Fantasy Football: 10 Bold Predictions for Week 1

A 10-Target Tight End & A 'Dog That Will Win

Trey Burton Will See 10+ Targets

There are people who think that the preseason is useless, and then there are smart people. Be a smart person.

Trey Burton got paid this offseason to fit a feature role in an offense, and accordingly, he was peppered with targets throughout the preseason. Burton is a solid bet to lead the Chicago Bears in targets and looks to be second-year passer Mitchell Trubisky's preferred weapon in the same offense that produced Travis Kelce.

The Bears will take on the Green Bay Packers, which doesn't lead to an overly positive or negative matchup for Burton, however negative game script could make the Bears' offense even more pass-heavy than they ordinarily project under Nagy.

Whether these targets will translate into fantasy points will depend on how far this offense has progressed, especially at the quarterback position. But I love Burton to see volume in this offense.

The Texans Will Beat the Patriots in Foxboro

The New England Patriots are six-point home favorites over the visiting Houston Texans. And for a change, the Texans are almost entirely healthy while the Patriots have dealt with blow after blow of injuries and suspensions.

We tend to discount Patriots injuries simply out of respect for coach Bill Belichick, but they are truly starting to add up early this year.

2018 first-rounder Isaiah Wynn was placed on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles tendon. He was the presumed starter at offensive tackle. Julian Edelman is serving a four-game suspension, tackle Marcus Cannon is battling through a calf injury and fellow tackle Trent Brown is dealing with an offseason shoulder surgery. Running backs Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead are rolling with preseason knee injuries, and the former might not see snaps if he is active, as he was limited in practice.

Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt are back for Houston. As long as both are healthy, they will have a chance in every game they play this year.

The Patriots dropped their home opener last year to the Chiefs and could repeat this year with the Texans. At +220, the Texans should provide a very reasonable rate of return.

Justin Freeman is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Justin Freeman also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel under username Heavychevyjf. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.