Okay, with that out of the way, I would like to present my week 1 fantasy rankings. I will be ranking the top fantasy plays at each position, and then we’ll look back and review them after the Monday night game.
Quarterbacks
1. Peyton Manning – Manning goes up against the Jacksonville defense in week 1 and Jacksonville presents and interesting opponent. On one hand, they allowed a league worst 65.1% completion percentage, and they ranked 22nd in passing yards allowed per game at 216 yards per game. On the other hand they gave up only 13 TD passes last year, tied for 2nd in the NFL. Still, Manning makes a great pick against this awful pass defense.
2. Kurt Warner – It’s outside and in Denver, but Warner should still have his way with the weak Bronco’s secondary. 250 – 300 yards and a couple of TDs doesn’t seem to be too much to expect.
3. Rich Gannon – Gannon shredded the Seattle Seahawks secondary for almost 500 yards and 5 TD passes in the two games last season. Gannon is showing signs of slowing down but Seattle had one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses last season and Gannon should produce.
4. Brett Favre – Favre goes up against the Falcons who ranked 30th in pass defense last year. Truly horrible, the Falcons allowed 243 yards and almost two TD passes per game. The Falcons offense is terrible, so expect the Packers to score often.
5. Aaron Brooks –. Last year, Brooks threw for 248 yards and 3 TDs in Tampa…unfortunately he also threw 4 INTs in that game. Still, Brooks is a solid play and is loaded with weapons.
6. Donovan McNabb – McNabb should have a big day against the Titans who had the worst passing defense in the NFL last year. They allowed a league high 255 yards per game and gave up 27 TD passes.
7. Shane Matthews – Expect a shootout in Washington where Steve Spurrier’s high octane offense gets to play the Cardinals who ranked 26th in pass defense in 2001. As long as Spurrier doesn’t do any QB platooning, Matthews should have a big day.
QB Sleeper Pick – Jay Fiedler. Fiedler plays the Lions in Miami. The Lions have a very strong defensive line and are solid against the run, but their secondary is terrible. Ricky Williams may not do much, but Fiedler should have a strong game.
