Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Opening-Season Position-by-Position Review

If you had Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski or DeAngelo Williams in your fantasy lineup, you're probably reading this with a smile. Those three should have given you a nice start to the opening week in fantasy football.

Brady threw four touchdown passes—three of them went to Gronk. Williams filled in nicely for the injured Le'Veon Bell. He ran for 127 yards on the day. 

"He's been like that since he’s been here," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game, per Ron Clements of SportingNews.com. "We’re not surprised by what he did (Thursday). In fact, we expected it."

The 32-year-old running back may not be a season-long option for fantasy owners, but if you were wise enough to pick him up for Week 1, he undoubtedly provided significant bang for the buck. With the season opener out of the way, let's take a look at the rest of the Week 1 NFL schedule and the positional rankings for the remaining games.

Away	Home	Time (ET)	National TV
Pittsburgh	New England	8:30 p.m.	NBC
Green Bay	Chicago	1:00 p.m.	Fox
Kansas City	Houston	1:00 p.m.	CBS
Cleveland	New York	1:00 p.m.	CBS
Indianapolis	Buffalo	1:00 p.m.	CBS
Miami	Washington	1:00 p.m.	CBS
Carolina	Jacksonville	1:00 p.m.	Fox
Seattle	St. Louis	1:00 p.m.	Fox
New Orleans	Arizona	4:05 p.m.	Fox
Detroit	San Diego	4:05 p.m.	Fox
Tennessee	Tampa Bay	4:25 p.m.	CBS
Cincinnati	Oakland	4:25 p.m.	CBS
Baltimore	Denver	4:25 p.m.	CBS
New York	Dallas	4:30 p.m.	NBC
Philadelphia	Atlanta	6:55 p.m.	ESPN
Minnesota	San Francisco	10:15 p.m.	ESPN

Quarterback

Review

There will be a few players in line for 20-point performances at this position, but the drop-off from there could be significant.

There's simply too many hard-to-figure-out matchups, like the Detroit Lions' Matt Stafford against the San Diego Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons' Matt Ryan versus the Philadelphia Eagles, to feel comfortable.

Rank	Player (team, matchup)
1	Ryan Tannehill MIA at WAS
2	Andrew Luck IND at BUF
3	Aaron Rodgers GB at CHI
4	Peyton Manning DEN vs. BAL
5	Tony Romo DAL vs. NYG
6	Ben Roethlisberger PIT at NE
7	Jay Cutler CHI vs. GB
8	Drew Brees NO at ARI
9	Matt Ryan ATL vs. PHI
10	Russell Wilson SEA at STL

The Year of Tannehill Begins

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

The AFC East is going to be big for quarterbacks in Week 1. The Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill is set for a breakout season. In Week 1 versus Washington, he could have his best statistical performance of the year.

Washington's secondary is slightly improved with the addition of Chris Culliver, but it is far from elite. In 2014, Washington allowed a league-high 35 TD passes. This is Tannehill's third year in the league, so things should have slowed down for him from an offensive standpoint, and he now has the weapons to help him move to the next level.

He established solid chemistry with Jarvis Landry last season, and with veteran Greg Jennings joining the mix, Tannehill has the personnel he needs to do well against Washington in Week 1.

Running Back

Review

I like the running back matchups far more than the quarterback scenarios on a whole in Week 1. There looks to be at least five running backs with the potential to produce 12-plus points.

Rank	Player (team, matchup)
1	Adrian Peterson MIN at SF
2	Eddie Lacy GB at CHI
3	Jeremy Hill CIN at OAK
4	Jamaal Charles KC at HOU
5	Marshawn Lynch SEA at STL
6	DeMarco Murray PHI at ATL
7	Matt Forte CHI vs. GB
8	C.J. Anderson DEN vs. BAL
9	Justin Forsett BAL at DEN
10	Lamar Miller MIA at WAS

Whether you're looking at the Chicago Bears' Matt Forte, Green Bay Packers' Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch or others, your team stands a better chance of having a stud.

Adrian Peterson Will Carry the Minnesota Vikings

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The player in the best position to explode is the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson. The 30-year-old veteran should be fresh as a daisy after not being used in the preseason and appearing in only one game in 2014. 

NFL Update reminds us just how good A.P. is despite his 53-week absence from the field:

"

Despite only playing 1 game last season, Adrian Peterson has 1420 MORE rushing yards than any other player since 2007 pic.twitter.com/pZrPJdZ5Wd

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) September 11, 2015"

He's going against a San Francisco 49ers defense that has been torn apart by injuries, retirements and disciplinary issues. A fired-up Peterson will punish the 49ers defense with a huge game on Sunday.

Wide Receiver

Review

The biggest letdowns will come from the wide receiver position. Expect owners of the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant to be a little disappointed after the opener.

