There have been many complaints from people over the years about Thursday night games, but most diehard football fans will take a game whenever they can get it—even if the Thursday-nighters turn out to be unpredictable and sometimes sloppy. The NFL regular season lasts only 17 weeks, so many fans love their Mondays and Thursday night games for 16 of those weeks. That’s just under 31% of the year.
Another reason people enjoy the non-Sunday games so much—for better or worse—is because of the fantasy football implications. Having a player or two in a Thursday contest can make you feel confident (or nervous) heading into Sunday, depending on how the player(s) perform. And Mondays can get you off to a miserable start to your real week if you take things too hard.
So it’s good that the NFL gave FOX an awesome slate of games for Thursday nights this fall. Non-fantasy fans will hopefully have great games to watch, while having good teams typically means more (and sometimes better) fantasy options.
For most fantasy leagues, tonight’s contest between the Vikings and the Rams might have a player in every single game. There could be more high-end elite fantasy options, but in terms of depth, it doesn’t get much better than this.
This is obviously an inexact science, but I’ve identified the ten teams that probably have the deepest group of fantasy options. I am not factoring in the strength of each individual option, but rather if players are typically “starters” or borderline starters in standard 10- or 12-team lineups. The total under each team is the number of those options for that team.
Packers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Jones
Davante Adams
Randall Cobb
Jimmy Graham
Total: 5
Patriots
Tom Brady
Sony Michel
James White
Josh Gordon
Chris Hogan
Rob Gronkowski
Total: 6
Saints
Drew Brees
Alvin Kamara
Mark Ingram*
Michael Thomas
Benjamin Watson
Total: 5
Buccaneers
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Mike Evans
DeSean Jackson
Chris Godwin
O.J. Howard
Total: 5
Falcons
Matt Ryan
Devonta Freeman
Tevin Coleman
Julio Jones
Calvin Ridley
Total: 5
Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger
James Conner
Antonio Brown
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Vance McDonald
Total: 5
Chargers
Philip Rivers
Melvin Gordon
Austin Ekeler
Keenan Allen
Mike Williams
Total: 5
Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes
Kareem Hunt
Tyreek Hill
Sammy Watkins
Travis Kelce
Total: 5
Rams
Jared Goff
Todd Gurley
Brandin Cooks
Robert Woods
Cooper Kupp
Total: 5
Vikings
Kirk Cousins
Dalvin Cook
Latavius Murray
Stefon Diggs
Adam Thielen
Kyle Rudolph
Total: 6
So the only matchup that could potentially get a higher total of usual “starting” players is the Patriots and Vikings—which, luckily, we will get later this year in Week 13. But it’s a 4:25 PM ET game. Tonight, for the first Thursday Night Football game on FOX, it will have as much fantasy implication as nearly any game on the calendar this season.
Everyone enjoy the action, but remember it’s only one game. You’ll have plenty of matchups to watch and plenty of opportunities for your guys to rack up fantasy points in just a few days.
My matchup has 5 guys in tonight’s game lol.
WOW good call.