Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: 3 Budding Stars Ready to Blow Up

Just because the 2011 NFL season has actually begun doesn't mean fantasy football owners can't (or shouldn't) keep looking for sleepers to add to their teams.

Did anyone really think Arian Foster would explode into a fantasy stud before he ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts in the 2010 season opener?

Week 1 is as good a time as any for players of Foster's ilk to make their presence felt in the fantasy world, as will be the case with these three youngsters.

Lance Kendricks, TE, St. Louis Rams

Rookies aren't usually a good bet to much of anything in their NFL debuts, especially after missing out on minicamps and OTAs, as was the case this year due to the lockout.

Unless, of course, you're talking about Lance Kendricks. The first-year tight end out of Wisconsin finds himself in the ideal situation to be a breakout success in the fantasy world.

His quarterback? Sam Bradford, whose average of 5.95 yards per attempt as a rookie last year suggests that he'll be looking for safety blankets (like tight ends) to keep him warm in the big, bad NFL.

His chief competition? Billy Bajema, who has all of 29 catches in four NFL seasons over the span of seven years. 

His Week 1 opponent? The Philadelphia Eagles, whose linebacking corps is suspect, to say the least, after letting four players, including Stewart Bradley, walk in free agency.

His results? Positively point productive.

Danny Amendola, WR, St. Louis Rams

This may be a bit of a lazy pick, but Kendricks isn't the only fantasy candidate on the Rams who's flying under the radar.

Let's not forget about Danny Amendola, who led St. Louis and was eighth in the NFL with 85 receptions last season, though mostly on dink-and-dunk plays, as his 689 receiving yards would suggest.

Luckily for Amendola, and for those prescient enough to pick him up, he'll be playing the slot in the schemes of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, a guy known for turning short receivers into fantasy studs.

Don't believe me? Just ask Wes Welker and Eddie Royal, who each enjoyed plenty of success while playing for McDaniels in New England and Denver, respectively.

Colt McCoy, QB, Cleveland Browns

Amendola's successful 2010 season is due, in large part, to Pat Shurmur, who was the offensive coordinator in St. Louis before moving on to become the head coach of the Browns this year.

Shurmur has a history of working wonders with young quarterbacks, having done so with Sam Bradford last season and with Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia a decade earlier.

Chances are he'll do the same with Colt McCoy in Cleveland.

The second-year quarterback out of Texas looked much improved in the preseason, completing 28 of 48 passes for 329 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception.

He'll be in prime position to carry that success over into the regular season when the Browns take on a Cincinnati Bengals squad whose secondary will be much weaker without the likes of Johnathan Joseph and Roy Williams roaming the field.

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