Antonio Brown Fantasy Outlook Rebounds Following Apology and Non-Suspension

The Oakland Raiders' regular season hasn't even kicked off, and 2019 has already been a roller coaster ride for anyone who drafted Antonio Brown in fantasy football.

The most recent concern was that Brown was going to be suspended by the team following a confrontation with GM Mike Mayock at Thursday's practice, but the team seems to be content with Brown's apology, announcing that he will suit up on Monday.

Brown's 2019 season is already full of red flags: his strange frostbite issues, threatening retirement over his fight to wear his old helmet, and now this almost-suspension. That keeps his season-long fantasy football value in flux, but for the short term there's still plenty to like.

Antonio Brown Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Brown arrives in Oakland having caught at least 100 passes in six consecutive seasons, and it's unlikely the Raiders traded for Brown (off-field issues and all) without the intention of featuring him heavily in their offense.

Receiving targets from Derek Carr may reduce Brown's efficiency relative to what he managed with Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, but his volume should more than make up for it.

More concerning than the QB change is Brown's Week 1 matchup, which comes against a dangerous Denver Broncos defense.

The Broncos already ranked fourth in the NFL in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA rankings in 2018, and they now have a head coach in Vic Fangio that coached the Chicago Bears defense, which ranked first.

Tough matchup or not, though, you simply can't leave Brown on your fantasy football bench now that he's suiting up on Monday night.

There's a reason he was being drafted as the WR9 this season, per FantasyPros.com, and even in his brutal matchup he only falls to 14th at WR in our Week 1 fantasy football rankings.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.