Who to start Week 1

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TOP MATCHUPS 

John Brown vs. Vontae Davis 
This is going to be a very intriguing chess match -- the Bills have one of the NFL's best young corners in Tre'Davious White, while HC Sean McDermott doesn't typically like to travel his CBs. If that's the case this week, I absolutely guarantee Ravens OC Marty Mornhinweg will want to try to get "Smokey," who had a great preseason, matched up on Davis, who got torched during the preseason, including twice by Bengals deep threat John Ross (Ross dropped one, and scored on the other). If Brown gets single coverage from Davis, count on Joe Flacco to look his way. With Brown's skill set, all he needs is one play to pay off using him. 

Jamison Crowder vs. Budda Baker 
The Cardinals moved on from Tyrann Mathieu this off-season and instead have been using packages during the preseason with 2017 2nd-round safety Budda Baker playing the slot – it’s a variation on the “big nickel” packages that have become prevalent around the NFL in recent years. While Baker showcased excellent agility in the NFL Combine in 2017 relative to his position, it pales a bit more when compared strictly to CBs, and Crowder is one of the NFL’s true masters of route running out of the slot. With Patrick Peterson likely occupied on the perimeter with Paul Richardson and occasionally Josh Doctson, this could be a good 6-7 catch week for Washington’s most reliable short-area WR with new QB Alex Smith. 

MINUS MATCHUPS: 

Amari Cooper and vs. Rams CBs 
Both the Raiders and Rams had “splashy” off-seasons… but for very different reasons. The Rams are gearing up for a Super Bowl run while rookie QB Jared Goff is on a cheap deal, and that included reinforcing their defense with some big-name acquisitions. That includes CBs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, primed to become one of the NFL’s best duos this season. We have no idea what the Raiders will look like under Jon Gruden schematically, as we barely got a glimpse of their first-team offense during the preseason, though Gruden did tell reporters this off-season that Cooper would be the “main vein” of his offense. What we do know is that Cooper torched Peters’ Chiefs for 11/210/2 in Week 7 last year… but in three other games against Peters and Talib, he totaled 3 catches for 18 yards on 10 targets. It’s a brutal Week 1 matchup for the reshuffled Raiders to get off on the right foot

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