With week one of the NFL season hours away, I choose who to start and not to start for week one. I also attempt to project how many points they will earn this week.
I don’t care what you are doing this week, starting 1-0 is very critical for fantasy success. Even if you are at a party and have to bring your laptop (like I did) you need to maximize your lineup for the first week.
Quarterback
Colin Kaepernick against the Dallas Cowboys (25-35 points) — This should be fairly self explanatory. The Cowboys' pass defense was awful during the preseason and without DeMarcus Ware, Dallas will have a tough time containing Kaepernick.
Aaron Rodgers against the Seattle Seahawks (19-27 points) — There is no reason to start Rodgers. Legion of Boom + In Seattle = Don’t start Rodgers. Even with Rodger’s repertoire, the All-Pro will struggle on Thursday night.
Running Back
LeSean McCoy against Jacksonville Jaguars (19-24 points) — McCoy has repeated he wants a heavier workload this season. He will have his plate full when Philly goes against Jacksonville, so expect McCoy to have multiple touches on the ground and air in week one.
Doug Martin against Carolina Panthers (10-17 points) — The Panthers defense is for real and like last season, I expect them to be just as valiant and savage as last year. Not wise to start Martin.
Wide Receiver
Pierre Garçon against the Houston Texans (18-27 points) — The wide receiver position is always a tough position to predict, but given Garçon’s recent history of targets in Washington, Garçon should be a solid option.
Keenan Allen against Arizona Cardinals (12-18 points) — The Cardinals defense has been quietly underrated in terms of shutting down opponents. Don’t be shocked if Allen doesn’t produce at a high level against Patrick Peterson.
Tight End
Jimmy Graham against Atlanta Falcons (15-20 points) — Basically the only tight end worthy of starting every week. Graham has produced against the Falcons in recent outings.
Jason Witten against San Francisco (9-15 points) — Who would honestly want to go against Patrick Willis and NaVarro Bowman?
Kicker
Stephen Gostkowski against Miami Dolphins (7-13 points) — Hard to argue the Gostkowski is the best kicker in the league right now.
Josh Brown against Detroit Lions (4-8 points) — If Eli Manning has another season like he did in 2013, Brown won’t be making many PATs or points.
Defense
Cleveland Browns against Pittsburgh Steelers (5-15 points) — The Browns’ defense looked pretty sharp in the preseason and expect them to cause turnovers against Big Ben and the struggling Steelers.
Denver Broncos against Indianapolis Colts (0-8 points) — I don’t trust Denver’s defense yet. Even with it’s new additions, sounding good on paper is a whole lot different than being cohesive on the field.
