Week 1 of the fantasy football season is here! With that, comes the dreaded start/sit decisions. To start the week, let’s try and navigate through the abyss that is the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver room. Should fantasy managers start WR Skyy Moore against the Lions on Thursday night?
Should I Start or Sit Skyy Moore in Fantasy This Week?
The most frustrating lineup decisions we have to make occur on Thursdays. It’s great when you get it right. But when you get it wrong, you get the pleasure of staring at those four points in your lineup for three days, wishing you had literally anyone else in that spot.
When Patrick Mahomes is at quarterback, you know points will be scored. The problem for the Chiefs since trading away Tyreek Hill, is they haven’t had a clear top option at the wide receiver position. It’s been Mahomes and his island of misfit toys (and Travis Kelce).
MORE: FREE Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer
Tonight, Kelce is almost certainly not going to play. Not counting his Week 17 start as a rookie, Mahomes has made 79 career regular season starts. We have never seen what he looks like in a game without at least one of Hill or Kelce. That means we are in completely uncharted territory tonight.
Last season, Moore’s anemic production was truly historic. Playing with the most talented QB in NFL history in a season where he threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns, Moore managed to secure just 250 of those yards and none of the touchdowns.
Moore is entering this Week 1 matchup as a starter. But are we to just assume he is going to go from a guy who couldn’t command volume to one who will be a preferred target for his QB? That seems awfully risky in Week 1.
Fantasy Outlook for Moore vs. the Lions
The fantasy environment tonight is going to be fantastic. This game has the highest projected total for the week, meaning we should see a cornucopia of points.
There’s certainly a chance Moore immediately establishes himself as the clear WR1. There’s also a chance that the Chiefs just rotate their receivers, with no one seeing more than around 60% of the snaps.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is probably the only WR with a secure role. Last year, we saw games where guys like Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman popped. This year, that could easily be Richie James, Rashee Rice, or Justyn Ross.
Assuming Kelce is out, the Chiefs may very well dress six receivers. MVS and Moore may “start,” but we could see Watson, James, Rice, Ross, and Kelce’s direct backup, Noah Gray, all mix in. Would you really put it past Mahomes to throw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns with no singular player seeing more than 3-4 catches for 50-60 yards?
Given where Moore went in fantasy drafts, it’s unlikely you took him in a spot where you have to start him. He’s the WR40 in our PFN Consensus Week 1 Rankings.
Sure, he could end up grabbing six balls for 70 yards and a touchdown tonight. If that happens, you will wish you had him in your lineup. But given the uncertainty of the Chiefs’ WR room, this is a wait-and-see situation. Fantasy managers are better off sitting Moore for the season opener.
