2015 Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings

Just adding to the list of reasons I don't like Bishop Sankey...

Well the preseason is in the books, and my money league draft went on without a...well, it was a fun night.

You see, once the draft starts, we have a rule that you have to take a shot of liquor if you say the name of an NFL player who hasn't been drafted yet.  You also have to take a shot if you make an official pick and that player has already been drafted.  I think for most of our previous live drafts, there are usually 2 or 3 shots taken. This draft there were 18.

I don't know what was going on.  Maybe it was contagious.  Hell, I did two of them for mentioning Bishop Sankey and...wait for it...Michael Vick!  But it's all in good fun.

Now it's on to Week 1, and this year I'm not missing the Thursday night opener.  Last year I didn't see it because my wife and I were at a Brad Paisley concert in Austin, TX.  I can't complain though because it was a really good show.  But no country music for me this Thursday night.  It'll just be me, the wife, the dog, and...freaking Tom Brady.  Actually, I'm not even sure how much my wife will watch the game because she hates Brady almost as much as she hates Roethlisberger (and he's the other QB playing).  But you already knew that, right?

What about the other matchups though?  Have you looked at them yet?  Well, they definitely play a big part in my Week 1 rankings.  As usual, I'll give you some commentary after each position with a guy I like and a guy I don't like versus the ESPN consensus rankings.

Let's get to it!

