5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 1

Tennessee Titans' Passing Offense

Marcus Mariota had just 18 pass attempts during the preseason, so we don't yet know what he's going to look like in new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur's system. But there's a distinct possibility that a change in philosophy could lead to a big boost in value for the Tennessee Titans, justifying a speculative buy as they face the Miami Dolphins.

LaFleur was with the Los Angeles Rams last year, working under head coach Sean McVay. The Rams finished that season first in situation-neutral pace, according to Football Outsiders. More plays means more potential for fantasy goodness.

The Titans? They were 28th in situation-neutral pace. That's more nightmare than fantasy.

It's too early to tell if LaFleur's presence will push the Titans to be an up-tempo team, but they might not be the only unit kicking things up a notch in this game alone.

Dolphins offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said at a press conference in May, "Obviously, we want to run an up-tempo, no-huddle offense." They followed through on that in the preseason as the team led the league with 42 drop backs from the hurry-up, according to Pat Thorman of Pro Football Focus.

This game has a total of 45 points, which is tied for sixth highest on the main slate. It's not going to catch anybody's attention. But it potentially should, making the Titans more attractive than they've been in recent seasons.

Of course, that's not why we're here. This is a piece about matchups, and that's certainly a juicy component here, too. The increased pace just makes it even moreso.

The Dolphins finished last year ranked 24th against the pass, according to numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. They did address the issue by taking safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first round of the draft, but he's not listed as a starter on their Week 1 depth chart. They have talent up front in Cameron Wake, but this doesn't have the looks of being a top-end unit in 2018.

The Titans didn't look that way on offense, either, last year, as they ranked 25th in Adjusted Passing NEP per play. That is partly weighed down by a particularly dumpster-fire-esque performance by Matt Cassel against this same Dolphins team in October while Mariota was dinged up. And when Mariota is healthy, he has shown in the past that he can be a force.

In 2016 -- just his second season as a starter -- Mariota averaged 7.9 adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A). That ranked sixth in the league and ties the highest single-season mark of Andrew Luck's career. We tend to view a healthy Luck as a top-flight passer, but Mariota doesn't get the same buzz. Mariota did this in his age-23 season, and that number does not account for his abilities as a rusher.

Now with a new offensive system in place that should better cater to his strengths, Mariota could be on the verge of another breakout. What better time to buy in than when he's $7,200 on FanDuel?

As far as stacking with Mariota goes, you've got options. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what the target distribution of this team will look like with everybody healthy.

For most of last year, the Titans' pass-catching core was dealing with injuries, and that carried over into this preseason, as well. So full-season data and preseason data are both out.

However, we did get at least a small snapshot of the trio of Corey Davis, Rishard Matthews, and Delanie Walker all playing together at the end of last year. All three played each game from Week 14 through the two playoff games. Here's how the targets were doled out in that time.

Overall, none of those market shares are great outside of Davis' deep target volume. But we also have to remember that Eric Decker is no longer in the fold.

Decker still managed to see quite a bit of volume in this stretch, sitting second on the team in overall targets, third in deep targets, and tied for first in red-zone targets. Some of those will go to a guy like Taywan Taylor, but some should also go to these top three.

With that in mind, any of these guys could be in play for this week. But Davis and Walker do seem to stand out.

Walker had a toe injury earlier in the preseason but was not listed on the team's injury report on Wednesday. There are a good number of solid plays at tight end this week, but Walker's firmly one of them.

As for Davis, he showed his upside in the postseason, hauling in a pair of touchdowns as the Titans almost knocked off the New England Patriots. He's not a bargain at $6,400, but with health on his side entering his second season, he appears to be a strong play on Sunday.