The Falcons have finally named their starting quarterback for this Sunday’s regular season opener vs. the Steelers. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tagovailoa will be starting at at quarterback over Michael Penix.
Schefter went on to note that Penix’s “turn is likely coming this season” after he was cleared for 11-on-11 activities on August 22nd, as he works his way back from a torn ACL.
It sounds like Penix will get his chance in the near future, but in the meantime, it will be Tagovailoa at quarterback for the Falcons and with him under center, is London still a WR1 option for Week 1?
Week 1 Outlook
Tagovailoa is coming off the worst season of his career. The quarterback went just 6-8 in his starts for the Dolphins and he averaged just 6.8 YPA while throwing 20 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Only Geno Smith threw more picks than Tagovailoa and the latter finished 26th of 28 qualifying players in quarterback rating.
All that being said, Tagovailoa still ranked eighth in completion percentage (67.7%) and Jaylen Waddle did provide 14+ FPTS in 8-of-14 games with Tagovailoa. Waddle topped 20 FPTS in two of these games and he was the No.15 scoring receiver for fantasy football during this stretch.
So, while Tagovailoa struggled with turnovers and leading the Dolphins to wins, he was still capable of making his No.1 wideout a strong fantasy asset.
Miami’s offensive line struggled mightily to protect Tagovailoa last season and he will be playing behind a better unit in Atlanta. The Dolphins ranked 16th in sacks per game allowed (2.2), whereas the Falcons ranked fourth (1.4).
Tagovailoa should have more time in the pocket and he shouldn’t have much trouble getting London the ball against this Steelers’ defense that yielded the third-most catches (213) and the fifth-most yards to receivers last season (2,782).
Splitting time between Penix and Kirk Cousins at quarterback last season, London ranked 11th among receivers in FPTS per snap (0.31) and he surpassed 20 FPTS in 5-of-12 games. Going from Penix and Cousins to Tagovailoa is a downgrade, but it may not be as significant as it seems and London is still a locked WR1 that brings big upside for Week 1.
