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NFL Week 1 Survivor Picks
Welcome to the 2024 NFL season! Each week I will do my best to guide you through the schedule in hopes of getting you through to the next round of your NFL survivor pools. I’ll do this by breaking down three of my top survivor picks for the given week, starting with my top pick, plus two more in case you’ve already used one of the teams.
Let’s get started with our NFL Week 1 survivor pool breakdown.
Top Survivor Pick: Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are home against the Patriots, an opponent you will likely see targeted in this article throughout the season. The Patriots look to have the league’s worst offensive line, one of the bottom defenses, the weakest WR room, and appear to be the worst team in the league to start the season. Jacoby Brissett had a horrific preseason at QB, leaving little to no hope for the Patriots in a clear rebuilding year.
The Bengals might not be at full strength in Week 1, as we are still waiting to hear on the status/contract of Ja’marr Chase, but with Joe Burrow at the helm it’s hard to picture them losing unless the Patriots luck out by winning the turnover battle by two or more turnovers
The Bengals do have some games on the schedule that might entice you to hold onto them this week, but things change so much in the NFL from one week to the next, so I’m going to roll with them as my top play against what looks to be the weakest team in the NFL.
Survivor Pick Option 2: New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers with both teams making big changes in the coaching ranks this offseason. I expect the Panthers to be better than last season, but that’s a low bar. I also expect this Saints offense to be much better under new OC Klint Kubiak, who should clean up some very simple philosophy changes like more motion and more play action to elevate a skill group I think is better than most people realize.
The Saints don’t have many other games you’d want to save them for, which makes them a very reasonable choice to kick off the season as your Week 1 NFL survivor pick.
Survivor Pick Option 3: Buffalo Bills
I think most people would have the Bills as a top-two pick this week, but I have a few questions about their team entering the season, and I also think the Arizona Cardinals could surprise us. Josh Allen can be volatile, and with no true #1 WR, is he going to play riskier than he needs to as he attempts to put the team on his back? They also lost quite a few key pieces on defense in the offseason and are without Matt Milano this week due to an injury. Arizona played some good teams down the stretch in 2023 and held their own, and with a healthy Kyler Murray and an upgraded WR room, they have the ability to go score-for-score with anyone.
The Bills also have two late-season games against the Patriots, including a Week 16 home game. I just don’t think this is the spot to fire the Bills despite them being near touchdown favorites to open the season. Let’s wait and see how this offense and defense look before we blow our opportunity to use them.
