Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Which QBs Face the Best Matchups?

Fantasy football is all about matchups from week to week. Unless you've got an elite player like a Michael Vick or Aaron Rodgers at the quarterback position, you will be best advised to find the best quarterback in relation to the defense that he is playing.

Week 1 of the NFL season may be a little bit more difficult to predict, with no actual game tape from the current season to view, but you can still earmark which quarterbacks are in the best positions to succeed.

Not all of these quarterbacks will be big names or even names that you would have ever considered for fantasy, but because of who they are going against, and just for this week, it may be worth your while to start them.

While Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees will probably put up big numbers in a shootout tomorrow night, that is not guaranteed since they are facing off against good defenses. The truth is you will be starting Rodgers or Brees no matter what if you have them on your roster because you would have drafted them early.

A guy you wouldn't have drafted early, or in some cases not at all, is Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck is probably in the best situation of any quarterback this weekend despite the return of Chris Johnson. The truth is, Johnson won't be able to carry much of the load in his first game back as he will be in danger of getting injured after his lengthy holdout.

The Jaguars pass rush is relying on Aaron Kampman to get pressure on Hasselbeck, but Kampman's effectiveness is more than unproven with his knee issues. Hasselbeck should have a lot of time to pick apart the Jaguars defense.

The receiving corp in Tennessee is actually very underrated, with Kenny Britt assured of not being suspended, Nate Washington providing a deep threat with Lavelle Hawkins and Damian Williams providing depth. Marc Mariani is also a potential breakout player who has excelled on special teams.

The Titans will still run the ball, but Hasselbeck could be a great late addition to your roster for this week at least.

Another man marauding the waiver wires in most leagues is Colt McCoy.

McCoy has been impressive in the preseason and gets to go against one of the worst defenses in the league in the Bengals this weekend. McCoy's accuracy and poise should allow him to complete a lot of passes and put up a lot of points in Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense; the Bengals defense lacks a lot of talent to play the pass.

McCoy is in a great position to start off your fantasy season with a victory as well as the Cleveland Browns' season.

Philip Rivers is a guaranteed starter in all fantasy leagues, but that doesn't prevent him from having one of the best matchups to open the season.

The suspension of Kevin Williams means that only Jared Allen is left from last season's defensive line, while the Vikings secondary has always relied on that vaunted pass rush upfront. The Vikings secondary doesn't have any notable size. The Chargers receivers—Malcom Floyd and Vincent Jackson—along with Antonio Gates will be able to tower over them on every play.

Rivers will have plenty of time in the pocket to pick apart the Vikings defense and heave some long balls to his talented receivers going deep.

Ben Roethlisberger is another quarterback who will be starting in all leagues, but this week should be particularly pleasing to fantasy fans.

Normally when the Baltimore Ravens face the Pittsburgh Steelers, there are very few points put on the board. However, this year the Steelers have one significant advantage over the Ravens offensively and that is their depth at receiver.

Running on the Ravens is rarely a worthwhile strategy, so expect the Steelers to put the game in Roethlisberger's hands. With five starting-caliber receivers, a top-tier tight end and two excellent pass catchers coming out of the backfield, the Ravens' unproven secondary won't be able to cope with the reigning AFC champions' passing attack.

The opening week of the NFL fantasy season will have plenty of surprises. We will learn a lot that will determine the outcome of the rest of the year.

However, for now these quarterbacks look to be in the best positions to dominate their opposing defenses.