Final Fearless Fantasy Forecasts & Recaps

Justin Herbert will return to being a top 3 QB.

Jon Taylor will return to being a top 5 RB by the 2nd half.

Jameson Williams will be a top 20 WR in the 2nd half.

Dalton Kinkaid will be a top 5 TE in the 2nd half.

Top Sleepers

Rochon Johnson (#51 RB) will be top 24 in the 2nd half

Jonathan Mingo (#61 WR) will be top 30 in the second half

Mike Mayer (#30 TE) will be top 12 in the 2nd half

I touted Richardson since the NFL draft but too many others are now liking him for me to count him.

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There’s already a thread.

And exactly zero of these things will come to pass–but I guess you know that, being “fearless” and all.

I asked a couple of analysts at CBS and PFF their opinions. The replies were very good with a few comments.

Yes on Herbert but needs healthy receivers or Johnston to be more than a WR4.

No doubt on Taylor if he is playing.

A bit high on Jameson, 25 to 30 with upside is more likely.

Yes on Kincaid

Yes on Rochon

Agreed on Mingo but could take until next year.

Yes, Mayer will surprise.

Looks like Axe Elf even has the inside track over a couple of analysts at CBS and PFF!

He’s like a national treasure or something!

I forgot to add Cam Akers who I believe will finish in the top 12 RBs.

Since the early window games are boooring, I might as well play:

No doubt.

If he has a new contract and is healthy by then - maybe. Remains to be seen how deep Richardson will cut into his production.

Nope. He’s nearing “Bust” status at quite a pace.

Only if Josh Allen gets injured.

Nope.

I think he’ll be better early in the season, thanks to increased opportunity. If he can carry that into the second half remains to be seen. Wouldn’t rule it out, but also not bet on it.

Nope. TEs typically break out in year 3, not year 1. OTOH, #12 doesn’t mean a lot on TE, as that’s streamer territory already.

My own hot takes:

Boom:

Geno Smith and Daniel Jones will both be top 12 QBs.

Kenny Gainwell will be a top 25 RB.

Brandon Aiyuk will be a top 12 WR this year.

Hayden Hurst will finish the season as a top 10 TE.

Busts:

Matt Stafford’s ADP wasn’t high to begin with, but he won’t even justify that low-end QB2 draft capital.

Tony Pollard will finish the season outside the top 10, as Deuce Vaughn will cut a healthy chunk out of his RZ production.

If you spent an early pick on Cooper Kupp, your team is in for a rough season. Same for those who drafted Devonta Smith as a WR1.

George Kittle rarely justified the draft capital you had to spend on him in recent years. This won’t change this season.

Sleepers:

Stetson Bennett could turn into this year’s Brock Purdy - if he is healthy, should Stafford go down.

Deuce Vaughn may not be good for more than a few highlight reel rushes. Or maybe he is. I’d take the gamble on him.

Darius Slayton has high-end WR2 upside. He also carries a lot of bust potential, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be a sleeper.

KJ Osborn and Ben Skowronek have less upside, but are almost guaranteed to vastly outscore their non-existent ADP.

Jake Ferguson has TE1 upside while still waiting patiently on your waiver wire.

My Dolphins vs Chargers eliminated the bore and added to my wallet.

I’m not a Daniel Jones fan and as you say a top 10 TE is not much. Agree on others with some doubt on Gainwell IF Swift wakes up.

Agree on busts other than Pollard.

I would not roll the dice on any of your sleepers.

We will see how things shape up in November.

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Week 1 certainly did not cooperate with my hot takes all too well… :sweat_smile:

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Week 2 can be the reverse, Week 1 did answer many questions but left many others open on playing time plans for teams.

Some post week 1 hot takes and division winners:

  1. The Jets defense is awesome. Or is it the Bills offense isn’t as good as we expected? I go with the latter, and the Bills don’t win their division. Miami, perhaps?

  2. The Bengals still win the AFC North, in spite of their inauspicious start. The Browns ain’t all that.

  3. This is more of a cold take, but the Jags walk away with the AFC South. It won’t even be close.

  4. Chargers win the AFC West. But the Chefs should get a wild card.

  5. Another cold take: Eagles win the NFC East.

  6. Gotta love the Lions to win the NFC North. But expect the Packers to make some noise. Hot take: The Bears will be an epic fail.

  7. Give me the Saints in the NFC South, with the Falcons as an outside shot to win it.

  8. 49ers take the NFC West. But the Rams will make it fun. The Seahawks will be around .500.

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  1. Top 5

  2. Most likely

  3. No.

  4. Maybe but :man_shrugging:

New defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz might know how to get the most out of their talent on defense, though.

I had the Jets D as top 3. But now the team has no QB. As for the Bills, too early to say. But they will have to do a ton better to win their division. Fins looked good, but will find a way to screw things up. The Fins always do. My money is still on the Bills.

I don’t know man. The Bengals looked seriously terrible. Their o-line has always been bad, but now they look like a laughing stock. “Any team that plays the Bengals” seems like a solid advice for DEF streamers this year. And I am tempted to finally join your bandwagon: Joe Burrow may not get out of that unharmed.

No questions here.

Your love for the Chiefs is well documented. They’ll be fine. Chargers will be on their heels, but I don’t fully trust them yet.

I don’t know. They looked lackluster on Sunday, while the Cowboys were seriously on fire. If the Eagles keep resting on their laurels, they might be in for a bad surprise.

Even as a Cheesehead, I’d be surprised if the Lions didn’t win the division. For Green Bay, the question is how they will look against better opponentes, and if Jordan Love can pull off such a stable performance on a weekly basis now. I’m not ready to bet on it yet, but things certainly didn’t look bad on Sunday.

Worst division of the NFL, to a point where it doesn’t really matter who takes it.

Too many question marks around the Rams. Both them and the Seahawks could still play a decent season, but I don’t think any of them can challenge the Niners, who certainly are an early favorite to take it all the way this season.

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I had the Jets D as top 3. But now the team has no QB. As for the Bills, too early to say. But they will have to do a ton better to win their division. Fins looked good, but will find a way to screw things up. The Fins always do. My money is still on the Bills.

As a very long suffering Dolphins crazy fan I made up a word for your comment.
It is “Dolphinesque” and has really caught on with local Phans. :slight_smile:

Let me come in from another angle:

I took over a complete trash team in a dynasty league this offseason. No startable players, no 2023 draft picks. Worst trash I’ve ever seen.

Here’s the roster after (!) my initial cleanup. It’s a 12 team standard scoring league starting 1 QB / 2 RB / 2 WR / 1 TE / 1 FLEX (R/W/T) and offering deep benches (read: nothing on the waiver wire).

QB: J Fields, D Jones, D Ridder
RB: K Miller, Z Moss, J Kelley, M Carter, Z White, E Hull, K Hunt
WR: D Adams, R Shaheed, T Atwell, J Reed, A Robinson, K Osborn, K Boutte, J Ross, K Philips
TE: S LaPorta, J Ferguson, Z Ertz, D Bellinger, T Kraft

In week 1, I faced the previous year’s co-champion.

I’m 1-0 now.

If your team was a reason to hit the panic button, then I would have to believe that I could win the championship this year with above team.

Relax. It’s week 2. Week 1 was weird. Your team will be fine.

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