Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings: Position-by-Position Outlook for Season Opener

Fantasy football players had an entire summer to prepare for their drafts, but the critical lineup decisions start in Week 1.

After all, those late-round sleepers and early-round playmakers won't be worth much on your bench in lieu of the wrong starters. With that in mind, here is some lineup guidance for Week 1 and a breakdown of the top players at each position.

The rankings were determined for standard-scoring leagues using a combination of overall talent and matchups and will almost certainly change on a week-to-week basis throughout the year.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks	Miami Dolphins
2	Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts	Detroit Lions
3	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers	Jacksonville Jaguars
4	Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints	Oakland Raiders
5	Eli Manning, New York Giants	Dallas Cowboys
6	Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars	Green Bay Packers
7	Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers	Denver Broncos
8	Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders	New Orleans Saints
9	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers	Washington
10	Kirk Cousins, Washington	Pittsburgh Steelers

Russell Wilson is my personal pick for league MVP this year, and he has the opportunity to start his season against a Miami Dolphins team that finished a middling 19th in the NFL in scoring defense in 2015.

There is no more Marshawn Lynch for the Seattle Seahawks, and they will open the offense up accordingly. That is exactly what they did last year down the stretch, and Doug Baldwin swung fantasy leagues with 11 touchdown catches in the final six games. Wilson—who can also run—will find Baldwin consistently considering he is fresh off career highs with 4,024 passing yards and 34 touchdown throws.

Elsewhere, Derek Carr may jump out next to notable players like Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton, but he is playing a New Orleans Saints team that was 31st in the league against the pass in 2015. Carr also has a year of experience with Amari Cooper under his belt after the Alabama product tallied 1,070 receiving yards as a rookie.

As for Newton, he is the defending league MVP, but fans saw what happened last time he faced the dominant Denver Broncos defense in the Super Bowl loss. He is still a great play based on pure talent, but he won't be the top quarterback in Week 1.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams	San Francisco 49ers
2	Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants
3	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings	Tennessee Titans
4	Lamar Miller, Houston Texans	Chicago Bears
5	Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers	Jacksonville Jaguars
6	David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals	New England Patriots
7	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills	Baltimore Ravens
8	Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons
9	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10	Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints	Oakland Raiders

The Los Angeles Rams will usher in a new era on the back of Todd Gurley, who is facing the San Francisco 49ers and their defense that was 29th against the run a season ago. Los Angeles' quarterback situation isn't great with Case Keenum (15 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in his career), so it will lean heavily on Gurley to manage the clock after taking a quick lead.

Rookie Ezekiel Elliott will make an early splash in fantasy circles against the New York Giants defense that was 24th in the league against the run in 2015. What's more, the Cowboys will look to settle rookie quarterback Dak Prescott into the flow of the game with a strong rushing attack and short screens to get Elliott in space.

Eddie Lacy will also thrive in Week 1 even though he notched a career-low 758 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground in 2015, especially since the Jacksonville Jaguars can't stack the box against a passing attack that features Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

There were concerns about Lacy's conditioning in 2015, but he seemed ready to put that behind him this year when he discussed them, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com: "I'm tired of talking about it. I'm pretty sure you all are tired of asking about it. I'm tired of hearing about it everywhere I go. I'm done with that."

Fantasy players should take his word for it.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers	Washington
2	DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans	Chicago Bears
3	Odell Beckham, New York Giants	Dallas Cowboys
4	Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders	New Orleans Saints
5	Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers	Jacksonville Jaguars
6	Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7	Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars	Green Bay Packers
8	Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears	Houston Texans
9	Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants
10	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons

Antonio Brown is arguably the best player in the league, and he is facing a Washington defense that was 25th in the NFL against the pass in 2015. The Pittsburgh Steelers will also be without the suspended Martavis Bryant and Le'Veon Bell, so Ben Roethlisberger will be looking Brown's way early and often.

