Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Matchups and Projections for Players We Love

Fantasy football's opening act on Thursday night provided plenty of fireworks.  

Granted, it wasn't easy to project the fireworks. Fantasy owners knew one of the New England Patriots backs would go off, but not necessarily that it would be Mike Gillislee. On the other side, most knew Kansas City Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill would put up a big game. 

The trick now is understanding the rest of the week will require patience. Offenses clearly aren't going to fire on all cylinders and the favorites aren't going to always come out ahead. 

Let's nail down some projections to create a digestible guide to help along owners feeling barraged by last-minute decisions, with everything based on 12-team standard Yahoo leagues. 

Week 1 Schedule

Arizona at Detroit

Atlanta at Chicago

Baltimore at Cincinnati 

Jacksonville at Houston

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo 

Oakland at Tennessee 

Philadelphia at Washington

Pittsburgh at Cleveland

Indianapolis at L.A. Rams 

Carolina at San Francisco

Seattle at Green Bay

N.Y. Giants at Dallas 

New Orleans at Minnesota

L.A. Chargers at Denver 

Quarterbacks

Player	Projected Points
Aaron Rodgers	25
Drew Brees	24
Matt Ryan	21
Marcus Mariota	19
Russell Wilson	18
Cam Newton	18
Derek Carr	17
Matthew Stafford	17
Ben Roethlisberger	16
Carson Palmer	14
Dak Prescott	14
Kirk Cousins	12
Eli Manning	12
Andy Dalton	12
Sam Bradford	12

One game really stands out this week when it comes to top-tier quarterback matchups. 

As one can see from the highlights above, it is all about Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson when the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks get together. 

Of course, both guys are dynamite threats in almost any matchup. But this one is especially juicy because the game figures to be a high-scoring affair as both take advantage of the defenses. 

Wilson's combination of passing and ability to take off as a rusher will be especially potent against a Green Bay defense that coughed up the sixth-most points to quarterbacks a year ago. 

And while it might sound scary that Rodgers has to take on the Seattle defense, keep in mind last December he dismantled the Seahawks in a win, casually going 18-of-23 for 246 yards and three touchdowns with no picks. 

Running Backs

Player	Projected Points
Le'Veon Bell	23
David Johnson	21
Ezekiel Elliott	20
Todd Gurley	18
Devonta Freeman	17
Lamar Miller	16
Jordan Howard	15
LeSean McCoy*	14
Melvin Gordon	13
Marshawn Lynch	12
DeMarco Murray	12
Isaiah Crowell	12
Carlos Hyde	12
C.J. Anderson	11
Dalvin Cook	11
Christian McCaffrey	11
Tevin Coleman	10
Ty Montgomery	10
Bilal Powell	10
Mark Ingram	10
Ameer Abdullah	9
Jonathan Stewart	9
Leonard Fournette	8
Robert Kelley	8
Joe Mixon	8
Terrance West	7
Adrian Peterson	7
Frank Gore	7
Danny Woodhead	6
	6

Other than the obvious outbursts by Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson, Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams seems poised to have one of the bigger games of the week. 

Yes, Gurley had problems thanks to the offense around him a year ago, rushing for just 885 yards and six scores. But he has an upgraded line in front of him now and the passing game should be better thanks to weapons like Sammy Watkins. 

The matchup here puts it over the top—the Colts surrendered the sixth-most points to backs last year and didn't exactly make defensive leaps this offseason. 

Lamar Miller is another somewhat underrated name to know. The Houston Texans back went for 1,073 yards and five scores last year yet flies a bit under the radar going into this year. 

For now. Miller gets the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, a team he hit for 63 yards and a score in one encounter last year and 83 on a 5.5 yard-per-carry average on only 15 looks in another. Healthy, he's poised for a big day given his ability to reel in catches as well. 

