Although “Thursday Night Football” won’t officially kick off on Amazon Prime Video until next week, there’s still Week 1 action Thursday night in the NFL to kick off the 2022 regular season with the Bills traveling to face the champion. of the Super Bowl 56 Rams in Los Angeles (8:20 pm ET, NBC). As always, you’ll want to start the week with the right fantasy kickoff decisions, sit down, whether it’s fielding players that can give you a nice early lead before Sunday or avoiding players that are bound to lose in prime time.
Wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp are among the obvious high-fantasy draft picks to start in every league, but what do you do with everyone else, including RBs, D/STs and banged-up Matthew Stafford?
MORE TNF: FanDuel Lineup | DraftKings lineup
Here’s the full breakdown of the start ’em sit ’em look for Thursday night, including a couple of DFS lineup suggestions for FanDuel and DraftKings:
WEEK 1 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | start, sit down
Bills: Who to start or sit in on Thursday night fantasy football
Start: QB Josh Allen
This is far from the ideal starting spot you want for the consensus No. 1 fantasy quarterback, but he chose it because his running and aggressive passing make him an every-week play. Allen will still have a high combined production floor in matchups like these, but don’t expect a massive outing.
PPR FANTASY WEEK 1 RANKINGS:
QB | RB | WR | YOU | D/ST | Kicker
Start: RB Devin Singletary | Seated: RB James Cook and Zack Moss
Singletary is the clear leader back with rookie Cook scheduled for a broadcast job and Moss as a backup. This situation could get murkier as Cook settles in and the season progresses, but for now, Singletary is a pure volume play against a tough defense.
Start: WR Stefon Diggs
Diggs might see a good chunk of Jalen Ramsey, but the Bills excel at moving him around and opening him up, relying on the odd timing and the chemistry between him and Allen to keep the connection going. Ramsey is also coming off offseason shoulder surgery and might not be completely his closed self. Diggs, like Allen, won’t fail, but a line like 6-80-1 can be pulled off.
WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | Fan Duel | yahoo
Start: WR Gabriel Davis
Davis might also see some Ramsey in outside coverage, but if not, he’d see Troy Hill. Hill is 31 years old and didn’t play well for the Browns last year before returning to the Rams. Davis is poised for a breakout season as a young update to Emmanuel Sanders and can produce as a long-term WR2, but he must settle for WR3 results this week.
Seat: WR Isaiah McKenzie
McKenzie has been buzzing along with Davis in training camp when he gets a chance to eat up Cole Beasley’s empty spots. However, in a neutral-to-bad matchup with cornerback David Long Jr., McKenzie is not a recommended play. Davis has the best chance to produce.
Seat: TE Dawson Knox
The Rams were pretty good at covering tight end last season, and Knox is falling down the pecking order a bit with Davis and McKenzie set for more prominent roles behind Diggs. He has a great new contract and can be played in bigger leagues, but you should have a better option in shallow leagues.
WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QB | RB | WR | YOU | D/ST | Kicker
Start: D/ST bills
Von Miller’s revenge game could work just fine without facing former teammate Andrew Whitworth at left tackle. The Bills’ secondary doesn’t have Tre’Davious White (knee), but his linebackers are active playmakers and can take a turnover or two from Matthew Stafford behind the pressure.
Start: K Tyler Bass
Bass is an obvious start because he’s tied to the Bills’ offense. Any defensive stops should give him multiple field goal opportunities to open the year.
WEEK 1 DFS: Best Values | Better batteries
Rams: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Seat: QB Matthew Stafford
Stafford is coming off an elbow injury that caused mild concern. It’s also believed that time off in the preseason could rust him up for a brutal matchup for one of the best passing defenses in the league. He has been drafted as a borderline QB1 and should be considered a QB2 this week.
Seated: RB Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr.
Akers and Henderson have battled lower-body injuries, and while Sean McVay hasn’t expressed concerns about either man’s availability, it’s unknown how the workload will be divided early in a tough matchup in the that the Rams might be forced to back off and throw more with mixed. Stafford results.
Start: WR Cooper Kupp
Kupp had a historic season racking up monster numbers as the dominant WR1 overall last season. He may get a little cold with age and past use, but even a big drop keeps him an absolute stud. The Bills will do their best to slow him down with double teams minus White, but Stafford and McVay will make sure Kupp gets his.
Start: WR Allen Robinson
The Rams will be fine if Kupp draws the attention of big coverage because it will allow them to deploy their veteran No. 2 against inexperienced corners. Robinson will also be a key threat in the red zone playing against Kupp throughout the season. A-Rob starts off well with good volume, given Van Jefferson’s knee injury that has reduced the depth of the Rams’ receiving corps early on.
Seat: TE Tyler Higbee
The Bills have Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano to cover at the second level and have safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer to clean up behind them. There’s no way Higbee is going to get loose often, and the Rams won’t force him on McVay.
Seat: Rams D/ST
With Ramsey and Aaron Donald now helped by Bobby Wagner instead of Miller, the Rams are playable most weeks against average to weak offensive opponents. The elite, explosive Bills with Allen don’t qualify as such.
Start: K Matt Gay
The Rams’ kicker in the McVay Era has been reliable in getting the necessary points he wants from the position. Gay could be busier than usual with the offense stalling a bit.
Bills vs. Rams: FanDuel Single Game Lineup
- MVP (1.5X): WR Stefon Diggs $14,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Allen Robinson $12,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Gabe Davis $11,500
- AnyFLEX: K Matt Gay $9,000
- AnyFLEX: RB Devin Singletary $10,500
Here Bills-heavy goes around Allen while tapping into the Rams’ complementary assets in catch-up mode with Stafford.
Bills vs. Rams: DraftKings Showdown Lineup
- Captain (1.5X): QB Josh Allen $18,000
- FLEX: WR Stefon Diggs $9,000
- FLEX: WR Gabe Davis $7,200
- FLEX: RB Devin Singletary $7,000
- FLEX: WR Allen Robinson $6,200
- FLEX: WR Ben Skowronek $1,800
The strategy for DK is a bit different, adding the lineup to Allen and punting last, hoping Skowronek can do enough to replace Jefferson.