We’re back!!! After Wednesday night’s game:
Drew Lock leads the league with 187 passing yards, while Drake Maye has attempted the most passes (33). Lock has the highest completion percentage at 72.7%, while Lock and Maye have thrown the most touchdowns (1). Maye has thrown the most interceptions (3), while Maye has taken the most sacks (3). Lock has completed the most passes over 20 yards (3) while Lock leads the league with one completed pass over 40 yards. Finally, Lock has the longest completion at 45 yards.
Drew Freaking Lock!
Here are my favorite QB/WR stacks for Week 1.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $3.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
5. Caleb Williams ($6,300) & Luther Burden III ($5,500), Bears at Panthers
Williams improved last season despite the completion percentage dropping to 58.1%. He threw seven more touchdowns, only one more interception, took 44 fewer sacks….44!!!…and increased the yards per attempt by 0.6 in only six more passing attempts from his rookie season. Ben Johnson deserves a ton of credit, as he schemed up the offense while helping Williams grow. With a season and full offseason in the system, great things are expected from Williams and the Bears offense this season.
Johnson said in the offseason:
“I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored, and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts.”
Sounds like Johnson is going to channel his inner Cobra Kai and sweep the leg. And that is music to fantasy nerds across the globe.
Burden was selected in the second round of the 2025 draft. He only started five of 15 games his rookie season, but caught 47 of 60 targets for 652 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson compared Burden to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who Johnson helped turn into a star with the Lions, and has talked positively in the offseason about Burden, telling those who would listen to buy stock.
4. Jalen Hurts ($6,600) & DeVonta Smith ($6,600), Eagles vs. Commanders
Sean Mannion takes over as offensive coordinator of the Eagles and he is implementing a West Coast style offense with Hurts under center more often. The foundation will still center around the ground game and the second-best offensive line per PFF, but quick throws and play-action should be deadly, providing plenty of seams in opposing secondaries.
Last season, Smith was second on the team with 113 targets. A.J. Brown is out of town, so Smith should see a significant uptick in targets.
Washington had the seventh-lowest pressure rate and worst hurry rate in the league last season. The 10 total turnovers were the second-fewest while the 4,146 passing yards allowed were the fifth-most. The 33 passing touchdowns allowed were the third-most. The Commanders have upgraded the front seven, but the secondary remains a question mark while the unit will be learning a new defensive scheme. Early on, there could be plenty of breakdowns on the back end leading to easy pitch-and-catches.
3. Justin Herbert ($6,100) & Ladd McConkey ($5,900), Chargers vs. Cardinals
Last season, the Cardinals were 26th in hurry rate, 29th in pressure rate and the 30 sacks were tied for the third-fewest. The 215 passing first downs were the second-most. So, Arizona couldn’t generate pressure or get off the field on third down. Got it. Then the Cardinals went into the offseason and decided to run it back. Well, okay then.
Now the Cardinals have to face a Mike McDaniel offense with a strong-armed quarterback. Good luck.
The Chargers did lose center Tyler Biadasz for the season, but Jake Slaughter played well during the preseason and the tackles are very good, when healthy. PFF has this offensive line rated 10th-best. And that’s good because Herbert was under siege last season, taking 54 sacks. A healthy offensive line and McDaniel’s scheming offense and opening seams at all levels of the defense should make fantasy goodies rain down from the heavens.
There may not be an alpha in the receiving core as Herbert could spread things around. That said, I think McConkey will get peppered with plenty of targets, especially since he will likely operate mostly out of the slot. In his first two seasons, McConkey earned 112 and 106 targets despite missing a few games and scored seven and six touchdowns.
2. Baker Mayfield ($5,900) & Chris Godwin Jr. ($5,200), Buccaneers at Bengals
This is the marquee matchup on the slate, as the 50.5 total is tops. That number did open at 52.5, though, so it has come down quite a bit. That said, it’s still over 50 and there should be plenty of fireworks in this one. Both offenses are very good while the defenses are suspect. Cincinnati did make some upgrades on that side of the ball, but we gotta see it first to believe it. The Bengals allowed 3,975 yards through the air, the seventh-most, while the 33 passing touchdowns allowed were the third-most.
Mayfield disappointed a bit last season, completing 63.2% of his passes for 3,593 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. While there were a ton of injuries at offensive line and wide receiver, expectations were sky-high after throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns the prior season. Tampa Bay has the third-best offensive line per PFF and the three-year, $165 million extension signed in the offseason shows that the team believes in him and a bounceback campaign could begin in Week 1.
Mike Evans is now in San Francisco so Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan provide a talented triumvirate of weapons for Mayfield. Godwin has dealt with injuries and is 30 years old, but he garnered over 120 targets and went over 1,000 yards in four seasons. While Godwin is healthy, I think he is the one to get peppered with targets, and he could be busy in this one as the Bengals will likely put up a ton of points.
1. Joe Burrow ($6,900) & Ja’Marr Chase ($7,800), Bengals vs. Buccaneers
Not much to say here. This game has the highest total, Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks when healthy and Chase is arguably the best wide receiver in the game. Chase has scored over 30 DraftKings points 16 times in his career with three of those over 50 DraftKings points. Burrow has put up over 30 DraftKings points 13 times in his career with three over 40 DraftKings points.
Tampa Bay allowed the sixth-most passing yards (4,049) and the 30 passing touchdowns allowed were tied for the sixth-most. The Buccaneers are excellent against the run, so the path of least resistance is through the air, and that is how most offenses attack. The pressure rate was eighth-lowest while the blitz rate was fourth-highest.
