Godzilla Wins' Fantasy Panel Builds Its Week 1 DFS Lineup

Fantasy football took over hour two of Saturday's "Godzilla Wins," as host John Fredericks brought in Frank Zaccanelli, host of "Game on America Sports" and a former minority owner and general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, along with Trent Conner, the fantasy analyst and beat writer for WVSportsNation.com, to work through Week 1's injuries and values before building a full lineup on the air.

The draft is over and free agency is what is left, so the panel started with the injuries reshuffling Week 1. Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is out after a knee procedure, and Conner said the pickup is backup Michael Mayer, calling him "a really good pickup" with the Raiders passing game short on other options.

Green Bay's backfield took the bigger hit. Running back Josh Jacobs has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an offseason incident, and backup Marshawn Lloyd is in line for an expanded role. Fredericks called Lloyd a must-add off the waiver wire, though both hosts flagged a tough opening matchup against a Minnesota defense that ranked third in total defense a year ago.

The player they kept circling back to was Tennessee's Tony Pollard, available cheap in most weekly formats. Fredericks said the Titans will lean on the run to protect quarterback Cam Ward, and that Pollard should see enough work on early downs and in pass protection to be a bargain.

Buffalo's Josh Allen produced the show's biggest split. Fredericks said he would pay full price for Allen against a Houston defense that sacked him eight times a year ago, betting the quarterback and his line have fixed what showed up on tape. Conner disagreed, calling Houston's defense elite and Allen, coming off a quiet preseason, more likely to be checking the ball down than throwing deep.

Conner's contrarian receiver was Minnesota's Justin Jefferson, who he argued benefits from Kyler Murray's arrival at quarterback despite Murray's up-and-down history in Arizona. Fredericks pushed back on anointing Murray, but conceded Jefferson's talent alone keeps him in play.

New England's passing game is a bigger mess. Wide receiver AJ Brown is headed to injured reserve with a high ankle sprain and will miss at least four games, and Conner said the vacated targets will likely split between Mack Hollins and Romeo Dobbs early. Fredericks said he is fading the Patriots outright this season, pointing to the offensive line and the distraction of Bill Belichick's off-field conduct.

In Atlanta, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's oblique injury has handed the offense to Cooper Rush for Sunday's opener against Pittsburgh. Zaccanelli said Rush should lean on Bijan Robinson with screens and easy completions, and likes tight end Kyle Pitts as a checkdown beneficiary. Fredericks countered that Pittsburgh will load the box to take Robinson away, and said he would fade the running back this week anyway.

At tight end, Zaccanelli called Mayer a must-play value at $2,900, cheap enough to fund a star elsewhere in the lineup. On defense, Fredericks liked Tennessee at $3,100 against a Jets offense that struggled all preseason, predicting a low-scoring game the Titans control.

With that, the three built a full lineup out loud, working inside a $50,000 salary cap: quarterback Tyler Shough of New Orleans, running backs Chase Brown of Cincinnati and Tony Pollard of Tennessee, receivers Justin Jefferson, Chris Olave and Tre Tucker, tight end Michael Mayer, Bijan Robinson in the flex, and the Titans defense to close it out.

The audio cut out before Fredericks could finish making his case for the lineup, but the picks were already locked in.

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