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Fantasy Football: Week 1 Rankings

And just like that, everything is wrapped up in a neat little package. Rankings make fantasy life easy, and since it’s Week 1, this might be the final time I get to look like a genius for a while. The rankings below are based intended for PPR leagues and are influenced by last season stats and, of course, favorable Week 1 matchups. Hopefully, they don’t make you want to throw your computer out the window.

Agree or disagree with Ryan’s rankings? Let him know on Twitter! @RyanCook13

Quarterbacks

The Colts finally came clean on Monday. Andrew Luck will miss Week 1, and we still have no clear timetable as to when he’ll return. While we’re here, let’s also talk Carson Palmer. If you’re a Luck owner, he’s your go-to pairing option while you await Luck’s return. The Cardinals’ opening schedule looks like this: @DET, @IND, vs. DAL, vs. SF, @PHI, vs. TB, @LAR. Go ahead, point at the super tough defenses among that list. That’s right, you can’t! It’s also interesting to see Marcus Mariota’s ADP drop to 77 over the last week. He could still be available after the 12th round in some leagues, and after the Titans’ o-line gave up the seventh fewest sacks last year, that’s money value.

Player  Team  Opponent
 1. Aaron Rodgers GB  vs. SEA
 2. Drew Brees NO @ MIN
 3. Tom Brady NE vs. KC
 4. Matt Ryan ATL @ CHI
 5. Marcus Mariota TEN vs. OAK
 6. Kirk Cousins WAS vs. PHI
 7. Russell Wilson SEA  @ GB
 8. Cam Newton CAR  @ SF
 9. Andy Dalton CIN  vs. BAL
 10. Dak Prescott DAL  vs. NYG
 11. Derek Carr OAK  @ TEN
 12. Ben Roethlisberger PIT  @ CLE
 13. Phillip Rivers LAC  @ DEN
 14. Matthew Stafford DET  vs. ARI
 15. Carson Palmer ARI  @ DET
 16. Eli Manning NYG  @ DAL
 17. Tyrod Taylor BUF  vs. NYJ
 18. Carson Wentz PHI  @ WAS
 19. Alex Smith KC  @ NE
 20. Joe Flacco BAL  @ CIN
 21. Sam Bradford MIN  vs. NO
 22. Brian Hoyer SF  vs. CAR
 23. Jared Goff LAR  vs. IND
 24. Josh McCown NYJ  @ BUF
 25. Tom Savage HOU  vs. JAC
 26. Blake Bortles JAC  @ HOU
 27. DeShone Kizer CLE  vs. PIT
 28. Trevor Siemian DEN  vs. LAC
 29. Mike Glennon CHI vs. ATL
 30. Scott Tolzien IND  @ LAR

Running Backs

Feels good to have Ezekiel Elliott back. The Giants defense ranked ninth in rushing touchdowns allowed last season, so smiles all around. The Kareem Hunt hype hasn’t fully reached fever-pitch, but his ADP sure has. It’s risen seven spots since Spencer Ware’s injury, and he’s even been drafted ahead of guys like Amari Cooper. Further down the list, Matt Forte also stands out. All it will take is for offensive coordinator John Morton to actually, y’know, use him wisely – even if it is just on third down this season. Finally, C.J. Anderson also cracks the Top 25. The Broncos are facing the Chargers, last year’s worst rushing defense.

