2017 Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings

Fantasy football drafts are in the books, and so are my preseason top-200 rankings.  The season kicks off tomorrow with the Chiefs facing the Patriots in Foxboro, so now it's time to get into the weekly rankings.  There will be plenty of players who will surprise us this year, and likely even more who will disappoint.  We're about to find out together who they are, and below you'll find my best guesses for Week 1.

Keep in mind the Dolphins/Bucs game has been moved to Week 11, so none of those players on are on my lists.  I know this sucks for a lot of fantasy owners, myself included.  I drafted Jameis Winston as my only QB, and I'm forced to hit the waiver wire earlier than expected.  I had to drop Zay Jones - a guy who I think will be the #1 WR for the Bills this year.  But oh well.  Kind of important to start a QB.  Let's do this, Sam Bradford!

Anyway...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 (non-PPR) rankings.

To the rankings!

QBs 1.Russell Wilson  2.Tom Brady   3.Matt Ryan 4.Aaron Rodgers 5.Marcus Mariota  6.Cam Newton  7.Drew Brees  8.Derek Carr   9.Ben Roethlisberger  10.Kirk Cousins  11.Carson Palmer 12.Dak Prescott 13.Matthew Stafford 14.Andy Dalton  15.Sam Bradford   16.Eli Manning  17.Tyrod Taylor  18.Carson Wentz  19.Philip Rivers 20.Brian Hoyer I'm high on: Marcus Mariota (ESPN #10, ME #5)  The Titans were great against the run but nearly the worst against the pass in 2016.  If they can stop Oakland's ground game, I think this will make for a high scoring affair, and one in which I like both QBs to produce.  But it's Mariota who I like even more with all of his weapons at WR and TE healthy to start the season.  Put me down for a top-5 finish for the Titan quarterback. I'm down on: Matthew Stafford (ESPN #8, ME #13)  With a healthy Ameer Abdullah, I like for the Lions to try to establish the run in their home opener.  Stafford was a terrible fantasy QB in the second half of the season last year, and I have a feeling he'll pick up where he left off.  I think Detroit may win this game, but I don't see Stafford as having a great fantasy performance. RBs 1.David Johnson  2.Le'Veon Bell 3.LeSean McCoy  4.Devonta Freeman  5.Ezekiel Elliott 6.Todd Gurley  7.Melvin Gordon  8.DeMarco Murray  9.Jordan Howard  10.Lamar Miller 11.Isaiah Crowell   12.C.J. Anderson 13.Carlos Hyde 14.Dalvin Cook 15.Frank Gore  16.Leonard Fournette  17.Marshawn Lynch   18.Kareem Hunt  19.Ty Montgomery   20.Rob Kelley  21.Ameer Abdullah    22.Jonathan Stewart   23.Bilal Powell 24.Christian McCaffery     25.Mark Ingram 26.Terrance West 27.Paul Perkins  28.Adrian Peterson  29.Danny Woodhead  30.LeGarrette Blount  31.Eddie Lacy 32.Tevin Coleman 33.Jeremy Hill   34.Matt Forte 35.Mike Gillislee  36.Thomas Rawls  37.Darren Sproles 38.Theo Riddick   39.Latavius Murray  40.James White  41.Duke Johnson  42.Shane Vereen 43.Derrick Henry 44.Charcandrick West 45.Chris Thompson 46.Joe Mixon 47.C.J. Prosise 48.Jalen Richard 49.Jamaal Charles 50.Giovani Bernard I'm high on: Frank Gore (ESPN 26, ME #15)  With Andrew Luck sitting out Week 1, I see the Colts leaning heavily on the run game.  And it looks like Aaron Donald's hold out will continue into the regular season, which could leave some holes in the middle of the field for Gore to run through.  If Donald were playing in this game, I'd have Gore a bit lower because Indy's O-line is suspect.  But with Donald not playing, I think they could do OK and Gore could have a big day. I'm down on: Christian McCaffery (ESPN 14, ME #24) & Joe Mixon (ESPN #31, ME #46) Week 1 might be the only time I'll be able to be down on these rookies, but I'm going to say both have a slow start out of the gate.  The Bengals are facing a tough Baltimore defense, and Jeremy Hill is listed as the starter.  I don't see Mixon as a real flex option until we see just how many touches he'll get in a game.  As for McCaffery, I'm as excited as anyone to see him play his first real game in the NFL.  And it's in San Francisco, which is less than an hour from Stanford.  It just feels right for him to break out in Week 1, right?  Wrong!  While I do think he'll make a big play or two, I think it'll be Jonathan Stewart who finds the endzone and actually has a better fantasy day.  The 49ers were the worst team in the NFL against the run last season, but I think that'll help Stewart more than McCaffery.  Better days are ahead for the rookie, but I can't see ranking him as highly as the ESPN experts for his first game. WRs 1.Antonio Brown  2.Julio Jones 3.Doug Baldwin 4.Odell Beckham, Jr. 5.A.J. Green 6.Amari Cooper 7.Brandin Cooks 8.Michael Thomas  9.Jordy Nelson  10.Dez Bryant  11.Michael Crabtree  12.Larry Fitzgerald   13.Tyrrelle Pryor    14.Sammy Watkins 15.DeAndre Hopkins  16.Stefon Diggs 17.Alshon Jeffery 18.Martavis Bryant     19.Demaryius Thomas  20.Kelvin Benjamin 21.Emmanuel Sanders  22.T.Y. Hilton  23.Tyreek Hill 24.Allen Robinson 25.Davante Adams     26.Keenan Allen 27.Golden Tate    28.Pierre Garcon  29.Brandon Marshall   30.Jamison Crowder 31.Jeremy Maclin   32.Kevin White   33.Mike Wallace 34.Chris Hogan 35.Tyrell Williams 36.Jordan Matthews  37.Eric Decker 38.Ted Ginn  39.Adam Thielen 40.John Brown 41.Robby Anderson   42.Randall Cobb 43.Zay Jones  44.Corey Coleman  45.Donte Moncrief 46.Rishard Matthews 47.Kenny Britt 48.Paul Richardson 49.Kendall Wright  50.Marquise Goodwin I'm high on: Martavis Bryant (ESPN #28, ME #18)  The one corner who could probably stop Antonio Brown or Martavis Bryant (Joe Haden) is now wearing a black and yellow jersey in this game.  The Browns will have to put their remaining best corner (whoever that is) on AB, which should leave Martavis open for some plays.  I think Big Ben will hit Bryant for a big touchdown in this one, and he'll end up as at least a top-20 WR this week. I'm down on: Kenny Britt (ESPN #33, ME #47)  If Britt ends up being a WR3 or better this week, it'll probably come in garbage time.  But I actually have Corey Coleman ranked ahead of Britt, as I think he has shown a bit more chemistry with Kizer in the preseason.  I wouldn't really trust either guy until I see the rookie QB throw to them in a real NFL game, which is why I have Britt (and Coleman for that matter) so low in Week 1. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Travis Kelce 3.Greg Olsen 4.Jimmy Graham   5.Jordan Reed 6.Kyle Rudolph 7.Zach Ertz   8.Tyler Eifert   9.Delanie Walker 10.Martellus Bennett 11.Jack Doyle  12.Coby Fleener   13.Charles Clay  14.Austin Hooper  15.Jason Witten   My rankings are usually pretty similar to ESPN's for tight ends, and Week 1 of the 2017 season is no different.  I will point out that I'm quite a bit higher than the experts on Charles Clay (ESPN #21, ME #13).  I think with Tyrod's main WRs both being new guys (Zay Jones, Jordan Matthews), he may relay more heavily on his safety net.  I could see Clay ending up with 75 yards and a TD against the Jets. DEF 1.Broncos  2.Texans 3.Patriots  4.Bills  5.Steelers  6.Cardinals  7.Rams  8.Panthers 9.Seahawks   10.Vikings 11.Jags 12.Falcons I'm high on: New England Patriots (ESPN #12, ME #3)  Andy Reid is 1-5 all time versus Bill Belichick, with the most recent being a playoff loss in New England.  I think this game will feature better defense than offense actually, and I like the Patriots to shut down Alex Smith and the Chiefs.  I think they'll force turnovers and put up some big numbers tomorrow night...on the defensive side of the ball. I'm down on: Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED)  We know the Bengals will be without Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones due to suspensions, and Shawn Williams is likely out with an elbow injury.  These are all big losses for Week 1 against a division rival, and I think Baltimore will (surprisingly) put up some points in this game.  I don't like the Bengals in this matchup without all of those key pieces on the defensive side of the ball. Good luck to everyone in Week 1!   (Except you, Mike...) Cheers, Bart