Arizona Cardinals-Detroit Lions top fantasy options
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals host the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon in Glendale
After watching the preseason it might be easier to point out who is going to have a big game and who isn’t for the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions. However we just don’t know at this point 100 percent for sure given we didn’t really see much.
Over the course of the season it is easier to say who is likely to have better fantasy value, however this game could end up being a 17-3 dud like last year’s game in Glendale between these two teams, or maybe a bit of an offensive show like we’ve seen in the past in games played in Detroit between these two.
So, a best guess is the way to go. Here are the top guys you should consider going with and ones you might want to stay away from on Sunday.
Start
Kenny Golladay, Lions
Golladay was quiet against the Cardinals last season. However without Patrick Peterson or Robert Alford in the defensive backfield for the Cardinals he could go off like he did two years ago in the season opener in Detroit when he caught three touchdowns.
Matthew Stafford, Lions
So, if Golladay is having a big day, then if you have Stafford, you may want to consider playing him against a pass defense we just don’t know what to expect at this point. Stafford threw for just 101-yards against the Cardinals last December.
Kerryon Johnson, Lions
Well if the Cardinals rush defense in the regular season is anything resembling that of the defense in preseason, Johnson might be close to 100-yards in the first half. We’ll see again though. The defense was pretty vanilla. However it is the Cardinals tackling that could be more concerning.
Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
He’s going to get the ball. Or at least quarterback Kyler Murray is going to try. Fitz has his consecutive games with a reception streak at 227-games on the line. He is also just 22 receptions behind Tony Gonzalez for the second-most all time. 23 is the magic number to surpass him.
Sit
Kyler Murray, Cardinals
He will be a good one, no doubt. There are going to be Sunday’s he puts up really big numbers. It is just way too early to say when. This is his first start. It could be quite a risk putting him out there on opening day.
Cardinals defense
This might be the riskiest proposition out of all the fantasy possibilities on Sunday afternoon. They could be light years ahead of what they did in the preseason and we certainly hope that is the case. But until they prove it, sit the Cardinals defense.