NFL predictions: Predicting top player performances in Week 1 of 2024
Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season could bring a ton of top performers. Let's predict the best performers for the first week of the new season. Whether you are a fantasy football nut or just want to see who performs the best in Week 1, we have you covered here.
There are a ton of competitive games on the schedule, so we could have quite the entertaining slate to kickoff the new season. Let's try to predict some top performers for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season.
NFL predictions: Predicting top player performances in Week of 2024
Quarterback: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
The Los Angeles Rams have added a ton of new bodies to their secondary this offseason including Darious Williams, Tre White, Kamren Curl, John Johnson III, and Kamren Kinchens. Their entire starting secondary could be new faces from 2023. While it's a much-improved unit on paper, it's not logical to think that they'll put it together in Week 1.
In fact, Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff has a great opportunity in front of him to carve up this Rams defense. Goff and the high-flying Lions offense may be able to weave their way through the Rams secondary and put a ton of points on the board.
Running Back: Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
The Seattle Seahawks rushing defense was poor in the 2023 NFL Season, and now with Samaje Perine out of the picture, Denver Broncos RB Javonte Williams could be in line for a monster year. Williams is also another year removed from his 2022 knee injury, has slimmed down some, and is playing alongside QB Bo Nix, who is a rookie.
It's reasonable to expect Nix to take some easy completion as he gets used to the NFL level, and Sean Payton's offenses target running backs quite a lot, so this is all shaping up to be a huge year for Williams, who is in the last year of his rookie deal.
The Seahawks might get gashed by Williams in Week 1.
Wide Receiver: Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Facing a defense that was among the worst in football in 2023, the always-reliable Mike Evans is going to have one of his ho-hum games where he racks up a ton of yards and probably finds the end-zone once or twice. Evans has played 10 years in the NFL and has had at least 1,000 yards in each of those seasons.
There is no reason why he can't do it again in 2024, and having a easy matchup on paper in Week 1 could help Evans get out to a quick start in his quest for an 11th-straight 1,000-yard season.
Tight End: Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
The Indianapolis Colts did not have a good defense in the 2023 NFL Season, and the Houston Texans enter the season with what could be a top offense in the NFL. I mean, they were quite efficient with a rookie QB in CJ Stroud, and having a bona-fide TE1 in Dalton Schultz is going to be great for Stroud in year two.
Schultz averaged nearly 45 yards per game in the 2023 NFL Season, so matching up with a poor defense in Week 1 could see that yardage total skyrocket.
Defense: Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals may be able to tee-off in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season, as they will host the lowly New England Patriots. Jacoby Brissett was named the team's starter, and while it's likely that we see rookie QB Drake Maye at some point, it's clearly Brissett's team until further notice.
The issue with the Patriots is that their QB situation is not great with Brissett, and their offensive line is bad, and their wide receivers are bad. The Pats are in a rebuild, obviously, and de-facto GM Eliot Wolf still has a lot of work to do. New England won't be competitive in the 2024 NFL Season, and being that the Bengals do have a nasty defensive front led by Sheldon Rankins and Trey Hendrickson, they should be able to have their way and keep the Patriots offense at bay in Week 1.