Yowie Wowie, I’m Baaack. Yes, With Week 1 of the NFL Season here, it is time for one of my favorite pools of the year, Survivor pools. As always I will discuss the rules for a survivor pool. It is a weekly contest where people select one team straight up per week to win their game. If a team chosen won, then they advance to the next week, but keep in mind that the team chosen can’t be used for the rest of the season. If a team that they chose for that week loses, well they are eliminated from the pool.
So now that the rules are set it is time for me to give my Top 5 options, a trap pick, and my survivor pick for the week.
Top 5 Survivor Picks
1. Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans
This is clearly the safe option of the week in survivor pools. Look, the Texans are a lot better than last year, but the Ravens are the kings of destroying teams in week 1. Plus I don’t think the Texans have the talent to beat the Baltimore Ravens who are aiming to have a deep run in the playoffs. If you want no anxiety this week in survivor, it is a nice option to take in survivor.
2. Washington Commanders vs Arizona Cardinals
Another popular selection that a lot of people are taking in survivors pools is the Washington Commanders. With good reason too as I have no idea what the heck the Cardinals are doing at the quarterback position. To be honest I don’t think the Cardinals themselves know what they're doing as they have not even revealed anything regarding who the starting QB is going to be. Remind me why they released Colt McCoy again? Josh Dobbs has not had chemistry throwing to the receivers in Arizona and Tune did not impress in the preseason. No matter who starts, they are going to have a tough time with the Commanders defense who when healthy is a Top 10 unit. Not only that, but the Cardinals defense is awful and Sam Howell should have a field day. This is also the first home game in the post Dan Snyder era and the fans are going to be a lot more explosive in this game. The Commanders have little future value and this is the best week to choose them.
3. Minnesota Vikings vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
While the Vikings' defense is considered mediocre, they should handle business against a struggling Bucs team. Tampa Bay was arguably the weakest team in the playoffs last season, and there have been significant changes in Tampa. Tom Brady has retired for good, and now Baker Mayfield will be the starter, which is a considerable downgrade. The Bucs have also lost their center, with his injury rumored to be career-threatening. In addition, the Bucs have an underperforming head coach in Todd Bowles, and they are playing as the away team. Considering the Vikings also don't offer much future value in Survivor, and with them being the home team, this is a solid pick.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
While it is a divisional game, and the Jaguars are a solid choice in survivor, they are clearly the more talented team and should take care of business against a very weak Colts team. Especially as the Colts will be starting Anthony Richardson at QB. Richardson is a rookie in his first start, and it is clear from his performances in the pre-season that he is nowhere near ready for this role as he is still pretty raw as a QB. Plus, the Colts really don't have any weapons surrounding Richardson in this game, excluding Michael Pittman, who is a must-draft in fantasy. Jonathan Taylor is on the PUP list, and it also looks like he may never play another snap with the team again. Picking the Jaguars feels like the right move to make here.
5. Denver Broncos vs Las Vegas Raiders
This is a sleeper selection for many via survivor pools. Look, the Broncos were awful last season, but they heavily upgraded in coaching hiring Sean Payton and this defense is still very good. The Raiders on the other hand are absolutely garbage as they downgraded at QB, their defense is the worst in the league, they tried to copycat the Patriots this offseason which just screams disaster, and Josh McDaniels is still their head coach. The Broncos will be a lot better and while their receiving room is banged up right now, they still should have plenty of weapons to utilize and get the win against the Raiders.
Trap Survivor Pick
Seattle Seahawks vs Los Angeles Rams
I don't understand why there is a tremendous number of people picking the Seahawks in survivor pools this week. The main reason the Rams had a tough season last year was due to the numerous injuries they faced. Sean McVay is still their coach, and they are much healthier this season, with the exception of Cooper Kupp, who is dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. This makes the Rams a much tougher opponent for the Seahawks this week. Even though the Seahawks are the home team, it's generally advisable to avoid picking divisional games because they can be unpredictable.
Furthermore, Seattle has several favorable matchups later in the season, including Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, Week 7 and 18 against the Arizona Cardinals, Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, and Week 10 against the Washington Commanders. It's wise to be patient when choosing the Seahawks, so I would recommend avoiding them for Week 1.
My Survivor Pick: Washington Commanders
Week 1 is a really challenging week to choose from in Survivor Pools. Out of the Top 5 options above, I passed on taking the Jacksonville Jaguars, because there will be plenty of weeks to take them in survivor and they are not the home team. The Ravens are the safe option, but there are plenty of weeks to take them as the safe option. Week 3 is intriguing against the Indianapolis Colts and Week 8 as well against the Arizona Cardinals are very intriguing. So, the Ravens were not my pick. The Broncos are intriguing, but since it is a divisional game it kind of scares me, especially in a week 1 game.
This pick came down to the Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings as both don’t have that much future value in survivor. However the Vikings do have one other game that really intrigues me in Survivor and that is in Week 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders as I think the Raiders at that point will be tanking for the 1st overall pick. So I am going to be taking the Washington Commanders as my survivor pick for Week 1.
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