Mike's Player Grid

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Welcome back to my (Mjohnson86) Player Grid. The format will vary slightly from JM’s Player Grid, as we each see things slightly differently and play in slightly different contests, but should complement his thoughts and content very well for those looking to build their lineups for the week. The format of this article will vary slightly from my FanDuel Player Grid, which will be more direct in terms of which players I like. Enjoy!!

The Core

This is a list of players that stand out to me at each position from using my “Checking the Boxes” criteria outlined in my course you can find in our Marketplace. This list is a starting point, from which I build out lineups using game theory and roster construction concepts (which we will also touch on) with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. This section will focus primarily on three positions – running back, tight end, and defense – as the other two positions (quarterback and wide receiver) tend to have more dependent tendencies which I try to attack from other angles (which we will get into in the other sections). I like all of these plays on all sites unless otherwise noted:

Running Back ::

• Jahmyr Gibbs –  Gibbs is arguably the best running back in the league and is fully healthy and fresh in a huge game for Week 1. I expect the Lions new offensive coordinator to ride his best player. In a week where we can easily afford Gibbs and he is projecting for single-digit ownership, that is enough for me.

• Jonathan Taylor – JT ended 2024 on a heater and has been saved from the Anthony Richardson experience to start 2025. He should have a massive workload in a good matchup and carries a middling salary for his ceiling.

• Bijan Robinson – Another “don’t overthink it” guy, Bijan is the engine of this offense and provides both a high floor and ceiling. There are some concerns about the loss of the Falcons’ best offensive lineman, but if they can’t run, then I would just expect his receiving volume to rise as a result. We can afford him, so play him.

• James Conner – The “concerns” around Conner are about durability over the course of the season. For this week, he should have his normal bell-cow role in what appears likely to be an above-average matchup.

• Alvin Kamara – Similar to Conner, Kamara is a player in a decent matchup for Week 1 and should have a huge role to start the season.

• Travis Etienne // Tank Bigsby – Etienne can be used in a variety of ways and is versatile enough to make plays on the ground or through the receiving game. Bigsby broke a lot of big plays last season and is very cheap. This looks like a great matchup and Liam Coen’s offense generally provides a lot of backfield production. We don’t know for certain where it will come from, but one of these guys scoring 20-to-25 points wouldn’t surprise me at all. I will have some of both of these guys in mid-to-large-field contests.

• Christian McCaffrey – I may or may not end up playing CMC, depending on the reports around his status/health after being limited in Thursday’s practice (Editor's note: CMC did not practice on Friday but said his injury was “nothing serious.” Your guess is as good as ours here.) There is a chance he is fine and the concern created by him showing up on the injury report just gives us a nice ownership discount.

Tight End :: 

• George Kittle – Kittle was the TE1 in points per game last season and is the TE3 in salary on this slate. He can absolutely blow away the position. On a week like this, a 30-point game from a tight end would amount to a “must-have.” 

• Tyler Warren – I want to be ahead of this one. I expect Warren to play nearly every snap and the Colts to be creative in ways they deploy him.

• Tucker Kraft – I expect this to be a competitive game, and with Jayden Reed hobbled and the Lions likely to bring pressure at Jordan Love, I think Kraft could/should be heavily involved. He is terrific after the catch and has huge upside for his salary in a potentially high-scoring game.

Defense :: 

• Broncos – Elite unit at home against a rookie quarterback with an average supporting cast. They will carry more ownership than a high-priced defense would on most weeks thanks to salary structure across the slate, but the fact that we are likely going to need very high scores this week makes the ceiling they provide very valuable. 

• Falcons – While I like the Bucs in general this week, there is also a path for Atlanta to create some issues for them in this spot. The Falcons went all-in to improve their pass rush this offseason, while the Bucs will be without their best offensive lineman and two of their top four wide receivers.

• Browns – Myles Garrett against a shaky offensive line, while the Browns are likely to carry very low ownership and the slate’s lowest salary. Additionally, the Bengals’ passing game is likely to be a popular click for the field, which gives Cleveland a bit of leverage as well.

Premium Passing Game Stacks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs lost offensive coordinator Liam Coen this offseason but should operate in a very similar manner in 2025. This should be a very concentrated offense with Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, and Bucky Irving likely accounting for a huge portion of the team’s offense. All three of those players will be in my player pool and I will have a meaningful amount of my lineups built around this passing offense with Baker Mayfield plus one or two of these players. The Falcons provide clear options as “bring backs” with these pieces as well, whether the Bucs are played individually or stacked.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Speaking of Coen, Trevor Lawrence is ready for a huge bounce-back season with an incredible cast of playmakers and an improved scheme. Jaguars double stacks with Lawrence plus two of Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and Brenton Strange will be a staple of my lineups this week. I also like the idea of including Etienne with one of the WRs because of his ability in the receiving game.

GPP Game Stack Of The Week

Miami Dolphins // Indianapolis Colts

The Dolphins are a team that most of the industry and public are ready to pile on, and a lot of the negativity they have earned. That being said, if we look back at the first three years of the Mike McDaniel era in Miami, we can see that in both 2022 and 2023, the Dolphins started the season very hot. In 2024, they won their opening game before Tua Tagovailoa was concussed in Week 2 against the Bills. The McDaniel scheme thrives in good weather and early in the season when his creative concepts can confuse defenses that have had limited reps. Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ defense and secondary seem to have a lot of issues as well and Daniel Jones has shown the ability to put up points in the right situations before. There are a lot of playmakers on the field in the dome this week and two defenses that might not be awful, but certainly won’t be elite.