The Cowboys might be looking at a heavy rushing attack against the G-Men.

New York may not have the horses upfront to slow down Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle. Dallas' offensive line could run block so well that it limits Bryant's opportunities to shine in the passing game.

Rank	Player (team, matchup)
1	A.J. Green CIN at OAK
2	Odell Beckham Jr. NYG at DAL
3	Dez Bryant DAL vs. NYG
4	Julio Jones ATL vs. PHI
5	Demaryius Thomas DEN vs. BAL
6	Calvin Johnson DET at SD
7	Randall Cobb GB at CHI
8	Davante Adams GB at CHI
9	Alshon Jeffery CHI vs. GB
10	Jordan Matthews PHI at ATL

A.J. All Day

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

I loved Antonio Brown's chances to put up numbers against the New England Patriots. He came through for his fantasy owners; now it's time for the Cincinnati Bengals' A.J. Green to put up big numbers versus the Oakland Raiders.

Green should feast on a secondary that features TJ Carrie—a seventh-round pick from 2014—as its No. 1 cornerback. The Bengals' Jeremy Hill will provide the ground game necessary to set up play-action pass scenarios.

Green will take full advantage of these opportunities with big plays down the field.

Tight End

Review

As usual, the pickings will be slim here. If you can find a tight end that produces 10 or more points, you hit the jackpot. A few guys like the Seahawks' Jimmy Graham could be fools' gold.

Graham is clearly one of the elite pass-catching tight ends in the league, but because Seattle is a run-first team, you have to wonder how many targets he's going to get this season.

Rank	Player (team, matchup)
1	Greg Olsen CAR at JAC
2	Delanie Walker TEN at TB
3	Jimmy Graham SEA at STL
4	Travis Kelce KC at HOU
5	Martellus Bennett CHI vs. GB
6	Jason Witten DAL vs. NYG
7	Jordan Cameron MIA at WAS
8	John Phillips SD vs. DET
9	Larry Donnell NYG at DAL
10	Tyler Eifert CIN at OAK

Cam Newton's Killer

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from Gronkowski, who already blew up in the season opener, the safest bet at tight end is the Carolina Panthers' Greg Olsen.

Not only is Olsen going against a flawed Jacksonville Jaguars defense, but he's also the unquestioned No. 1 option for quarterback Cam Newton in an offense devoid of passing weapons. Last season Olsen set career highs in receptions (84) and yards (1,008). 

With the way this season is set to go, he should set new highs in 2015. The game against the Jags will set the pace.

Defense/Special Teams

Review

This should be another top-heavy category. You either have one of the three or four defenses that will actually score points, or a unit that gives you five or less points.

Rank	Team Name (matchup)
1	Seattle Seahawks (at STL)
2	Carolina Panthers (at JAC)
3	Miami Dolphins (at WAS)
4	Cincinnati Bengals (at OAK)
5	Kansas City Chiefs (at HOU)
6	New York Jets (vs. CLE)
7	Green Bay Packers (at CHI)
8	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. TEN)
9	Denver Broncos (vs. BAL)
10	Houston Texans (vs. KC)

Legion of Boom and Touch of Lightning

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Even without strong safety Kam Chancellor, who is a contract holdout, the Seahawks defense should be able to contain the St. Louis Rams offense led by Nick Foles.

The Rams quarterback doesn't normally throw a ton of interceptions (17 in 28 career games), but he does hold the ball awhile. The Seahawks get to the quarterback, and Foles' reluctance to throw the ball into coverage should be heightened with Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas lurking.

This dynamic screams for sacks, tipped interceptions and a potential defensive touchdown for the Seahawks.

As an added bonus, Seattle also has a rookie who has a chance to be the most impacting kick and punt returner in the NFL since Devin Hester took the league by storm in 2006. Tyler Lockett had two return touchdowns in the preseason, and he could be a major weapon in Week 1.

Kicker

Review

Finding a good kicker is usually about honing in on an offense that fails to execute in the red zone, or to sustain long drives. There's a few of those units to pick from in 2015.

Since kickers rarely get injured, you may be able to stick with a guy all season if you have your hands on one of the more dependable options at the position.

Rank	Player (team, matchup)
1	Graham Gano CAR vs. JAC
2	Steven Hauschka SEA at STL
3	Mason Crosby GB at CHI
4	Dan Bailey DAL vs. NYG
5	Justin Tucker BAL at DEN
6	Matt Bryant ATL vs. PHI
7	Robbie Gould CHI vs. GB
8	Matt Prater DET at SD
9	Adam Vinatieri IND at BUF
10	Cody Parkey PHI at ATL

Go Gano

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Panthers look like a squad destined to settle for a ton of field goals this season. With what could be an anemic passing game, aside from Olsen, the Panthers should be turning to Graham Gano at least three times on Sunday in what is shaping up to be a field-goal fest against the Jags.