Fantasy Football Week 1: Cheat Sheet for Rankings, Waiver Wire and Projections

Week 1 of the NFL season is upon us, and it behooves us to get off to a strong start in fantasy football.

Whether you are playing week by week or in a season-long league—probably both—it's great to start off on the positive side in Week 1.

We all know who the superstars are, but the key to succeeding in fantasy football is figuring out which of the secondary players will have big weeks. 

To help you do that, we present our cheat sheet with the top 10 players at each position, top sleepers and savvy waiver-wire pickups.

Here are the projections for all 16 games on the schedule this week.

Skill Position Rankings

Rank	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Aaron Rodgers	Adrian Peterson	Dez Bryant	Rob Gronkowski
2	Cam Newton	Jamaal Charles	Antonio Brown	Greg Olsen
3	Tom Brady	Marshawn Lynch	Julio Jones	Jimmy Graham
4	Drew Brees	Eddie Lacy	Odell Beckham Jr.	Jason Witten
5	Russell Wilson	Matt Forte	Calvin Johnson	Travis Kelce
6	Tony Romo	C.J. Anderson	Randall Cobb	Martellus Bennett
7	Eli Manning	DeMarco Murray	Demaryius Thomas	Jordan Cameron
8	Andrew Luck	Justin Forsett	DeAndre Hopkins	Delanie Walker
9	Peyton Manning	Jeremy Hill	A.J. Green	Zach Ertz
10	Matt Ryan	Jonathan Stewart	Jordan Matthews	Coby Fleener

In a few weeks, the top players at each position will be well-defined by each player's production.

Going into Week 1, we don't have the benefit of that information. We have to go off past achievements, reported information and overall health of individual players. 

Adrian Peterson is clearly a stud running back based on his past production, and he should be as fresh as he has been in years after playing just one game last season. Head coach Mike Zimmer wants Peterson to be the focus of the Minnesota offense, and all those factors indicate that Peterson has an excellent chance for an explosive year.

"

Adrian Peterson Draft Window: Hi 1.2 Low 1.7: If you are playing in Scout's Fantasy Football World… http://t.co/MtDhXuInw8 #Vikings

— VikingUpdate.com (@VikingUpdate) September 7, 2015"

However, until he does it, nobody knows for sure. No matter what anyone tells you, his selection is a gamble. It looks like a winning proposition, but it is not guaranteed.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in a wonderful position to make a great opening statement for repeating as MVP, establishing the Green Bay Packers as legitimate Super Bowl contenders and having a magnificent fantasy football season.

He is playing against his favorite patsy, the Chicago Bears. While Chicago has upgraded its professionalism by hiring John Fox as head coach and Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, the Bears don't have many defensive playmakers.

"

Aaron Rodgers Most Pass TD by Receiver - Career Jordy Nelson 45 Greg Jennings 38 James Jones 33 https://t.co/HaHLtaUjuo

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 7, 2015"

The Buffalo Bills do, however, as their defensive line features game-changing pass-rusher Mario Williams. That's why Indianapolis Colts signal-caller Andrew Luck could have some issues in the season opener. The Bills play their first game under new head coach Rex Ryan in front of their charged-up home fans, and those circumstances will test Luck.

Jon Durr/Getty Images

Sleeper Projections

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.	Projection
QB	Sam Bradford	PHI	ATL	289 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT
RB	Latavius Murray	OAK	CIN	89 rushing yards, 1 TD
WR	Malcolm Floyd	SD	DET	86 receiving yards, 1 TD
TE	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	SF	69 receiving yards, 1 TD
D/ST	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	SF	3 sacks, 3 turnovers

Quarterback Sam Bradford is an X-factor as he begins his tenure in Philadelphia. However, he appears to be in a perfect position with head coach Chip Kelly, who wants to continue to establish himself as perhaps the most creative and inventive coach in the league.

He may have had a fine one-two punch in Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy last year, but that wasn't good enough. Now he has Bradford and DeMarco Murray. Look for Bradford to get started by exploiting the Atlanta secondary.

"

ICYMI: Joe Theismann said, 'Write it down, Sam Bradford is gonna be an All-Pro this season' | http://t.co/XQsjuyobm2 pic.twitter.com/DIAlKRcIxi

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) September 3, 2015"

Running back Latavius Murray is a powerful and fast running back who flashed his talent last year in a Week 12 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in which he had four carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns. If Murray can avoid the injuries that have slowed him down in the past, he could become a star. Look for Murray to pierce the Cincinnati Bengals in the opener.

San Diego's Malcom Floyd is well down the list of fantasy wide receivers, but he appears to be in an excellent position to succeed in Week 1 against a Detroit defense that lost Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason. QB Philip Rivers will be the first beneficiary of these transactions, and he will have plenty of time to pick the secondary apart in this game. That's good for Floyd, who is coming off a 52-catch, 856-yard, six-touchdown season. He will get open, and Rivers will find him consistently.

Teddy Bridgewater can't rest on his laurels after a fine rookie year. The Vikings expect him to continue to develop, and while he has a brilliant weapon in Peterson, the offense can't be one-dimensional. Look for tight end Kyle Rudolph to play a big role in the Minnesota offense, particularly in the red zone. The big issue is whether he can stay healthy after missing eight games in 2013 with a broken foot and seven games in 2014 with a sports hernia and knee injury.

"

Our #FantasyFootball breakout players this year include Jonathan Stewart, Lamar Miller, and Kyle Rudolph Rankings: http://t.co/bJOzT94W95

— FF Draft Stats (@ffdraftstats) September 3, 2015"

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Waiver-Wire Targets

For our purposes, we will use players who are on less than 30 percent of ESPN.com fantasy rosters as our waiver-wire targets.

The waiver wire will be more valuable as the season progresses and fantasy owners feel increasingly desperate, but we know that approximately 80 percent of the readers will have some trepidation about their rosters as they walk out of the their fantasy draft.

So, if you don't like your draft picks, we offer these waiver-wire pickups for Week 1:

Position	Player	Team	ESPN Ownership
QB	Alex Smith	KC	20.4
QB	Derek Carr	OAK	16.1
RB	Terrance West	TEN	24.8
RB	James Starks	GB	11.3
WR	Tyler Lockett	SEA	19.3
WR	Marvin Jones	CIN	27.3
WR	James Jones	GB	17.1
TE	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	26.0
TE	Charles Clay	BUF	18.0
D/ST	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	17.3