Fantasy Football 2019: Thursday Night Football Start Em, Sit Em Week 1

Start of the Week: David Montgomery & Tarik Cohen, RB’s, Chicago Bears

I went with a little 2-for-1 special right out of the gate here. Go big or go home, right? The thing about fantasy is that week one may be the hardest too predict. The NFL draft, free agency, and players getting healthy all factor into it, so what happened last year isn’t guaranteed to repeat itself. Still, all we have to go on is last year stats, and that says start Bears running backs.

Green Bay surrendered the 14th most points to running backs in all of fantasy land last year. That may not be a staggering number, but couple that with the fact that Green Bay surprisingly cut stud defensive tackle Mike Daniels in the offseason, and you have a recipe for success against this front.

The Packers pass rush should be improved this year, as well as the secondary. Run defense could still be a sneaky issue for them, so look for rookie David Montgomery to establish himself early and handle goal line snaps in week one. 20 fantasy points wouldn’t be out of the question for him.

You may be saying to yourself “that’s all well and good, but you said start Montgomery AND Tarik Cohen.” And I know, starting two running backs from the same team may seem risky. I doubt many owners were able to get both players, anyway.

This backfield is in a unique position, however. Cohen isn’t playing Luigi to Montgomery’s Mario, rather he is the Diddy Kong to Montgomery’s Donkey Kong. Each player has a different skill set, and they both should be utilized in week one heavily.

Montgomery is going to handle a majority of the carries for the Bears, but Cohen is a dangerous receiving threat. That may just be what the Bears need in week one. It is reported that the status of both Anthony Miller and Trey Burton could be up in the air for the Bears.

While Miller seems to be trending in the right direction by returning to practice after a two week hiatus, Burton is in the opposite boat. He is still working back into game shape, and even if both play in the opener, their role’s could be limited because of all the missed practice time.

This is why Cohen could, and should, thrive. Last year, he caught 71 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns. Chicago likes to use Cohen out of the slot, and with the injuries to two prominent pass catchers, his target share could be high week one.

The Packers also gave up the fifth most points to fantasy receivers in 2018. Even a big improvement could mean a favorable match-up for Cohen. Besides, if you start him, he may just surprise you with some tickets to Soldier Field.