Player Team Opponent
 1. Le’Veon Bell  PIT  @CLE
 2. David Johnson  ARI  @DET
 3. Ezekiel Elliott  DAL  vs. NYG
 4. Devonta Freeman  ATL  @CHI
 5. LeSean McCoy  BUF  vs. NYJ
 6. DeMarco Murray  TEN  vs. OAK
 7. Melvin Gordon  LAC  @DEN
 8. Jordan Howard  CHI  vs. ATL
 9. Todd Gurley  LAR  vs. IND
 10. Kareem Hunt  KC  @NE
 11. Christan McAffrey  CAR  @SF
 12. Lamar Miller  HOU  vs. JAC
 13. Carlos Hyde  SF  vs. CAR
 14. Bilal Powell  NYJ  @BUF
 15. Isaiah Crowell  CLE  vs. PIT
 16. Leonard Fournette  JAC  @HOU
 17. Ameer Abdullah  DET  vs. ARI
 18. Adrian Peterson  NO  @MIN
 19. Dalvin Cook  MIN  vs. NO
 20. Mark Ingram  NO  @MIN
 21. C.J. Anderson  DEN  vs. LAC
 22. Joe Mixon  CIN  vs. BAL
 23. Marshawn Lynch  OAK  @TEN
 24. Frank Gore  IND  @LAR
 25. Eddie Lacy  SEA  @GB
 26. James White  NE  vs. KC
 27. Terrance West  BAL  @CIN
 28. Ty Montgomery  GB  vs. SEA
 29. Paul Perkins  NYG  @DAL
 30. Robert Kelley  WAS  vs. PHI
 31. Danny Woodhead  BAL  @CIN
 32. Jamaal Charles  DEN  vs. LAC
 33. Jonathan Stewart  CAR  @SF
 34. Darren McFadden  DAL  vs. NYG
 35. Mike Gillislee  NE  vs. KC
 36. Derrick Henry  TEN  vs. OAK
 37. LeGarrette Blount  PHI  @WAS
 38. Tevin Coleman  ATL  @CHI
 39. Theo Riddick  DET  vs. ARI
 40. Duke Johnson  CLE  vs. PIT
 41. Matt Forte  NYJ  @BUF
 42. Darren Sproles  PHI  @WAS
 43. Chris Thompson  WAS  vs. PHI
 44. Shane Vereen  NYG  @DAL
 45. Giovani Bernard  CIN  vs. BAL
 46. C.J. Prosise  SEA  @GB
 47. Latavius Murray  MIN  vs. NO
 48. Jeremy Hill  CIN  vs. BAL
 49. Samaje Perine  WAS  vs. PHI
 50. Thomas Rawls  SEA  @GB
 51. D’Onta Foreman  HOU  vs. JAC
 52. Jamaal Williams  GB  vs. SEA
 53. Tarik Cohen  CHI  vs. ATL
 54. Matt Brieda  SF  vs. CAR
 55. Alvin Kamara  NO  @MIN
 56. T.J. Yeldon  JAC  @HOU

Wide Receivers

Larry Fitzgerald is a surprise Top 10 play this week. He owns 439 career yards and five TDs against the Lions, so those numbers alone deserve some respect. I also felt criminal placing Golden Tate so low, especially since he’s one of just four players to post 90+ catches in each of the last four seasons (sleeper, anyone?). Reaching for Doug Baldwin in the second or third round is still a clever move if you’ve yet to draft. The same goes for Jamison Crowder, who, despite Terrelle Pryor’s presence in Washington, will still see plenty of the 200 targets that went walkabout following DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon’s departure.

 Player  Team  Opponent
 1. Julio Jones  ATL  @CHI
 2. Antonio Brown  PIT  @CLE
 3. Odell Beckham Jr.  NYG  @DAL
 4. Jordy Nelson  GB  vs. SEA
 5. A.J. Green  CIN  vs. BAL
 6. Amari Cooper  OAK  @TEN
 7. Larry Fitzgerald  ARI  @DET
 8. Michael Thomas  NO  @MIN
 9. Terrelle Pryor  WAS  vs. PHI
 10. Doug Baldwin  SEA  @GB
 11. Brandin Cooks  NE  vs. KC
 12. Martavis Bryant  PIT  @CLE
 13. Sammy Watkins  LAR  vs. IND
 14. Kelvin Benjamin  CAR  @SF
 15. Dez Bryant  DAL  vs. NYG
 16. Brandon Marshall  NYG  @DAL
 17. Jarvis Landry  MIA  vs. TB
 18. Michael Crabtree OAK  @TEN
 19. Stefon Diggs  MIN  vs. NO
 20. DeAndre Hopkins  HOU  vs. JAC
 21. Alshon Jefferey  PHI  @WAS
 22. Demaryius Thomas  DEN  vs. LAC
 23. Golden Tate  DET  vs. ARI
 24. Allen Robinson  JAC  @HOU
 25. Emmanuel Sanders  DEN  vs. LAC
 26. Keenan Allen  LAC  @LAC
 27. Jeremy Maclin  BAL  @CIN
 28. T.Y. Hilton  IND  @LAR
 29. Jamison Crowder  WAS  vs. PHI
 30. Devante Adams  GB  vs. SEA
 31. Eric Decker  TEN  vs. OAK
 32. Pierre Garcon  SF  vs. CAR
 33. John Brown  ARI  @DET
 34. Zay Jones  BUF  vs. NYJ
 35. Mike Wallace  BAL  @CIN
 36. Kenny Britt  CLE  vs. PIT
 37. Kevin White  CHI  vs. ATL
 38. Marvin Jones  DET  vs. ARI
 39. Randall Cobb  GB  vs. SEA
 40. Chris Hogan  NE  vs. KC
 41. Jordan Matthews  BUF  vs. NYJ
 42. Ted Ginn  NO  @MIN
 43. Danny Amendola  NE  vs. KC
 44. Adam Thielen  MIN  vs. NO
 45. Corey Davis  TEN  vs. OAK
 46. Terrance Williams  DAL  vs. NYG
 47. Paul Richardson  SEA  @GB
 48. Tyrell Williams  LAC  @DEN
 49. Sterling Shepard  NYG  @DAL
 50. Robby Anderson  NYJ  @BUF
 51. Rishard Matthews  TEN  vs. OAK
 52. Donte Moncrief  IND  @LAR
 53. Tyler Lockett  SEA  @GB
 54. Tavon Austin  LAR  vs. IND
 55. Cole Beasley  DAL  vs. NYG
 56. Torrey Smith  PHI  @WAS

