Start Em
Andy Dalton – Dalton has an easy matchup this weekend versus the Colts and their unimpressive defense. The Colts do have some nice pieces in Malik Hooker, Kemoko Turay and Jabaal Sheard but this is a defense that is going to put the Colts offense in a lot of holes. Dalton likely will not be a recommended start most weeks but a cake match-up is a cake match-up. Fire Dalton up in what looks to be one of his easiest match-ups all year.
Jordan Wilkins – This may seem counter intuitive, especially after I just finished telling you the Colts are likely to struggle against the Bengals and may end up playing from behind. Vegas, who has people in their employ much smarter than you or I, believes that the Colts will stay competitive and ultimately win this contest and with Marlon Mack limited and banged up and with Christine Michael and Nyheim Hines incompetent thus far in their NFL careers Wilkins could be in line for feature back touches in both the run and pass games. Wilkins is a solid upside RB3 play and if Andrew Luck can keep them in this contest he could have a coming out party and win the starting job for good.
James Conner – The terminator is one of the NFL’s feel good stories and another chapter is set to be written with Conner set to start against the Cleveland Browns this weekend. With Le’Veon Bell still yet to sign his franchise tag and an offensive line that has turned on their star running back look for said offensive line to put in one of their best collective efforts ever as they attempt to show the world that Bell is indeed replaceable and that it is indeed them who make Bell look good and not that Bell and his elite patience and vision that makes them look good. We have Conner as a top twenty option this week and he would be even higher if the Browns defense did not look so downright impressive. Start Conner wherever possible and pay special attention to our running back rankings for any sit/start decisions you may have to make.
Donte Moncrief – Marqise Lee was lost for the season yet most of the fantasy public only moved Keelan Cole up their draft boards seemingly forgetting that Bortles’ has a track record of supporting two top twenty fantasy wideouts in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. If Cole is the more talented version of Allen Hurns then it is the 9 million dollar man Donte Moncrief who is the closest in physical tools and skill set to Robinson. Moncrief has always had WR1 talent and now he may finally get the opportunity and target share to live up to his vast potential. Fire up Moncrief against the Giants this week in both weekly and daily lineups.
Mike Williams – Squaring off against a banged up Kansas City Chiefs secondary Williams has an opportunity to finally put his name on the national fantasy map. A trendy sleeper this off-season, Williams has yet to pass Tyrell Williams on the depth chart but with the large talent disparity it could happen as soon as this week. Williams already projects as one of the Chargers top red zone options and when he is in single coverage across from Keenan Allen he should really shine. With Joey Bosa now ruled out what looked to be a Chargers cake walk has morphed into a potential shootout which should lead to more potential opportunities for Williams to make some noise. Fire Williams up as an upside WR3/flex play.
Sit Em
Jimmy Garoppolo – Depending on league size if you drafted Jimmy G you likely already planned to stream him out of bad matchups. Week one is a bad matchup. Scheduled to face off against the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota there are a ton of safer options you can roll with, some of which may still be sitting on your waiver wire. One such name is the 68 percent available Andy Dalton; take a look at our QB rankings here for a better picture of where potential available options rank. Sit Jimmy G in a tough matchup where possible.
Sammy Watkins – With the Chiefs squaring off against the Chargers this weekend Sammy Watkins is a name you want to leave on fantasy benches if possible. Joey Bosa has been ruled out which upgrades the Chiefs short yardage and run game but with Watkins likely to be used more exclusively downfield his week one value remains unchanged. Watkins was one of the most debated players of this off-season and while he should have some huge weeks with Pat Mahomes as his quarterback he has shaped up as a weekly boom or bust deep threat until he proves he will receive and haul in consistent week to week targets. Leave Watkins on fantasy benches where at all possible.
Tyler Lockett – Although he is probably no more than a flex2 option on your roster anyways Lockett should be sat this week with the Seahawks scheduled to take on the Denver Broncos. While Doug Baldwin remains a strong play Lockett gets downgraded with the tough matchup as well as snap share uncertainty as we wait and see how and how much both Brandon Marshall and Jaron Brown are deployed by Pete Carroll. Lockett should still see a few targets and could be the recipient of a few deep balls but expect Seattle to find more room to operate underneath which may lead to Lockett being an afterthought in this weeks gameplan.
Marshawn Lynch – This is more of a gameflow based suggestion as opposed to a Lynch versus the Rams because with a solid and improved offensive line and the Rams in a 3-4 with no impressive outside linebackers Lynch can find room to operate especially on outside runs with his bruising beast mode style. While the Raiders are smaller underdogs then one would think they did start as low as +2.5 at some books and has reached up to +5 during the offseason. The loss of Khalil Mack and Martavis Bryant cripples their upside on both sides of the ball which means this game could quickly turn into a shootout with the Raiders in catch-up mode. Amari Cooper himself even opined that the Raiders may have to score on every possession to be competitive with the Rams.
Chris Carson – With Chris Carson set to face off against a scary Denver Broncos defensive front owners should be looking at other options for week one. Hopefully Carson is more of a flex or flex2 option on your team and you are not stuck having to decide whether to start him as your RB1 or RB2 due to injuries, Zero RB or franchise tags. Carson may have a good week or two ahead of him before Rashaad Penny steals the starting job but the smart money says that this won’t be one of those weeks. Sit Carson where possible.
