Fantasy 5: Are we in for a full Ezekiel Elliott season?

(The Fantasy 5 is a quick-hit wrap-up of some of the biggest news topics of the day for fantasy football players, giving you advice you need to set your lineup or pick your DFS roster.)

I’ll be continuing our Fantasy 5 articles each weekend prior to Sunday’s slate, but I wanted to put my own little twist on it heading into the 2017 season. I want to not only focus on the biggest headlines from around the league, but also some of the storylines that have piqued my interest and are worth diving into a bit. While we don’t think about it as such at first glance, the NFL is one of the biggest dramatic events we witness each week, with big plays and big scores influencing both our fantasy teams and our excitement for the game. We also have the underlying stories that make up the backbone of the league as an interesting topic to dive into briefly here in this weekly segment. Let’s get started.

1. Ezekiel Elliott to play 16 games?

I’m not going to dive into anything here beyond the news. Elliott was granted a preliminary injunction request by a U.S. District Court judge, essentially postponing the case and placing it on suspension. While it is on suspension, Elliott is free to play football this season. We do not know how long this suspension will last, but we do have a precedent of Tom Brady’s case letting him play out the full season before it was handled in the offseason. Elliott’s case may follow something similar, or the case may open in Week 15 during fantasy football playoffs. We just don’t know. What we do know is that Elliott is likely to play beyond this Week 1 matchup and likely for most of the season. Elliott has been active all offseason in practices and team meetings, but it’s a shame for how the timing of this uncertainty impacted season-long leagues.

2. Will Le’Veon Bell “hit the ground running” in Week 1?

Unlike Zeke, Bell’s holdout has kept him out of practice for much of the offseason. I’m not here to argue if Bell is in shape or not, but he may not be in “game shape” of exactly where he wants to be heading into Week 1. Bell has been one of the league’s biggest workhorses, leading the league in Actual Opportunity last year (posting the highest score of the last decade), and dominating snaps at the running back position. I’m not 100 percent convinced Bell will see all of these touches and snaps if this Week 1 matchup in Cleveland turns into a massive blowout. Bell was held out of their Week 17 matchup last year, but in Week 11, Bell played 100 percent of the running back snaps against Cleveland and netted 199 total yards and a score. If the Steelers get up early in this game – and they very realistically could with Martavis Bryant back in the fold – then it wouldn’t shock me if the team wanted to get rookie James Conner involved in the fourth quarter and keep Bell out of harm’s way. The four killer B’s (Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Bryant) have rarely seen the field together, and it wouldn’t be that surprising if Mike Tomlin elected to keep Bell out of harm’s way if they’re up more than two scores in the fourth.

3. Will penalties play a crucial role in 2017, again?

2016 saw a major increase in penalties when it came to the passing game. In fact, it had the most combined defensive pass inference calls and defensive holding calls we’ve seen in what’s become a growing trend:

Given the NFL’s rules and how strict the league’s officials are trying to abide them, it wouldn’t shock me to see this trend continue in 2017. We know the NFL isn’t afraid to make changes to some of their long-standing rules, but this needs to be near the top of their agenda in the near future. Don’t be surprised if some games are swayed by major penalties starting as early as Week 1.

4. Can the Jaguars’ offseason moves pay off?

The Jaguars have been routinely featured in this section here because they’re one of the most fascinating teams to watch. The Raiders have found a way out of the basement, climbing their way into the playoffs last year. The Browns continue to utilize analytics to recoup value in trades and have made some savvy draft picks and free agent acquisitions the past two years to see they’re clearly on the rise. The Jaguars … well, the Jaguars are getting there. They added some major defensive pieces this offseason in Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye, and Barry Church. They revamped their offensive identity drafting Leonard Fournette fourth overall and added run-blocking linemen and fullbacks to help cater the way. But they didn’t make a single move to upgrade the quarterback position. Blake Bortles ranked 38th in our passing grade last season. I’m eager to see if this new rushing identity and dominant defense can find ways to win in 2017.

5. Will Week 1 bring fireworks in Green Bay?

It’s not uncommon to see offenses still trying to work out the kinks in Week 1. Vegas isn’t projecting that to happen in Green Bay, with the Packers/Seahawks game pacing the league in highest projected game total (51 points). Targeting high game totals is a fruitful exercise in both DFS and season-long leagues, and both of these offenses bring plenty of playmakers to the table to warrant rostering in this one. Interestingly enough, this is the only game on the slate that the opening game total has gone up, rising from a 49.5 game total at open to a current 51 total as of Saturday morning. I’m expecting a ton of scoring and fantasy points aplenty in this matchup. Since Russell Wilson entered the league, the Seahawks and Packers have played each other four times. The Seahawks have won the two games played in Seattle and the Packers have won the two games played in Green Bay. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues, with the Packers currently favorites at home by three points.