After researching every statistic and piece of news I can find each week, I’ll be settling in for the weekend by writing a more light-hearted piece. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be without analysis and sound reasoning. Rather, it is just that I love making bold predictions. I consider a bold prediction to be anything the general public would give me 10:1 odds on. So if I hit three of these eight, it would be an extremely strong showing. There is a real possibility each of these scenarios plays out, but 60 offensive plays is a small sample size, so one week of games is a real challenge to predict, otherwise, fantasy football wouldn’t be so fun! So let’s take a look at what the week may have in store.

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#8 Paul Richardson finishes as a top 20 WR

If you are looking at his stats from last season, you might be wondering why there is so much recent hype about Richardson. He just secured the starting job opposite of Doug Baldwin, and in Week 1, the Seahawks draw the Packers, who were far and away the least efficient pass defense last season. Seattle finally started to utilize him toward the end of the year and he went for 213 yards and 2 TDs in the final four games including the playoffs. This is a terrific athlete who will get a big bump in volume this year and could start off the season with a bang.

Final Prediction: 5 Receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD

#7 Zach Ertz performs as a top 3 TE

Much like Richardson, Ertz was a mad man at the end of last season, hauling in 40 passes for 443 yards and 3 touchdowns in his final 5 games. With Alshon Jeffery being shadowed by Josh Norman and not much else in the way of competition for targets, Ertz could see a dozen targets against one of the worst pass defenses in football from last season.

Final Prediction: 8 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD

#6 Jared Goff and the Rams hang 30 points

After you are done vomiting, try to think of this as Sean McVay’s quarterback rather than the disaster we saw last season under center. Goff has looked more than competent at times during the preseason, in part because they added Andrew Whitworth, one of the best pass blocking tackles in football. He also has Sammy Watkins to stretch the field out now and goes against a defense missing several key pieces including their top cornerback, Vontae Davis.

Final Prediction: 263 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

#5 Terrance West rushes for 100 yards

The tape on West is not impressive as his athletic ability is lagging behind other starting running backs in the league, but West was substantially more efficient than Todd Gurley last season and believe it or not, just behind Melvin Gordon in terms of fantasy points per carry. This week, he could see a similar workload, as Danny Woodhead is coming off a torn ACL at 32 years old and dealing with a hammy, plus Joe Flacco hasn’t taken a snap all preseason. West is now under Greg Roman’s scheme, which is better fit for north and south backs like West, and this week, they travel to Cincinnati, where their star linebacker, Vontaze Burfic and cornerback Adam Jones are both suspended.

Final Prediction: 19 carries, 106 rush yards, 1 reception for 8 yards, 0 TD

#4 Jacksonville shuts out the Texans

If you’ve been watching football this preseason, you may have noticed that Tom Savage is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. DeAndre Hopkins looked lost last season and should be in fits this weekend against the fearsome secondary consisting of A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey and Barry Church. After starting slow last year, the Jaguars defensive unit came on strong, then added Calais Campbell to an already impressive defensive front seven.

Final Prediction: 0 points, 4 sacks, 2 INT

#3 Bilal Powell finishes as a top 5 RB

After being one of the most efficient running backs in the NFL all season, Bilal finally got his opportunity to start when Matt Forte was shut down for the season. He performed admirably with 411 rushing yards and 141 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in 4 starts. That comes to 2,200 yards from scrimmage if prorated to 16 games. David Johnson had 2,118 last season to give it some perspective. It isn’t to say Powell will be as effective this year or that they will give him as much volume, but it is worth mentioning that one of those huge games came against Buffalo for 137 yards in Week 17. That is who they play in Week 1 and the Bills have gutted their defense this off-season.

Final Prediction: 16 carries for 80 rushing yards and 5 receptions for 62 yards and a TD

#2 Dez Bryant does not end up a top 60 WR

If you haven’t seen Janoris Jenkins play, you are missing out because it is a real treat. Last season, he was tasked with shutting down Dez twice and both times he came out victorious. In Week 1, Bryant had just 1 reception for 8 yards and in Week 14 he again caught just 1 ball for 10 yards and he fumbled. That’s right, negative fantasy points in two outings. The Giants also have Landon Collins, the best safety in football and a pass rush that will put Dak on his toes. Prescott’s two worst games of the season both came against New York.

Final Prediction: 3 receptions for 39 yards

#1 Jamaal Charles performs as a top 15 RB

There is no doubt that C.J. Anderson is the starter, and no, I am not predicting an injury. Rather, I think this will be more of a timeshare than has been anticipated. Charles looked healthy, quick and strong in pass blocking when he got back on the field for the preseason and you just don’t keep the all-time career leader in yards per carry on your bench if he is ready to go. He should get plenty of third down work, and if he performs well, they will feed the hot hand.

Final Prediction: 5 carries for 32 yards, 3 receptions for 54 yards and 1 TD

**Bonus Super Duper Bold Prediction: Keelan Cole is a top 15 WR: 4 receptions, 94 yards and a TD

Thanks for reading and happy football season!

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