Fantasy Football Week 1: Last-Minute Stat Predictions Before Sunday's Games

The crunch to get those lineups in has arrived.

On one hand, Week 1 is a blessing for fantasy football owners because there are so many options out there thanks to the lack of a bye for a swath of teams, but on another, that makes things all the more difficult—not to mention the lack of recent on-field performances to act as a guide.

Sleepers and busts line each lineup and even the waiver wire like a minefield, so those owners who do not invest a ton of time in the homework department will come up short in what is perhaps the most difficult week of the calendar.

Let's help to lessen the workload below by projecting some of the top scorers and putting the microscope on the skill positions.

Week 1 Projected Top Scorers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Projected Stats	Projected Points
1	Peyton Manning	DEN	IND	260 yards, 4 TDs	26
2	Drew Brees	NO	at ATL	380 yards, 3 TDs	25.5
3	Nick Foles	PHI	JAC	225 yards, 3 TDs	24
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	JAC	120 yards, 2 TDs	24
5	Colin Kaepernick	SF	at DAL	310 yards, 2 TDs	23.5
6	Jamaal Charles	KC	TEN	92 yards, 1 TD	23
7	Montee Ball	DEN	IND	95 yards, 1 TD	22.5
8	Matthew Stafford	DET	NYG	380 yards, 2 TD	22
9	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at STL	70 yards, 2 TD	20
10	Jay Cutler	CHI	BUF	175 yards, 4 TDs	20
11	Jimmy Graham	NO	at ATL	55 yards, 2 TDs	18
12	Calvin Johnson	DET	NYG	120 yards, 1 TD	18
13	Matt Forte	CHI	BUF	85 yards	18
14	Andrew Luck	IND	at DEN	250 yards, 2 TDs	18
15	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at MIA	90 yards, 2 TDs	16
16	Arian Foster	HOU	WSH	80 yards, 1 TD	16
17	A.J. Green	CIN	at BAL	101 yards, 1 TD	16
18	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	IND	109 yards, 1 TD	16
19	Dez Bryant	DAL	SF	84 yards, 1 TD	14
20	Giovani Bernard	CIN	at BAL	58 yards	14

Quarterback 

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Quarterback is far and away the easiest position to project when it comes to fake football, even during Week 1.

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are going to produce no matter the matchup but perhaps even better than usual this week against the weak defenses of the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.

With another year of experience under his belt in Chip Kelly's innovative attack, expect Nick Foles to have a major output as well, especially against a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that gave up the fifth-most points to the position one season ago and proceeded to focus most of its efforts on the offensive side of the football this past offseason.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is arguably one of the biggest sleepers of the week. It hurts that No. 1 receiver Michael Crabtree's status is up in the air, but the signal-caller can hurt defenses on the ground and has an amazing matchup against a Dallas Cowboys defense that gave up the second-most points to the position last season and is already hobbled.

Even Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler should score highly thanks to favorable matchups. In other words, it is more so than usual a great week to own one of the projected top-10 quarterbacks.

Running Back

Andrew Nelles/Associated Press

While the position as a whole is an unpredictable mess this season, the top five running backs are pretty cut and dry.

LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles and Matt Forte are sure to wreak havoc on the ground and through the air, while Adrian Peterson will get his as always.

Of note is Montee Ball in Denver, the young player tasked with replacing Knowshon Moreno. Given his place in a Manning-led offense, it is not ridiculously out of the question to expect Ball to have a top-five season at the position as his predecessor did while rattling off 11 games in double figures.

Arian Foster is perhaps the best sleeper at the position this week. He meets a Washington defense that surrendered the fourth-most points to backs last season and is set to see a major workload now that he is healthy.

"Arian's going to play a lot," coach Bill O'Brien said, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. "After that, we'll see how it goes."

Pitfalls to avoid include Ben Tate, Le'Veon Bell, Ryan Mathews and Pierre Thomas, as all have usage or matchup concerns that better suit them for a bench role for the opening week.

Wide Receiver

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant are set to rule the fantasy landscape this week thanks to favorable matchups and, well, being the most dominant players at the position.

The good thing about receiver is the value and production run deep.

Take New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker for example. He's the No. 1 wideout, but many are worried his top-eight production from a season ago was the byproduct of playing with Manning. Those numbers are sure to drop off in New York with Geno Smith under center, right?

Please. Rotoworld's Patrick Daugherty puts it best:

Those owners savvy enough to capitalize when opportunity knocks may also unearth some rather deep sleepers for the opening week too.

Denver, which seems to be the focal point this week in a number of ways thanks to last year's output, will be without Wes Welker due to suspension, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. All that does is make Emmanuel Sanders and rookie Cody Latimer rather reliable options this week.

Tight End

Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Hit-or-miss is the only way to describe the tight end position, outside of the top two, of course.

Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski will make owners proud, even if the latter continues to be a major risk thanks to his injury history—it does not change the fact he has hauled in 42 touchdowns in 50 appearances.

After that, the drop-off is significant, even for Denver's Julius Thomas. There are project players such as Ladarius Green and Zach Ertz worth a gamble, as well as Dennis Pitta, who has lost the attention of a nation due to injury last season but may very well find himself in the top five by season's end.

With production so even across the board after the top two, owners can feel safe with most options as long as they know the player will actually take the field.

Note: Green Bay/Seattle omitted due to Thursday Night Football. All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.