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Exploitable pairings in week 1 of fantasy football: Brock Bowers is about to play his first game

This is the best matchup you can find in Week 1. Cook is facing the Cardinals, who may have the worst defensive line in football. Cook is coming off a season in which he totaled nearly 1,600 yards, and now he's facing a defensive line that would likely be backups on most other teams.

The Bills are six-point favorites and are expected to score a strong 27 points this week. Cook has an increased chance of scoring a touchdown in this game, so let him start with confidence.

I'm worried about the Rams defensive line without Aaron Donald. It's a unit with a lot of question marks behind it, and now they have a brutal Week 1 matchup against a Lions offensive line that might be the best unit in the NFL.

This is the biggest discrepancy in the trenches of Week 1.

I think that makes David Montgomery an incredible player in all formats. Not just because of the matchup, but because the Lions could limit Jahmyr Gibbs' workload when he returns from a hamstring injury. Even if Gibbs is only limited by 10-20%, that would directly and massively benefit Montgomery. Let Monty start this week.

Nabers will begin his NFL career with a favorable matchup against the Vikings. Minnesota has the 27th-ranked secondary to begin the season, according to PFF.

This Vikings secondary has had an unfortunate offseason. Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day of training camp and cornerback Shaq Griffin suffered a hamstring strain on the second day of camp. Not to mention, the team released 2022 first-round safety Lewis Cine and lost rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson to a tragic car accident in July.

The Vikings still need time and resources to improve their secondary, but Week 1 is already here. Expect Nabers to get plenty of targets in an advantageous matchup, just as he did in the preseason. If Daniel Jones has time to throw, Nabers should have a strong Week 1 debut.

Godwin will begin his season against the Washington Commanders, who lack star cornerback talent. The Commanders lost corner Kendall Fuller in free agency and replaced him with rookie Mike Sainristil and veteran free agent Michael Davis. Davis is coming off the worst coverage year of his career.

There are a lot of question marks in this Commanders secondary and that's good news for Godwin. Expect Godwin to see more slot usage under new playmaker Liam Coen. We got a glimpse of that in the preseason when Godwin played six of his seven snaps in the slot (86%), a big increase from his 32% slot rate last season.

Let Godwin start this week with confidence.

The rookie TE out of Georgia, selected in the first round, is widely considered one of the best TE prospects for the NFL after posting three straight 50+ catch seasons in college. Bowers will start his NFL career in Week 1 against the Chargers' weaker linebackers.

There are a lot of question marks at the linebacker position in Los Angeles. They are bringing back Denzel Perryman, who is coming off the worst year of his career. The team could also bring in a rookie in Junior Colson. Their rotation linebacker will likely be Daiyan Henley, who only played more than 10 snaps in a game three times as a rookie last season.

This matchup is ideal for Bowers, who can already recognize coverage at an elite level and stands out from most rookie TEs with his ability to win after the catch. Have Bowers start in Week 1.

One of my favorite late draft TE prospects this summer was Fant. He opens the season in a great position now. Fant will be facing off against the Broncos, who have a solid secondary but weaker linebackers. Alex Singleton is the Broncos' primary starting linebacker. Last season, he ranked 80th in coverage out of 84 qualified linebackers.

Expect Fant to be used more this season, as TEs Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson left as free agents. Fant should be the primary TE in an offense that is expected to throw more passes under new playmaker Ryan Grubb. Fant finished 33rd in TE snap share last season, but don't be surprised if that number climbs into the top 10 at the position in 2024. Have Fant start in Week 1 against Denver.

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