Big Blue View
Welcome to the 2025 NFL season! Wow, it’s been a minute and here we are again, firing up fantasy football lineups for the first time in a long time. I don’t know about you, but I’m pumped up.
I’ll be running this column each Thursday, a fantasy Waiver Wire column each Monday, and a Giants’ “best bets” column ahead of each week’s game. Keep it here!
Week 1 is always wonky for fantasy. On the plus side, managers have their entire roster at their disposal. There are no Byes, and in general, players are as healthy as they’ll be all season. You’re going to sit points this week and especially if you play in a shallow league. Don’t sweat it, just roll with it.
On the flip side, Week 1 is tricky to handicap because we don’t always have a clear indication of player roles and usage, or how certain offenses are going to look due to personnel and coaching changes. We also don’t know how good or bad certain defenses and defensive position groups are, so we have to rely a lot on what we saw last season.
We also need to remember that it’s only one week of a long season. Week 1 overreactions in fantasy are the stuff of legend. Fun facts: In Week 1 last year, eventual triple crown winner Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 62 yards and zero TDs, and his quarterback, eventual QB3 Joe Burrow, threw for 164 yards and zero TDs (it was his only game with single digit fantasy points all season). Meanwhile, Jayden Reed, who finished outside the Top-30 wide receivers for the season, scored 31 points to lead all wide receivers. Cooper Kupp was second with 25. You see where this is going.
Stats of the Week:
Part 1:
Across the last two seasons, the Bengals have scored 13 points, TOTAL, in Week 1.
Last season, the Saints scored an NFL-best 91 points in their first two games.
For this week, the Bengals (@CLE) have an implied total of 26.5 (tied for second highest) and the Saints (vs. ARI) have an implied total of 18.5 (third lowest).
Part 2:
In games started and finished by Tua Tagovailoa, Mike McDaniels has a 20-11 record, and overall the Dolphins are 38-24 in Tua’s starts.
The Giants posted a 24-44-1 record in games started by Daniel Jones. After six seasons in New York, Jones is the Week 1 starter for the Colts.
The Colts host the Dolphins on Sunday and are favored by 1.5 points.
OK, Week 1, here we go!
**Bye Weeks: NONE
Week 1 Rides, Fades and Sleepers
For those who are familiar with this column, you know the drill. For everyone else: The Rides, Fades, and Sleepers is an analysis of players that I think are primed for an especially strong or poor performance, often as compared to consensus expectations. This isn’t a straight-up Start/Sit exercise. As a general rule, start your studs. I’ll rarely list the most obvious...
