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NFL Week 1 MNF Fantasy POV: Start Barkley and Henry, sit all quarterbacks

By Darwin (Deni) Martin

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants in action against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on December 15, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins 36-20. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants in action against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on December 15, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins 36-20. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Monday Night Football is here, and this is how you should play it in Fantasy POV. 

You may still be experiencing a weekend high from all the football televised this weekend, but fear not there are two Monday Night Football games to play and they feature two of the NFL’s best running backs, Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants and Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans.

The question is how should you approach this in fantasy?

This season positional talent on fantasy football teams will be categorized as:

  • Surefire Starters
  • Riding the Bench
  • Underrated
  • Overrated
  • MNF Sleeper(s)

Surefire Starters

  • Saquon Barkley faces a “middle of the pack” rush defense in the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The GIants’ best option is to run first and pass only when they have to against Pittsburgh.  If the GIants offensive line can open some decent-sized holes, Barkley could have a productive Monday
  • Derrick Henry was the offensive MVP for the TItans last year and he’ll have to be just as productive in the MNF game against Denver.   Tennessee should build on last year’s successful strategy of run first and pass only when necessary.

Riding the Bench

  • All of the quarterbacks should ‘ride the pine” this Monday night.  The best of the bunch is probably Ben Roethlisberger and he’s returning to pay for the first time since September 15, 2019.  QB Daniel Jones has gotten plenty of media hype, but he’s facing  2019’s best defense in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Underrated

  • Pittsburgh Steelers defense and special teams were No. 169 in one of ESPN’s top 250 polls, but fantasy football owners weren’t fooled.   A cross-section of 8-team fantasy leagues drafted the Pittsburgh defense as high as No. 53 (7th round) with the best 12-team evaluation as No. 94 (8th round).
  • Evan Engram, New York Giants TE, is the best pass catcher in a diverse group of GIant receivers.  He should be quarterback Daniel Jones’ favorite “check-down” receiver.

Overrated

  • Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 wide receiver, is still shaking off a foot injury that kept him out of practice until Friday.  It’s hard to imagine Roethlisberger-to-Johnson being an effective combination against the Giants.

MNF Sleeper(s)

  • Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers WR, is the leader of Pittsburgh’s young receiving corps.  He was consistently picked in the 3rd or 4th round in fantasy football drafts.
  • A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans WR, is quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s favorite target.  Brown fell slightly behind Smith-Schuster in draft value, but the Titans will need his help to beat Denver on Monday night.

Kickoff is at 7:10 p.m. on Monday night for the New York Giants-Pittsburgh Steelers game being played in MetLife Stadium.  The Tennessee-Denver game begins at 10:20 p.m. at Empower Field.  Both games will be broadcast by ESPN.

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