Fantasy Football Week 1: Start 'Em

By Vincent Frank on Thursday, September 10th 2015
Fantasy Football Week 1: Start 'Em

We dive deeper into the daily leagues with matchup recommendations and other tremendous tools for our premium users in other articles on eDraft. 

In what will be a FREE weekly piece, here are a few of the best start 'em options in standard leagues heading into Week 1 of the NFL season. Don't worry, we won't sit here and recommed that you start Aaron Rodgers. If you are playing fantasy football, we are pretty sure you already know this. The goal at eDraft is to provide substantial information to help you make the difficult decisions. 

 

Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins

By ADP standards, Tannehill isn't even considered a QB1 option in standard 12-team leagues. Coming off a season that saw him finish eighth among fantasy quarterbacks, that's absurd. Considering Tannehill also finished right up there among QB1's in consistency, this is even more ridiculous. 

Now going up against a Washington Redskins defense that ranked dead last against fantasy quarterbacks last season, and Tannehill becomes a must start Week 1. Unless you have a top-end QB1 (I hope you don't with Tannehill as your QB2), run with this up-and-coming quarterback. 

 

Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Arizona Cardinals

The New Orleans Saints defense hasn't been too great against the pass at full strength. With both Jairus Byrd and Keenan Lewis sidelined in this one, that's only going to be magnified further. Prior to tearing his ACL last year, Palmer was a QB1 option. Now with a full supporting case prepared to help him further, the expectation here has to be that he will continue to impress. 

 

Doug Martin, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Here's a player we have focused on a lot this week. And for good reason. Martin looked exceptional during the preseason, going for nearly six yards per attempt. He also averaged a ridiculous 4.4 yards after contact. Going up against a Titans defense that boasts one of the worst tackling linebacker groups, Martin should have a field day here. We really don't need to be geniuses to figure this one out. Based on his presason ADP, it's likely you have Martin as a RB2 or FLEX option. Make sure to start him against a Titans defense that ranked 30th against fantasy running backs last season and did very little to upgrade that category. 

 

Jonathan Stewart, Running Back, Carolina Panthers

Going up against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs last season, Stewart is a must start this week. Mainly due to a checkered injury history, this veteran finds himself as nothing more than a RB2/FLEX in terms of ADP. If Stewart stays healthy and performs at the clip we saw towards the latter part of last season (679 yards last seven games), he automatically provides top-12 running back upside. Healthy to start the 2015 season, he could be a fantasy boon in Week 1. 

 

Kendall Wright, Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans

Leagues that place a high premium on PPR will see Wright far outperform where he was drafted prior to the season. As Marcus Mariota's No. 1 receiver, and as someone that has proven he can be  a possession guy, Wright will likely provide a ridiculously high number of receptions this season. Remember, he's averaging over 70 receptions per season in his first three years with the Titans. 

In addition to this, Tampa Bay yielded the third-most fantasy points to opposing receivers. In fact, players at that position caught nearly 67 percent of the passes thrown in their direction against the Buccaneers much-maligned secondary. Considering Wright is averaging 7.6 targets per game in his career, I have a hard time finding 23 other wide receivers that will perform at a higher clip than him. This makes the normal bench option a solid WR2 play in standard 12-team leagues. 

 

John Brown, Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals

If Michael Floyd is unable to go after dislocating a few fingers during camp, Brown becomes an even stronger fantasy play against a bad Saints defense. We covered the injuries Rob Ryan's unit is going through above. Now enter into the equation Brown's ability to get down the field, and we could be looking at multiple big plays from the second-year receiver. At this point, and if he is playing the slot, New Orleans has absolutely no one to go up against Brown. While he likely won't be a huge PPR play, Brown's ability to make multiple big plays this week makes him a tremendous start option for teams that down have two top-15 wide receivers on their roster. 

 

Larry Donnell, Tight End, New York Giants 

This is the ultimate late-round tight end strategy. It's highly likely that if you rostered Donnell, it was to play matchups with yet another late-round TE1 option. Going up against a Dallas Cowboys defense that allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends last season, Donnell becomes a solid play. Factor in the injury to Orlando Scandrick and suspension of Rolando McClain, and this is magnified even further. Dallas doesn't have the safety play to go up against Donnell. Without a true cover backer in the mix, this duty might be left up to whoever mans the slot. That's a mismatch in Donnell's favor. 

 

Lock of the Week: Sam Bradford, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles

Surprisingly, Bradford enters his first season as the Eagles starter with an ADP that sees him being relied on as nothing more than a top-end QB2 (15th quarterback off the board). Considering just how quarterback-friendly Chip Kelly's offense is, that makes absolutely no sense. Coming off a preseason that saw him lead the Eagles to all touchdowns in all four possessions he was under center, Bradford is primed to start the season strong. 

This week's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons also has to be taken into account. Going up against a potent Matt Ryan-led offense, the Eagles are going to have to put up a nice amount of points to win here. And while new Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is looking to bring a new nasty to the team's defense, that unit ranked in the bottom 10 of the NFL against fantasy quarterbacks last season. Unless you have one of the top three or four fantasy quarterbacks rostered, start Bradford this week. 330-plus passing yards with three scores is not far-fetched here. 

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