Friday Night Football Preview
Friday Night Football Preview The Packers and the Eagles will travel to Brazil to open their NFL seasons. This will be a new environment for these teams which always adds a variable NFL teams sometimes underestimate its impact. Which team will be ready to play in the first NFL game in the new continent? Our Friday Night Football Preview breaks down all the fantasy football angles. Additionally, we’ve included a bonus look at Thursday’s Ravens vs. Chiefs contest. Here is FullTime Fantasy‘s first-ever look at a Friday Night Football Preview. What’s New on the Teams Green Bay: Jordan Love emerged down the stretch last year and got paid handsomely for the flashes he showed in limited game action. He’s not a new player, but clearly, he’s thought of differently going into this season than last. Also, the Packers added Josh Jacobs as their new front-line running back after Aaron Jones departed for the Vikings. The Packers seem to have an embarrassment of riches at receiver. However, it’s unclear if they have a dominant WR1 on this team. Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks all look like intriguing values in drafts. Additionally, Bo Melton and Grant DuBois have looked interesting as young receivers but their paths to consistent snaps are blocked. Also, two solid tight ends, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, proved they could play last year. The amount of targets Love will have to work with could make many of the league’s quarterbacks jealous. Green Bay also used their first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman and it looks like he’ll start this year. Philadelphia: The new shiny piece the Eagles added was Saquon Barkley on offense. They also switched offensive coordinators to Kellen Moore. Moore’s system has tended to pass to the RB more than the Eagles have in their recent history. Defensively, the Eagles also changed coordinators and spent their first two draft picks on pieces to shore up their secondary. Their secondary was a problem last year. Will these young players patch that hole and return Philadelphia’s defense to a competitive standpoint? Players to Watch Philadelphia’s Offense: How much changed to one of the better offenses this year? There is a lot of talk about DeVonta Smith playing more in the slot – how will that impact the target distribution on this team? It’s been a pretty funnel offense with A.J. Brown and Smith accounting for over half the targets from Hurts. Will this change? Can a third receiver emerge? Will they use Barkley in the passing game more than they did D’Andre Swift? Will Shipley: Shipley could be a passing down specialist and if Barkley were to miss time, he’d likely get into a timeshare with Kenneth Gainwell. The interesting question for week 1 waiver wires and drafts still to be completed is will Shipley have an offensive role that could take advantage of his skill set? It’s probably too early in the season to expect Shipley to gain traction but, his snap count should be monitored. Jayden Reed: Due to the log jam at receiver for the Packers and him coming in third at snap share in a scrimmage, Reed doesn’t get the respect his rookie year performance earned last year. This will be our first look at how he is deployed by the Packers this year. Will he look like a lower snap slot-only player or will he figure into 2-WR sets more? Or will they run a ton of 11 personnel and it not matter? Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks looked like the most efficient receiver for the Packers last year. But it also seems like he’ll have a limited role behind the first three receivers. What will Matt LaFleur do with the receiver rotation? Can Wicks see the field and with his play can he force himself into a meaningful snap share? Green Bay’s RB2: AJ Dillon is on IR. MarShawn Lloyd is just starting his return from aggravating his hamstring – it’s not certain he’ll play in Week 1. Emanuel Wilson looks like he’ll be the RB2, but he’s also appeared on the injury report heading into week 1. How much will the Packers be able to utilize a second RB? If so which one and how much? How well will they perform? Green Bay’s TE Rotation: Luke Musgrave vs Tucker Kraft. Kraft is dealing with some back soreness right now, so it’s unclear if that will impact his availability. But assuming they are both available how does the TE rotation look in Green Bay? Will both tight ends counterfeit each other’s opportunity at fantasy goodness or will one emerge and become a TE1 this year? This should be another great game to watch and see how these two teams enter the year and fight for a critical first win of the season. No team with playoff expectations wants to start the year 0-1. Good luck to all the fantasy GMs as they put the pieces to the puzzle together in the NFL’s first Friday Night Football Preview. As a bonus, here is more on Thursday’s season opener. For an in-depth fantasy breakdown and Jody’s best bet, click here. Thursday Night Football Preview The Chiefs and the Ravens lock horns to open up the NFL season this year which will potentially be a preview of the AFC championship game. It’s a critical game for these teams to get off to a good start on the season and should be a great game for fans and fantasy managers alike. What’s New on the Teams Baltimore: It’s well-publicized that that Derrick Henry has come over to take the keys to the power running game. However, the Ravens have three new offensive linemen this year. Will the line be able to perform to previous levels and enable Henry to plow through the defense while they also have to be aware of the threat Lamar Jackson poses as a rushing QB will be a key to this game? Kansas City’s defense is