Tyreek Hill And More Player Questions For Fantasy Football Entering Week 1

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Paramount+:

We are only two sleeps away from real NFL football.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that there are still a few big lingering questions that remain unanswered as we rapidly approach Week 1 kickoff…

🐬 Is Tyreek Hill going to be good to go? The vibes surrounding Hill have been awful all offseason and then yesterday we learned that the team didn’t name him a captain for 2025 after holding that honor for the previous three seasons with Miami.

Whenever Reek is on the field he’s going to project well, but this is an extremely volatile situation with a lot of blowup risk.

💸 Is Quinshon Judkins going to be on the team? Per Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns’ second-round pick will be back with the Browns soon, “possibly even sometime this week.” Judkins has been plummeting in drafts due to his off-the-field issues and contract dispute (he remains unsigned).

If Cabot is correct, however, then he’s a steal at these current prices.

🤷 How much offense is Travis Hunter going to play? You won’t believe this, but we still have very little clarity on this. Yesterday, Liam Cohen said the Jaguars are still evaluating his Week 1 usage. It’s a tricky spot for managers because he was drafted at “starter” prices, but it doesn’t feel great to plug him in right away.

Despite the uncertainty, we have him as a solid WR3 (32nd overall in consensus ranks) for his Week 1 matchup vs. the Panthers.

Let me leave you with one piece of good news—Jauan Jennings returned to practice yesterday. Phew.

SENDING OUT AN SOS: STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE IS A REAL LIFE SAVER

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Last Call! Are You Drafting Tonight?

We’ve already talked endlessly about Week 1, and how could we not? We’ve only waited nearly seven grueling months!

That said, some of us—and likely a lot of you—still have a draft to tackle over the next 48 hours. We haven’t forgotten. And more importantly, Dwain hasn’t forgotten.

In case you missed it over the weekend, Dwain put some finishing touches on his 2025 perfect draft strategy. Whether they’re updated sleepers, risers/fallers on every major platform, or adjustments based on 53-man roster cutdowns, you can waltz into your draft with confidence knowing you have the most updated, perfect strategy.

A.J. Brown, Mike Evans, and more players find themselves as newfound staples of the strategy. Who else should you be approaching in your last-minute drafts? Let’s take a look.👀⤵️

WHICH TE SHOULD BE YOUR PRIORITY MID-ROUND TARGET??

Your Pre-Week 1 Waiver Wire Adds

Oh baby, we are so back. It's almost football season, and whether you're just finishing up your drafts or you had some a couple of weeks ago, the same sentiment holds true: this is a really important waiver wire week.

Kendall Valenzuela would even argue that the week before the season starts and the waiver run after Week 1 can help change the course of your season.

A lot has changed over the past couple of weeks with trades, injuries and just overall bad vibes. Now is the chance to snag a few players off waivers that might bring some fantasy goodness to your team.

So who is Kendall targeting?

Dameon Pierce (4% Rostered / Woody Marks | RB | Texans (8% Rostered)

The vibes seem bad for this Texans backfield, but that doesn't mean we're staying away entirely. I've been very vocal about passing on both Nick Chubb and Joe Mixon in drafts this season. Mixon was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the week, which means he's going to miss a minimum of four games to start the season. But I wonder if we are going to see Mixon at all in 2025, because the Texans are somewhat noncommittal already.

If I'm wrong about not drafting Chubb, then so be it, because that means we get the Chubb of old. I'm just not tying my team to an older running back with a serious injury history who recorded career lows in yards per attempt (3.3) and percentage of carries that gained at least 10 yards (4.9%) last season.

Enter: Dameon Pierce and Woody Marks.

These are not sexy pickups, but if we see Chubb go down, then there is an obvious path to bigger workloads. If you need an upside waiver wire pickup, then the rookie Marks is your pick—he could potentially be involved in the passing game, too. This could also be the perfect storm for Pierce, where sudden opportunity knocks and fantasy relevance could be on the horizon. If he sucks, then just drop him; it's not like you spent any draft capital on either of these guys!

For 14 more names to target ahead of kickoff, read on! ⬇️

ANOTHER WASHINGTON RB TO CONSIDER?

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Week 1 Predictions: Maye Breakout Begins

It’s Week 1, and after all the drafting it’s time to shift in regular-season mode. Let’s lock in! Time to focus on matchups. Which teams are tough on running backs? Where are the pass funnels to attack? While this week can be unpredictable, that makes it amazingly fun as well.

Adam Ronis debuts his weekly column focusing on predictions for players to boom and bust in the week ahead. There are some big names in this one, starting with Drake Maye and his great matchup against the Raiders. Where will he finish this week? And who are the rest of the players we need to know about? ⤵️

THIS ROOKIE WR IS READY FOR TAKEOFF