Fantasy Football Player Notes
Week 1 Rankings
4.
Bijan Robinson
RB - (vs . CAR)
Finally, the debut that so many of us have been waiting for. It will be fun to see what the best RB prospect to enter the league since Saquon Barkley can do in a run-heavy offense, operating behind one of the NFL's better run-blocking offensive lines. It's possible Falcons head coach Arthur Smith uses Bijan and Tyler Allgeier in something close to a 50/50 split in Week 1, eventually shifting more of the workload toward Bijan. But it's also possible that Bijan handles a big load right away. He's a multitalented back with run-catch versatility, so it's possible we'll see Bijan used as a weapon in the passing game. Bijan will face a middling Carolina run defense. But matchup be damned - you didn't spend an early-round draft pick on Bijan just to leave him on your bench. Let's ride!
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58.
Drake London
WR - (vs . CAR)
As a 21-year-old rookie, London had a 29.4% target share and was targeted on 32.4% of his pass routes. He averaged 2.07 yards per route run. It's possible the kid was just revving his engine and is really going to stomp the gas pedal in Year 2. Sure, London's target share spiked after Kyle Pitts got hurt last year. And, yes, the Falcons will be run-heavy. But, hey, there's really no one other than London, Pitts and possibly Bijan Robinson who's going to see a lot of targets in this offense. London is a weekly must-start in fantasy. That said, London's matchup against Carolina might mean a lot of face time with Panthers CB Jaycee Horn, a talented young cover man with the size (6-1, 205) to avoid being bullied by the 6-4, 213-pound London. Tread lightly with London in DFS (but don't rule him out of your lineups completely).
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90.
Tyler Allgeier
RB - (vs . CAR)
As run-heavy as the Falcons can be under head coach Arthur Smith, it's possible that Allgeier could have standalone value even with rookie Bijan Robinson taking over as Atlanta's lead back. Allgeier, a surprise 1,000-yard rusher last season as a rookie, could get 10-15 carries against the Panthers if the game script cooperates. But he could also yield to Bijan and get 4-6 carries. He's off the radar for fantasy this week in all but the largest of leagues.
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93.
Kyle Pitts
TE - (vs . CAR)
After a disappointing, injury-marred 2022 campaign, will Pitts live up to his vast fantasy potential in 2023? Two seasons ago, Pitts became the first rookie tight end to record a 1,000-yard season since Mike Ditka did it 60 years earlier. Pitts had only 28-356-2 in 10 games last year before a torn MCL ended his season. While he was healthy, he was plagued by an extraordinarily high percentage of uncatchable throws from Marcus Mariota. Pitts is a midrange TE1 with the potential to ascend to the top of the position. Don't leave him out of your lineup.
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112.
Darnell Mooney
WR - (vs . CAR)
At this time last season, Mooney was penciled as the WR1 in the Bears offense. And although he ranked 12th in air yards share (37%) and 15th in target share (27%) in his 11 healthy games played, it was not enough to vault him to fantasy production in an anemic offense. If anything the concentrated usage suggests Moore will be clearly favored over every other Bears receiver. Until we see Mooney manage to carve out targets alongside Moore, he needs to stay on fantasy benches. He has not topped 45 yards in his last three games versus the Packers defense.
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132.
Rondale Moore
WR - (vs . CAR)
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268.
KhaDarel Hodge
WR - (vs . CAR)
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292.
Scott Miller
WR - (vs . CAR)
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323.
Keith Smith
RB - (vs . CAR)
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336.
MyCole Pruitt
TE - (vs . CAR)
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350.
Charlie Woerner
TE - (vs . CAR)
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351.
Ray-Ray McCloud III
WR - (vs . CAR)
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370.
Parker Hesse
TE - (vs . CAR)
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457.
Robert Burns
RB - (vs . CAR)
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467.
Tucker Fisk
TE - (vs . CAR)
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