Who will go off and who will struggle?
The Cardinals are coming off a bye and momentum after their 2nd win of the season. But the Chiefs are at home and looking to wrap up the #1 overall seed in the AFC.
What can we expect in Fantasy football?
Let’s take a look:
Start of the Week: Kareem Hunt, RB, Chiefs, 2 TD’s, 125 total yards
Starting Hunt is a no-brainer these days anyway.
But starting him against a Cardinals rushing attack that, while they slowed down the Niners a few weeks ago, is still ranked 31st in the league in rushing is basically almost foolproof. The game is also supposed to be quite frigid and against a blitz-happy Steve Wilks defense a lot of screens will be called.
Hunt is adept at scoring long touchdowns these days so be on the lookout for him to put up some big numbers given how Arizona is good against the pass and, while perhaps a bit better versus the run, aren’t likely to stop Hunt this week.
Cardinals Start: Larry Fitzgerald WR, 102 yards, 1 TD
Fitzgerald was targeted 12 times against the Niners under Byron Leftwich. His previous highest total after Week 1 was only 8 times.
Leftwich has gotten the Rosen to Fitzgerald connection going to look for it to continue in Kansas City, especially if Rosen ends up throwing the ball some 50 times.
Chiefs Start: Sammy Watkins (or his backup) 62 yards, 1 TD
While Travis Kelce has a chance to eat against a Cardinals defense that got shredded twice by George Kittle, their #2 wide receiver could see some big-time targets if Arizona goes back to the Minnesota game in how they played defense against a high-volume passing offense.
Patrick Peterson was matched up on Stefon Diggs the majority of the time (a break from Wilks’ zone defensive scheme) and Adam Thielen was able to eat on the outside or from the slot when he was matched up occasionally by a linebacker.
Even if Watkins can’t go, if Wilks sells out to stop Tyreek Hill, it’s possible Sammy gets some work.
That said....given how Patrick Peterson was burned just last game for a 55-yard TD by the speedy Marquise Goodwin, you should start Hill in your lineups no matter what.
Cardinals Sit: Jermaine Gresham, TE 0 catches, 0 yards
You’re not starting Gresham anyways but this is less about a certain player and more about the game. If the Cardinals run the ball effectively with David Johnson, they’ll be working to keep the Chiefs offensive off the field. If Kansas City gets off to an early start and the Chiefs keep rolling (more likely), Arizona will be throwing the ball a ton, involving Fitz, DJ, Seals-Jones and Kirk. Chad Williams isn’t going to go today so that could mean more 11 personnel sets for Arizona all day long rather than spreading it out wide.
The player who I’d be curious about sitting?
It’d be Rosen.
If the game quickly gets out of hand and with Justin Houston and Dee Ford back in the fold along with Chris Jones rushing from the interior, I’d be curious if Rosen ends up repeating the Broncos game on the road if Arizona gets outmatched.
That said, the opportunity for him to end up with a ton of passing stats seems too much given the previous history of teams against this 2018 Chiefs Defense...and I think I have a lot more faith in Byron Leftwich coming off of two weeks to prepare than I do with Mike McCoy on 3 days rest against a much better Broncos defense.
Chiefs Sit: Chris Conley, WR, 2 catches, 24 yards
With Budda Baker likely playing Sunday and Sammy Watkins practicing, I’d look to the Chiefs 3rd option as the one who doesn’t get the fantasy points unless Sammy is listed as OUT.
There’s simply too much talent at all the positions ahead of Conley and Arizona’s secondary will likely have Baker and Tre Boston both in and there’s likely not enough room for a 4th target to profit with all the guys seemingly healthy in front of him.
In Summary:
While Arizona’s clearly an inferior offense, it’s basically all systems go for the majority of fantasy players this week in a game that, while it might not be high-scoring for Arizona, could see either some garbage time stats or, possibly, something to build on from the previous week as the offense will once again run through Fitzgerald and Johnson with Kirk involved either in the redzone or for a big play down the field.
You can follow @blakemurphy7 on Twitter.
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