn’t creep up past Antonio Brown and into the top-tier of running backs.

#2. What is going on with Josh Gordon?

If you’ve already spent a pick on Gordon, you are probably waiting on pins and needles to see this guy back on the field. Although the team and Gordon himself have made statements to reassure everyone that he is fine, his absence seems stranger with each passing day. On a recent episode of Hard Knocks which aired August 7th, Coach Hue Jackson had this to say:

"“He will be back, there is no question. I think we’ll get him back. I’m not going to tell you for sure what day, because I don’t know that, but we will get him back. I think that is the most important part of it.”"

The team seems confident in the fact that Gordon will return. Trading Corey Coleman away doesn’t seem like a move the team would have made if they thought otherwise. However, until we see him back on the field, it’s hard to justify spending a high-mid round pick on the troubled wide receiver. His ADP currently pegs him as a 5th round pick ahead of guys like Alshon Jeffery, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Marvin Jones Jr.

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#3. Will Baker Mayfield force his way onto the field for week 1?

There had been occasions in the past when rookie QBs put up decent numbers, but never anything like what we saw from DeShaun Watson last season. In fact, had he started the year over Tom Savage and managed to stay healthy, it’s possible that he would have finished with the kind of numbers we’ve never seen from ANY quarterback. Coach Hue Jackson has been adamant that Tyrod Taylor is his starter, but if Mayfield continues to shine this preseason, Jackson might be forced to reconsider. It’s unlikely that given the chance to start, that Mayfield would have the same level of success as Watson, but if he’s the week 1 starter, he shouldn’t be ignored by fantasy football owners. It feels strange to say, but whichever quarterback lines up under center for the Browns in week 1 will have a slew of weapons at his disposal.

#4. Which Vikings Wide Receiver will be Kirk Cousins’ preferred target?

Round 1 goes to Stefon Diggs. During the first drive of the game, Cousins went 4-4/42/1. All Diggs did was catch 3 passes for 31 yards and a score. Meanwhile, Thielen didn’t receive a single target. We probably shouldn’t overreact based on the target rate of one preseason game, but the connection between Cousins and Diggs is obviously there. According to ESPN, Thielen’s ADP rests at 32.2 while Diggs is actually being drafted one spot after him at 33.2. This means that each fantasy draft, an owner usually has to make a decision about which Vikings WR to nab. It’s probable that both guys offer a good return on the 4th round investment, with one being slightly more valuable than the other. If you guess right, you could be getting a steal. As the preseason rolls on, this is a situation to be monitored closely.

#5. With Redskins RB Derrius Guice out for the season, who is the running back to own in Washington?

Before tearing his ACL in their opening preseason game, Guice was being drafted as a solid RB2. Many people, myself included, immediately rushed to speculate who Washington might add to their group of running backs in the aftermath of Guice’s injury. In response to that speculation, Jay Gruden made it clear that he is pleased with the guys that they already have on the roster. NFL.com shared a story with this quote:

"“We have guys here that can play. We drafted Derrius because he was the best player we thought at the time of the draft, and we thought he could really help our football team, not because we weren’t satisfied with the backs we have. We thought he’d be a heck of a player for us. With Rob (Kelley) and Samaje (Perine) and what Byron (Marshall) did the other night, the flashes he showed, and obviously Chris Thompson, Kapri Bibbs had a couple big hits. I think we’re pretty good at the running back spot.”"

Whew! That’s a lot of names! Chris Thompson will probably resume his role as the running back used most often in the passing game, but who wins the starting job is anyone’s guess at this point. I would pay attention to how the snaps are distributed in practice and in the preseason games to try to determine which guy will carry the most value heading into the regular season.

Thank you for reading, Fantasy Football – Five Burning Questions After Preseason Week 1! Follow me @BenMcD_Sports for more fantasy insight!