QBs 1.Aaron Rodgers 2.Peyton Manning   3.Matt Ryan  4.Tom Brady  5.Andrew Luck 6.Tony Romo 7.Ben Roethlisberger  8.Eli Manning  9.Ryan Tannehill 10.Sam Bradford   11.Russell Wilson  12.Drew Brees   13.Carson Palmer  14.Cam Newton     15.Philip Rivers 16.Jay Cutler  17.Matthew Stafford   18.Colin Kaepernick 19.Teddy Bridgewater 20.Joe Flacco Just like the start of last year, guys like Andy Dalton and Alex Smith aren't even in my top-20.  And honestly, if you drafted one of those guys as your starting QB, you're probably in trouble. I also didn't rank Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston, even though both are facing each other's weak defenses.  You're probably not starting either rookie in Week 1 (or Tyrod Taylor for that matter), but if you have the guts then go for it.  Personally, I have plenty of other guys higher than all of them.  But let's see who I'm high/down on versus the ESPN experts, shall we? Eli lit up the Cowboys in 2014. I'm high on: Eli Manning (ESPN #12, ME #8)  I'm not going to dig too deep into Eli's career statistics versus the Cowboys, but last year he threw for 3 TDs in each game he faced them.  Oh, and the best corner for Dallas (Orlando Scandrick) is on injured reserve.  I realize he'll likely be without Victor Cruz for this one, but OBJ and Randle should be just fine against that secondary.   I'm down on: Drew Brees (ESPN #8, ME #12)  It's tough not to like a guy like Brees, but he is just so much worse away from the Superdome than in it.  And on top of that, he's playing a pretty solid defense in Arizona to start the season.  No one really knows what he'll be like without Jimmy Graham (it's been a while), and I think this will be a tough test right out of the gate.  I barely like him as a QB1 this week. RBs 1.Eddie Lacy 2.Adrian Peterson 3.Jeremy Hill  4.Jamaal Charles  5.DeMarco Murray 6.Matt Forte  7.Marshawn Lynch  8.Jonathan Stewart  9.CJ Anderson 10.Lamar Miller  11.LeSean McCoy 12.Justin Forsett   13.Andre Ellington  14.Mark Ingram   15.Carlos Hyde    16.Frank Gore 17.Chris Ivory  18.Latavius Murray   19.Alfred Morris 20.Doug Martin 21.Melvin Gordon  22.TJ Yeldon 23.Alfred Blue  24.Isaiah Crowell 25.Rashad Jennings   26.DeAngelo Williams 27.Joique Bell  28.Tevin Coleman 29.Darren McFadden 30.Ameer Abdullah   31.Bishop Sankey  32.Joseph Randle   33.Benny Cunningham 34.Brandon Bolden 35.Danny Woodhead  36.Giovani Bernard   37.Shane Vereen 38.Ryan Mathews  39.Duke Johnson 40.Dion Lewis I'm high on: Jonathan Stewart (ESPN #14, ME #8)  If you scrolled through my list, you might've done a double take when you got to this name.  But think about it.  He's playing the Jags, who gave up top-5 numbers to fantasy RBs last season.  Kelvin Benjamin is hurt and who knows who Cam will be throwing to other than Greg Olsen?  I just think the Panthers will give it to The Daily Show a ton in this game, and I like him as a top-10 play. I'm down on: Giovani Bernard (ESPN #29, ME #36)  Speaking of running a lot, I'm sure the Bengals will be doing that plenty in Oakland this week.  But I think Jeremy Hill will get fed, and he'll likely put up a good number AGAINST my fantasy team this week.  That being said, there are a lot of other guys I like ahead of Gio in Week 1.  I'd much rather try my luck with Bishop Sankey or Brandon Bolden, both of whom I think will end up with twice as many touches as Bernard in Week 1. WRs 1.Dez Bryant  2.Julio Jones 3.Antonio Brown 4.Odell Beckham, Jr.  5.DeMaryius Thomas  6.Calvin Johnson 7.AJ Green 8.Emmanuel Sanders  9.Julian Edelman  10.Randall Cobb  11.Jordan Matthews  12.TY Hilton    13.Alshon Jeffery  14.Brandin Cooks 15.DeAndre Hopkins   16.Mike Evans  17.Jarvis Landry  18.Keenan Allen  19.Davante Adams  20.Jeremy Maclin 21.Andre Johnson 22.Allen Robinson 23.Amari Cooper  24.Steve Smith  25.Golden Tate 26.Larry Fitzgerald     27.Vincent Jackson  28.Brandon Marshall   29.John Brown   30.Sammy Watkins 31.DeSean Jackson   32.Charles Johnson   33.Nelson Agholor  34.Anquan Boldin 35.Mike Wallace 36.Eric Decker   37.Eddie Royal 38.Roddy White 39.Marques Colston  40.Rueben Randle I'm high on: Larry Fitzgerald (ESPN #40, ME #26)  I realize Fitz had a down year, but Carson Palmer is back, people!  I think Michael Floyd won't play in this game, so it'll be Larry and John Brown who get most of the looks.  I like both of them in this one, and I definitely don't think Fitzgerald should be down in the 40s... I don't trust this combo just yet. I'm down on: Brandon Marshall  (ESPN #20, ME #28)  Some of this has to do with  my belief in the Browns defense (specifically Joe Haden to shut down Marshall and Tashaun Gipson to light him up if Joe needs help in coverage).  Some of it has to do with my doubt in Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Even more has to do with my thought that the Jets will pound it with Ivory a lot in this game.  Take your pick, but I don't like Marshall as a WR2 this week. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Greg Olsen 3.Jimmy Graham 4.Martellus Bennett  5.Travis Kelce 6.Jason Witten 7.Jordan Cameron  8.Delanie Walker 9.Tyler Eifert 10.Owen Daniels 11.Larry Donnell 12.Kyle Rudolph I'm high on: Tyler Eifert (ESPN #13, ME #9)  I've been high on this guy all preseason, but I ended up drafting Kelce pretty early in my money league.  Otherwise I probably would have reached way too far to secure Eifert, but maybe it's for the best.  Time will tell, but I like Eifert to be a top-10 TE this week against a Raider D that gave up top-10 fantasy points to the position in 2014. I'm down on: Heath Miller (ESPN #9, ME not ranked)  I realize the Steelers will be without Martavis Bryant in this one, but that was also the case for the first 6 games last season.  What did Heath do in those contests?  How about 44 yards/game and 1 TD (total)?  Yeah, not much.  In fact, he only had 3 TDs in all of 2014, which is pretty standard for him these days.  I would much rather try my luck with a younger guy than start Miller tomorrow night.  DEF 1.Jets 2.Dolphins  3.Panthers  4.Seahawks  5.Packers 6.Texans   7.Bengals 8.Chiefs 9.Broncos 10.Browns  11.Rams  12.Cardinals Will we see this on Sunday? I don't think so... I'm high on: Cleveland Browns  (ESPN #17, ME #10)  I already alluded to this pick while talking about Brandon Marshall earlier, but I pretty much dislike all of the Jets this week.  I wish it was Geno Smith the Browns were going up against, but Fitzpatrick will have to do.  I like this game to be low scoring, and I'm hoping for a defensive touchdown to kick the year off right! I'm down on: Buffalo Bills (ESPN #5, ME not ranked)  Two words: Andrew Luck. Good luck to everyone in Week 1!   (Except you, Andy...) Cheers, Bart