Gridiron Player Club NFL 1-2 Units (9/9/24)

CFB

4 Picks.

8:15PM EST: 49ers -3.5 (2 Units), NYJ/SF Under 43.5 (2 Units).

Bullish on the Jets this season but this is a tough spot week 1. They go across the country and play in a packed house at prime time. Offensively the Jets will be much improved with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, but they had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last year. It's a group poised to dramatically improve as they signed Free Agents Tyron Smith and John Simpson. They also traded for Morgan Moses and have a healthy AVT for now. It just takes time for a starting 5 to gel. They didn't get all 5-lineman practicing together until August 2nd this year. There just haven't been a ton of live reps for that Unit and they open the season with arguably the best Front 7 in the NFL. Another one of the Jets big off-season acquisitions, WR Mike Williams, didn't start practicing with the team until August 20th.

Defensively the Jets will be one of the best in Football, but their defensive line isn't a sure thing. They traded away their starting Defensive End John-Franklin Myers, and lost sack Leader Bryce Huff to Free Agency. The Eagles Hasson Reddick was set to be the best of both worlds, a run stuffing edge rusher but he's currently holding out. They're hoping for a big leap out of 2023 first round Pick Will McDonald but that's to be determined. Their back end is still elite. There isn't a better CB trio than Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed, and Michael Carter. With that we expect SF to lean on its elite ground game.

The NYJ ranked 24th in rushing yards allowed per game last season and they're going to be a bit smaller up front this year. With JFM in Denver and Reddick holding out, the 240-pound Will McDonald is going to see plenty of snaps. They lost the mammoth Al Woods at DT and replaced him with former 49er Javon Kinlaw whose run defense has been inconsistent at best throughout his career. They're without Leki Fotu for the first 4 weeks of the season too, their run stuffing specialist on the interior. One of the Jets starting Linebackers is also a converted Safety. The Jets aggressive defensive philosophy plays into SF's offensive scheme. They shoot gaps and get up field which creates some negative plays, but it also creates monster running lanes.

It's SF's ability to run the football that we believe makes the difference in this game. Both teams possess elite redzone defense but the 49ers’ ability to run the ball should help turn those redzone trips into Touchdowns. Unlike the Jets the 49ers have 4 of their 5 starting Offensive lineman returning from last year. A group that led them to a Superbowl and ranked 5th in rushing yards per game. It would be all 5 but RG Jon Feliciano is on the IR. He's replaced by their 3rd round pick, Dominick Puni.

8:15PM EST: (SF) Jordan Mason Anytime TD +750 (1 Unit)

CMC missed most of training camp and pre-season with a calf strain. He will play tonight but his inability to get reps, injury history, and the fact it's week 1 will limit his workload. Kyle Shanahan uses his backup RB plenty as it is and 13 of SF's 27 rushing touchdowns last year came from players other than CMC. The NYJ were Tied for 3rd in Passing Touchdowns allowed per game last season but were Tied 12th when it comes to Rushing Touchdowns. The Jets DL also lost 2 key contributors, mainly John Franklin-Myers when it comes to run defense. He’s a very edge defender and was supposed to be replaced by Hasson Reddick, who's currently holding out.

8:15PM EST: (NYJ) Braelon Allen Anytime TD +750 (1 Unit)

The Jets drafted Allen 134th overall in this past draft to help carry the load at the RB position. He's a massive back at 6'1 240 and the perfect complement to the elusive Breece Hall. He excelled in training camp and in the Jets first 2 pre-season games. So much so they held him out of their pre-season finale along with all other starters. He's not much of a receiving back and is built for short yardage situations. He's going to get some touches and in the red zone after Breece Hall does the work to get them down there. Hall’s not going to be overworked in the first game of the season.