It's a new season of the NFL, and a new season of our Fantasy Index Blackout competition. Each week you pick your best starting lineup (minus some blacked out stars -- don't expect to ever use Saquon Barkley or Patrick Mahomes), and see how they do.
Winners get fun rewards of some sort, I know for one thing they get to participate in our Experts Auction and Draft in the magazine. That's right, your name in print! Whoo.
Each Wednesday, after I finish up work on the Weekly, my bone-tired and bleary-eyed self will post my own Blackout lineup. Then you can see how badly you destroy me each week. Let's go.
Quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. LOL, Mahomes is available this week. Kansas City is in Jacksonville, that's why. I might change my mind before Sunday, but the humor potential of using Mahomes after I said you wouldn't be able to a few seconds earlier is too rich to pass up. Houston probably won't run a lick at New Orleans, so Watson should put up big passing numbers.
Running backs: Saquon Barkley and Dalvin Cook. Blackout elves were napping at the running back position. Lots of appealing choices. I'm using Barkley, who won't be available often I'm sure, and Cook. Kamara and McCaffrey also in the discussion, but I love Cook this year.
Wide receivers: Odell Beckham, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen. I hate to leave Michael Thomas out of my lineup and maybe I won't. But I think Beckham will come up big in his first game as a Brown, and Hopkins and Allen should each catch about eleventy billion passes this week. But maybe I'll bounce Allen for Thomas.
Tight ends: Travis Kelce and Evan Engram. Nothing too fancy here. Kelce's the best and he won't be available often. Engram should catch a lot of passes all year long. I don't actually have him on any teams this year (one more draft tonight, so maybe) but I do like the guy. Everyone else seems to, too.
Kickers: Justin Tucker and Wil Lutz. Guys from favored teams who should score plenty, that's kind of my rule here. Gotta remind the Blackout elves to get the right Atlanta kicker into the game.
Defenses: Baltimore and Seattle. "Team Facing Miami" will be a popular Blackout play for me this year. Team facing Cincinnati will get some love, too.
Good luck to the rest of you, and get those lineups in!