Tight Ends

There’s good reason to remain high on Evan Engram in his rookie season. He put up 75 yards during the preseason on just nine targets, and with Odell Beckham Jr. still remaining questionable for Week 1, he’ll likely see a fair share of the ball. Physically, Engram stacks up as a tight end that Eli will love. Coming in at 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, this is a big body you can’t miss. And since he projects to move around in the formation, he’ll likely spend more time as a receiver than a blocker this season. If you can play the matchups right, you’d do well to draft Engram late.

 Player  Team  Opponent
 1. Travis Kelce  KC  @NE
 2. Ron Gronkowski  NE  vs. KC
 3. Greg Olsen  CAR  @SF
 4. Jordan Reed  WAS  vs. PHI
 5. Tyler Eifert  CIN  vs. BAL
 6. Jimmy Graham  SEA  @GB
 7. Delanie Walker  TEN  vs. OAK
 8. Kyle Rudolph  MIN  vs. NO
 9. Martellus Bennett  GB  vs. SEA
 10. Zach Ertz  PHI  @WAS
 11. Evan Engram   NYG  @DAL
 12. Hunter Henry  LAC  @DEN
 13. Eric Ebron   DET  vs. ARI
 14. Antonio Gates  LAC  @DEN
 15. Austin Hooper  ATL  @CHI
 16. Jason Witten   DAL  vs. NYG
 17. Zach Miller  CHI  vs. ATL
 18. Coby Fleener  NO  @MIN
 19. Jack Doyle  IND  @LAR
 20. C.J. Fiedorowicz  HOU  vs. JAC
 21. Jermaine Gresham  ARI  @DET
 22. Charles Clay  BUF  vs. NYJ
 23. Vance McDonald  PIT  @CLE
 24. Jared Cook  OAK  @TEN
 25. Dion Sims  CHI  vs. ATL
 26. Gerald Everett  LAR  vs. IND
 27. Garrett Celek   SF  vs. CAR

Defense

The Jaguars offer negative Nelly’s as far as fantasy goes this season, but the defense could really be the saving grace. There are major names at every position, as Paul Posluszny mans the linebackers, Jalen Ramsey leads the secondary, and that’s of course not even mentioning the signings of Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye. The Jaguars put up 32 sacks last year and seven interceptions, and while people still sleep on this defense, make sure you consider them in your late rounds.

 Team  Opponent
 1. Broncos D/ST  vs. LAC
 2. Seahawks D/ST  @ GB
 3. Chiefs D/ST  @ NE
 4. Cardinals D/ST  @ DET
 5. Texans D/ST  vs. JAC
 6. Patriots D/ST  vs. KC
 7. Jaguars D/ST  @ HOU
 8. Vikings D/ST  vs. NO
 9. Ravens D/ST  @ CIN
 10. Raiders D/ST  @ TEN

Kickers

 Player  Team  Opponent
 1. Justin Tucker  BAL  @CIN
 2. Matt Bryant   ATL  @CHI
 3. Stephen Gostkowski  NE  vs. KC
 4. Adam Vinatieri  IND  @ LAR
 5. Dan Bailey DAL  vs. NYG
 6. Mason Crosby  GB  vs. SEA
 7. Caleb Sturgis  PHI  @ WAS
 8. Matt Prater  DEN  vs. LAC
 9. Wil Lutz  NO  @ MIN
 10. Cairo Santos  KC  @ NE
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