Week 1 Fantasy Football Projections: Predicting Sunday's Top Fantasy Stars

If you were like me and totally saw Kevin Ogletree's huge breakout performance on Wednesday night coming a mile away, you're sitting pretty in your fantasy league today.

Okay, okay, so the above sentence was a complete lie. I thought Ogletree was the name of a bank before Wednesday night. But just because I overlooked him (like the rest of the free world) doesn't mean I can't look into my crystal ball and predict a few of Sunday's biggest stars.

Actually, it's not a crystal ball, it's a Magic 8 Ball app that I have on my phone, but you get the idea. Let's take a look at Sunday's biggest stars in fantasy football.

The Usual Suspects

Cortland Finnegan or not, Calvin Johnson is going to torch the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Johnson failed to finish with double-digit fantasy points just four times last season and eclipsed 20 points five times. The Rams are in trouble. (Projection: Eight receptions, 121 yards, two touchdowns)

Matthew Stafford will join the fantasy party Megatron is throwing at the expense of the Rams. He'll remind everyone that his elite status is here to stay. (Projection: 37-for-55, 401 yards, three touchdowns, one interception)

How many weapons does Tom Brady get to have? With Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd at his disposal, expect Brady to torch the Tennessee Titans. (Projection: 31-for-46, 367 yards, four touchdowns, one interception)

There's nothing like a porous Indianapolis Colts defense to make a debut special. Thus will be the case for Brandon Marshall, who will hook up with old pal Jay Cutler for a very nice start to the season. (Projection: Seven receptions, 103 yards, two touchdowns)

Cam Newton absolutely skewered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense a year ago, scoring a combined 67 points in the two games he played against them. Newton may be in line for a natural regression to his fantasy output this season, but he'll once again torch the Bucs. (Projection: 227 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, 81 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown)

The Redskins were 30th in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to tight ends a season ago. They get to deal with that Jimmy Graham guy in Week 1, who I hear is pretty good. Talk about a matchup made in heaven for Graham owners. (Projection: Nine receptions, 122 yards, two touchdowns)

The Not-As-Usual Suspects

The Carolina Panthers have a good defense, but were still 25th in the NFL in rush defense last year, allowing 130.8 yards per game. Look for rookie running back Doug Martin to have an excellent debut as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to keep the ball out of the hands of Cam Newton and the Panthers offense. (Projections: 141 yards from scrimmage, one touchdown)

Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson are constant deep threats for the Philadelphia Eagles, but it's often hard to know which player is more likely to have a huge performance. That's not the case on Sunday, as Jackson will be mirrored by stud corner Joe Haden of the Cleveland Browns. Look for Maclin to do some damage. (Projections: Seven receptions, 101 yards, two touchdowns)

Michael Crabtree hasn't lived up to expectations yet in his career, but he has gotten better each season. Against a Green Bay Packers team that gave up the most passing yards in the NFL a season ago, look for Crabtree to have a big afternoon. (Projections: Eight receptions, 135 yards, one touchdown)

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