While Brown is a surefire lock, don't be afraid to insert Nelson into your lineup in Week 1 even though he missed 2015.

The Jaguars were 29th in the league against the pass last year, and Nelson was Rodgers' primary target in 2014 with 1,519 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches. He will prove how much the Packers missed him last year with a dominant performance against Jacksonville.

One name missing from the top receivers list for Week 1 is A.J. Green. That is not a knock on his game-changing talent, but he was banged up some during the preseason. Fortunately for Green, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer noted "Bengals officials stated the injury was not serious and said if this had been a regular-season game, Green would have returned." 

Even if Green is 100 percent, he is still a risky play since he has to face the New York Jets' Darrelle Revis on the road.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots	Arizona Cardinals
2	Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers
3	Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans	Minnesota Vikings
4	Jordan Reed, Washington	Pittsburgh Steelers
5	Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints	Oakland Raiders
6	Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers	Kansas City Chiefs
7	Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts	Detroit Lions
8	Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers	Denver Broncos
9	Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants
10	Julius Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars	Green Bay Packers

Rob Gronkowski is an overpowering machine defenses won't be able to stop this year, but Travis Kelce will put up formidable numbers in Week 1 as well against the San Diego Chargers defense that was 31st against tight ends in 2015, per Football Outsiders. Kelce is also coming off a career-best 875 receiving yards last year.

Outside of Gronkowski and Kelce, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen are under-the-radar names to watch at tight end. They aren't splitting time anymore in Indianapolis and are in favorable situations.

Jimmy Graham teamed with Drew Brees in New Orleans for more than 1,200 receiving yards two different times, and Fleener should step into that role in the Saints' aerial assault. As for Allen, he and the Colts get Andrew Luck back this season and will face the Detroit Lions defense that was 29th against tight ends in 2015, per Football Outsiders.

In an NFL.com breakdown, Alex Gelhar had Allen as a top-10 sleeper, while Marcas Grant and Matt Harmon each listed him as a top-10 breakout player.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots	Arizona Cardinals
2	Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens	Buffalo Bills
3	Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers	Jacksonville Jaguars
4	Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers	Denver Broncos
5	Steven Hauschka, Seattle Seahawks	Miami Dolphins
6	Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants
7	Chandler Catanzaro, Arizona Cardinals	New England Patriots
8	Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings	Tennessee Titans
9	Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts	Detroit Lions
10	Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers

There is always a level of luck involved with kickers because fantasy players need offenses that are good enough to frequently get into scoring range but don't quite punch it in every time and settle for field goals.

That is why I like Stephen Gostkowski and Graham Gano for Week 1. They are each facing a strong defense (Gostkowski's Patriots play the Arizona Cardinals—seventh in the league in points allowed per game last year—and Gano's Panthers play the Denver Broncos—fourth in the league last year) and will have plenty of chances for field goals when the offenses sputter.

The Patriots will also have Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Tom Brady under center and could score fewer touchdowns when they enter the red zone.

Defense and Special Teams

Rank	Defense/Special Teams	Opponent
1	Seattle Seahawks	Miami Dolphins
2	Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers
3	Minnesota Vikings	Tennessee Titans
4	Carolina Panthers	Denver Broncos
5	Cincinnati Bengals	New York Jets
6	Houston Texans	Chicago Bears
7	Denver Broncos	Carolina Panthers
8	Los Angeles Rams	San Francisco 49ers
9	Arizona Cardinals	New England Patriots
10	Philadelphia Eagles	Cleveland Browns

The Seahawks led the league in points allowed per game last year, while their Week 1 opponent finished 27th in scoring offense. Look for Seattle's defense to thrive against an overmatched Dolphins squad.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles defense is probably not worth a fantasy start every week, but the belief here is the Cleveland Browns are going to struggle on Sunday. Josh Gordon is suspended, and Robert Griffin III will be playing his first regular-season game in his new team's system.

The Eagles will be a solid spot start in Week 1 for those who rotate defenses.