Wide Receivers

Player	Projected Points
Antonio Brown	18
Julio Jones	18
Jordy Nelson	16
Odell Beckham Jr.*	16
Doug Baldwin	15
A.J. Green	14
Amari Cooper*	14
Terrelle Pryor	14
Kelvin Benjamin	13
Michael Crabtree	13
Larry Fitzgerald	12
DeAndre Hopkins*	12
Demaryius Thomas*	11
Michael Thomas	11
Stefon Diggs	11
Dez Bryant	11
Martavis Bryant	10
Brandon Marshall	10
Keenan Allen	10
T.Y. Hilton	10
Allen Robinson	9
Golden Tate	9
Davante Adams	8
Sammy Watkins	8
Emmanuel Sanders	8
Pierre Garcon	8
Alshon Jeffery	8
Jamison Crowder	8
Eric Decker	7
Adam Thielen	7
Jeremy Maclin	7
Ted Ginn	7
John Brown	6
Randall Cobb	6
Corey Coleman	6

Wideout is similar to running back, albeit with much more in the way of quantity—the big names should feast routinely despite the matchup. 

Rather than go over those guys, take a look at someone like Doug Baldwin. Wilson's favorite target doesn't nearly get the respect he deserves from a fantasy outlook, last year alone catching 94 of his 125 targets for 1,128 yards and seven touchdowns. That's a seven-touchdown regression from the year prior, but an uptick everywhere else. 

In a shootout with the Packers against a vulnerable defense, Baldwin should have another big day while reaffirming his fantasy relevancy. 

Though a bit riskier, it seems important to point out the stellar matchup for Kelvin Benjamin of the Carolina Panthers. He regressed as a sophomore, catching 63 passes for 941 yards and seven touchdowns while his targets dropped from 145 as a rookie to 118. 

Still, Benjamin is the No. 1 in Carolina and gets to pick apart the San Francisco 49ers to start the season, the team that allowed the fifth-most points to opposing wideouts a year ago. With more weapons soaking up attention than a year ago, Benjamin looks ready for a consistent year, starting with a bang. 

Tight Ends

Player	Projected Points
Greg Olsen	13
Jimmy Graham	12
Zach Ertz	11
Delanie Walker	10
Kyle Rudolph	10
Jordan Reed*	8
Tyler Eifert	8
Martellus Bennett	8
Austin Hooper	7
Zach Miller	7
Charles Clay	6
Evan Engram	6

Tight end is the hardest position to project on a week-to-week basis thanks to the nature of the position and the fact it can be so touchdown-reliant from a fantasy standpoint. 

Hence the need to find someone like Greg Olsen, one of Cam Newton's favorite targets. 

Quietly, Olsen tallied his third consecutive 1,000-yard season last year, though his touchdowns dipped from seven to three. Still, it is unwise to omit him thanks to a juicy matchup against the 49ers. 

Under-the-radar names have a tendency to blow up at tight end. Few look as likely to do this as Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 thanks to his matchup with the Washington Redskins.

Not only did Ertz get 112 yards on 10 catches against the Redskins in one of his two encounters with the defense last year, the unit finished the year permitting the 10th-most points to the position. 

Defense/Special Teams

Unit	Projected Points
Pittsburgh Steelers	12
Denver Broncos	10
Houston Texans	9
Carolina Panthers	9
Los Angeles Rams	8
Cincinnati Bengals	7
Buffalo Bills	7
Jacksonville Jaguars	6
Atlanta Falcons	6
Arizona Cardinals	6

Too easy, right? 

The Pittsburgh Steelers by far have the best matchup of any defense this week thanks to the usual encounter with the Cleveland Browns.

In one of the two meetings between the two last year, the Browns mustered all of nine points. The other had bigger totals but came near the end of the year while Pittsburgh rested starters. 

The Browns should be improved in 2017 and not the same unit that allowed the third-most points to opposing defenses a year ago. But the unit will already miss Myles Garrett. 

Kickers

Player	Projected Points
Matt Bryant	12
Justin Tucker	10
Dan Bailey	9
Mason Crosby	9
Sebastian Janikowski*	8
Chris Boswell	7
Brandon McManus	7
Matt Prater	6
Dustin Hopkins	6
Adam Vinatieri	6

Matt Bryant is far from the biggest name on this list, but he does sit on arguably the best matchup of the week when his Atlanta Falcons take on the Chicago Bears. 

Bryant owners are lucky this contest falls in September and not over the course of the winter given the conditions at Soldier Field. 

Alas, now is a great time of year for Bryant to put up big numbers against a Bears team that coughed up the third-most points to kickers a year ago. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues. ADP courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator.