The fantasy football season is finally a few days away and I, for one, could not be more excited to have fantasy football to look forward to each and every week. In order to prepare you for the first week of the season I have re-run the FantasyProjection model and utilized a combination of full season player projections (see 2020 Fantasy Rankings), 2019 defensive stats, and offseason changes to develop the projected scoring to the decimal for each player. These rankings are based on a .5 PPR scoring system. The rankings are listed below by position for your use in any start sit decisions you have in week 1. Good luck in the first game of the fantasy football season!
Quarterbacks
| 1 | Lamar Jackson BAL vs. CLE |
| 2 | Patrick Mahomes KC vs. HOU |
| 3 | Russell Wilson SEA at ATL |
| 4 | Deshaun Watson HOU at KC |
| 5 | Dak Prescott DAL at LAR |
| 6 | Carson Wentz PHI at WAS |
| 7 | Drew Brees NO vs. TB |
| 8 | Matt Ryan ATL vs. SEA |
| 9 | Josh Allen BUF vs. NYJ |
| 10 | Kyler Murray ARI at SF |
| 11 | Ben Roethlisberger PIT at NYG |
| 12 | Cam Newton NE vs. MIA |
| 13 | Tom Brady TB at NO |
| 14 | Aaron Rodgers GB at MIN |
| 15 | Jimmy Garoppolo SF vs. ARI |
| 16 | Jared Goff LAR vs. DAL |
| 17 | Matthew Stafford DET vs. CHI |
| 18 | Gardner Minshew II JAX vs. IND |
| 19 | Ryan Tannehill TEN at DEN |
| 20 | Tyrod Taylor LAC at CIN |
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson comes into the fantasy football season ranked as the 3rd best option at the position for week 1. Wilson has consistently been in the top 5 at the position and finished again as the 4th best QB for the 2019 season. Wilson has a chance to repeat as a top 5 QB in the 2020 season and will start his run agaisnt the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were the 27th worst defense against the QB based on fantasy points per game. This is a big matchup boost for the already stellar Wilson who will have a strong showing in week 1. FantasyProjection: 275 yards 2 TDs passing 23 yards rushing
Cam Newton
Cam Newton finds himself on a new team in New England, one that is used to having the best QB in the game, and he will have to try to live up to these expectations. Newton’s 2019 season was plagued by injuries and was eventually shut down for the season after not being able to play through injury. Cam Newton is expected to be fully healthy and will be looking to get back to his QB1 form like where he finished in 2018 (QB12). Cam draws one of the best matchups in the league in week 1 fantasy football season against the Miami Dolphins who were 31st worst againts opposing QBs on a fantasy points basis in 2019. This is the chance for Cam to shine and prove that New England made the right decision. FantasyProjection: 243 yards 1.5 TDs 27 yards 0.3 TDs rushing
Running Backs
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey CAR vs. LVR |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook MIN vs. GB |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott DAL at LAR |
| 4 | Saquon Barkley NYG vs. PIT |
| 5 | Josh Jacobs LVR at CAR |
| 6 | Austin Ekeler LAC at CIN |
| 7 | Alvin Kamara NO vs. TB |
| 8 | Derrick Henry TEN at DEN |
| 9 | Joe Mixon CIN vs. LAC |
| 10 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC vs. HOU |
| 11 | Miles Sanders PHI at WAS |
| 12 | Aaron Jones GB at MIN |
| 13 | Mark Ingram II BAL vs. CLE |
| 14 | James Conner PIT at NYG |
| 15 | Kenyan Drake ARI at SF |
| 16 | Nick Chubb CLE at BAL |
| 17 | Chris Carson SEA at ATL |
| 18 | Todd Gurley II ATL vs. SEA |
| 19 | David Johnson HOU at KC |
| 20 | Melvin Gordon DEN vs. TEN |
Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs is set to take an even bigger step forward in his second year in the NFL even after his amazing rookie debut. Jacobs is the main offensive weapon in the Raiders attack and is a threat through both the running and passing games. I expect Jacob will be a strong RB 1 each and every week. He is currrently ranked at RB5 for the week 1 fantasy football rankings not only due to his extraordinary talent, but his matchup against the Panthers. The Panthers were the worst team in the league against opposing RBs allowing 29 fantasy points per game to the position. To make things worse the Panthers lost their star linebacker Luke Kuechly to retirement. The Panthers are the best matchup for running backs in week 1 and we can expect a stud performance out of Jacobs against them. FantasyProjection: 97 yards 0.6 TDs rushing 3 receptions 24 yards 0.1 TDs receiving
Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram ends up fairly high in the week 1 fantasy football rankings for the RB position, but for very good reason. Ingram seems to be a forgotten man at the RB position in season long rankings especially seeing that he finished the 2019 season as 8th best RB. Now I understand that the Ravens drafted a flashy new rookie by the name of J.K. Dobbins, but especially in the first few games of the season very few rookies find themselves in a significant workload position. I expect Ingram to still be the go to RB for the first few games and potentially share the workload later on in the season. Ingram also faces the 25th worst defense against fantasy RBs for the 2019 season in the Cleveland Browns. This should be a great week for Ingram and his fantasy owners finding himself on the fringe of RB1 territory in week 1. FantasyProjection: 72 yards 0.7 TDs rushing 2 receptions 18 yards 0.2 TDs receiving
Wide Receivers
| 1 | Michael Thomas NO vs. TB |
| 2 | Davante Adams GB at MIN |
| 3 | Julio Jones ATL vs. SEA |
| 4 | Tyreek Hill KC vs. HOU |
| 5 | Chris Godwin TB at NO |
| 6 | Allen Robinson CHI at DET |
| 7 | DeAndre Hopkins ARI at SF |
| 8 | Mike Evans TB at NO |
| 9 | JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT at NYG |
| 10 | DJ Moore CAR vs. LVR |
| 11 | Kenny Golladay DET vs. CHI |
| 12 | Amari Cooper DAL at LAR |
| 13 | Cooper Kupp LAR vs. DAL |
| 14 | A.J. Brown TEN at DEN |
| 15 | Adam Thielen MIN vs. GB |
| 16 | Terry McLaurin WAS vs. PHI |
| 17 | D.J. Chark JAX vs. IND |
| 18 | Tyler Lockett SEA at ATL |
| 19 | Odell Beckham Jr. CLE at BAL |
| 20 | Calvin Ridley ATL vs. SEA |
| 21 | Keenan Allen LAC at CIN |
| 22 | Robert Woods LAR vs. DAL |
| 23 | DK Metcalf SEA at ATL |
| 24 | Courtland Sutton DEN vs. TEN |
| 25 | Julian Edelman NE vs. MIA |
Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas is an no brainer at the number one position for the week 1 fantasy football rankings for WR. Thomas has been other worldly for fantasy pruposes the last few seasons and will continue to rack up receptions and yards at an alarming clip this year. Thomas will start his fantasy football season facing the 2019 worst defense against opposing receivers. If you didnt already think that Thoas deserved to be number one in week 1 then that last sentence should go along way to solifying that. I’m expecting a big first game from Thomas proving exaclty why you spent first round draft capital on him. Fantasy Projection: 20 receptions 119 yards 0.6 TDs
JuJu Smith-Schuster
OK I know it was tough to see JuJu Smith-Schuster struggle last year after you spent such high draft capital on him, but I believe if you stuck with him into this season he will prove he is worth the pain of last season. JuJu is finally getting back his biggest fan QB Ben Roethlisberger. Last year was marred by the star QB being injured most of the season and JuJu’s stats depleted because of it. Let’s all try to remember the season JuJu had with Big Ben in 2018 when he had 111 receptions for 1,400 yards and 7 TDs which was good for a 9th best fantasy finish at the WR position. I’m banking on the connection to remain strong between the WR and his QB and for his fantasy owners to see the re-emergence of the 2018 WR1. It will help in week 1 that he faces the 2019 27th worst defense against WR’s, expect the WR1 performance out of JuJu. FantasyProjection: 6 receptions 74 yards 0.6 TDs
Tight Ends
| 1 | George Kittle SF vs. ARI |
| 2 | Travis Kelce KC vs. HOU |
| 3 | Mark Andrews BAL vs. CLE |
| 4 | Zach Ertz PHI at WAS |
| 5 | Darren Waller LVR at CAR |
| 6 | Hunter Henry LAC at CIN |
| 7 | Tyler Higbee LAR vs. DAL |
| 8 | Evan Engram NYG vs. PIT |
| 9 | Jared Cook NO vs. TB |
| 10 | Hayden Hurst ATL vs. SEA |
| 11 | Rob Gronkowski TB at NO |
| 12 | Austin Hooper CLE at BAL |
George Kittle
It is really not much of a surprise to anyone to see Mr. Kittle at the top of the week 1 fantasy football rankings for tight ends. Kittle has been amazing for the 49ers over the past few years and I really don’t think there is a chance of him stopping now. Kittle will face the Cardinals in week 1 who were the worst defense against TE in 2019. To put this into perspective, the Cardinals allowed 16 fantasy points on average to the TE position whereas the second worst defense only allowed 12 fantasy points per game. This matchup is a huge plus to an already top option at the position. Fantasy Projection: 7 receptions 81 yards 0.4 TDs
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