Fantasy Thoughts 2016 Week 1

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley
Cam Newton is going to score a ton of fantasy football points even when he team and he himself don’t play exceptional. Newton threw for 1 TD pass and ran for another TD in a narrow loss to the Broncos. Newton is sure to rebound with a huge performance against the 49ers this week.

Kelvin Benjamin reminded everyone how good he truly is after missing all last season due to injury. Against probably one of the best defenses in the NFL in the Broncos D, Benjamin had six receptions for 91 yards and a TD. Look for a huge week out of him against a sub-par 49ers’ secondary.

CJ Anderson might be a lot better than many people think. He put on absolute show against the Panthers defense running the ball 20 times for 92 yards and a TD. He also caught four passes for 47 yards and a TD. Anderson looks like the complete package.

Jameis Winston is out to prove everyone wrong this season and he started off with a bang. Winston threw for 281 yards to go with four TD passes. The Bucs will live and die by Winston’s ability to find the open WRs. He proved he is easily ready to be a QB1 for fantasy football on a weekly basis.

Mike Evans looks like Winston’s go to guy and he didn’t disappoint with a big game one. Evans hauled in five catches for 99 yards and a TD. Evans is a lock to be a WR1 on any fantasy football team.

If Matt Ryan could have gotten any help from either Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman the Falcons probably would have beat the Bucs by double digits. Ryan threw for 334 yards with two TDs and no turnovers. The Falcons RB duo on the other hand ran the ball 19 times for 44 yards and no TDs.

The Bears need more out of Jeremy Langford, and quite frankly, they need to utilize him much better than they did in week 1. Langford ran the ball 17 times for 57 yards and a TD and caught two passes for six yards. Langford has game changing ability and they need to game plan a way to get him 25-30 touches a game, especially with Jay Cutler manning the QB position.

Lamar Miller is going to prove a lot of people wrong this year with the Texans. The Dolphins let him walk and the Texans gladly scooped him up, which proved to be a great acquisition. Miller ran the ball 28 times for 106 yards with one TD and he caught four passes. Miller will be a top five fantasy football running back this season.

Welcome to the NFL Will Fuller! Fuller proved he was worth that high draft pick by introducing himself to the league by catching five passes for 107 yards and a TD. Fuller could be the best rookie WR in this class and has an immediate appeal for the FLEX position on your fantasy football roster.

As long as the Packers will allow him to, Aaron Rodgers will be throwing TD passes to guys in green. Rodgers threw for 199 yards and two TDs in a closer than expected victory of the Jaguars. It’s a no brainer to start him on your fantasy roster weekly.

Blake Bortles is ready to shine. Bortles went shot for shot with Rodgers and proved he is worthy of being a starter in the NFL. If it weren’t for about four dropped passes by Allen Robinson the Jaguars would have won the game. Bortles threw for 320 yards and a TD. Bortles is going to destroy opposing defenses as he has an extremely talented supporting cast.

The Jaguars three headed monster of Allen Hurns, Julius Thomas, and Robinson are going to cause nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators to scheme against. The trio hauled in 15 catches for 211 yards and a TD. Robinson could have easily had two more TDs in the game.

Philip Rivers lost his star WR in Keenan Allen for the season in week 1, so Travis Benjamin immediately becomes the hottest WR on the market as he is going to be the Chargers #1 WR by osmosis. Rivers is going to keep producing at a high level as he always has, it is Benjamin that is going to see the biggest benefit from this injury. Add him now if he is somehow still available.

Tyrell Williams is another Chargers WR to keep an eye on. He is a 6’4 WR that went undrafted out of Western Oregon. He had two catches for 71 yards in the season opener and his role should only broaden with the injuries to the team.

Danny Woodhead and Melvin Gordon look like they are going to be a handful to defend. The duo ran the ball 30 times for 146 and two TDs. Woodhead also caught five passes for 31 yards and a TD. Both of these guys are great options to have on your team as a FLEX or a RB.

Kansas City fans are going to forget about Jamaal Charles really fast if Spencer Ware keeps putting the team on his back like he did in week 1. Ware ran the ball 11 times for 70 yards and a TD and he caught seven passes for 129 yards. He can hurt you in multiple ways and he isn’t scared to run through people. Ware is a must have on any roster.

Is Drew Brees ever going to stop being a top five fantasy football QB? Brees continues to get better with age, this week he threw for 423 yards and four TD passes and the Saints still lost! The duo of Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks looks like it is going to be difficult to scheme against as they combined to catch 15 passes for 315 yards and three TDs.

Mike Thomas had a pretty decent first NFL game catching six passes for 58 yards, he is a young WR to monitor as the season goes on as he has game breaking skills.

Carson Wentz proved all the doubters wrong with a huge opening season win against the team that passed on him, the Browns. Wentz threw for 278 yards and two TDs in his first NFL action. Take this stat line with a grain of salt as he was playing the Browns and they aren’t going to be very good this year.

Jordan Matthews is loving his new QB as he opened the season with seven catches for 114 yards and a TD. He could be in for a huge fantasy football season.
Dak Prescott is going to be a good QB in the NFL. He didn’t have quite the exceptional game he and the Cowboy fans were hoping for but he did pretty well for a rookie. Prescott went 25/45 for 227 yards with no TDs and no turnovers. There were a few passes to Dez Bryant that could have or should have gone for TDs but Bryant couldn’t haul them in. Prescott has a ton of upside and is a guy I would closely monitor.

Matthew Stafford proved that it doesn’t really matter if he doesn’t have Calvin Johnson, he will still throw for a ton of yards and make the Lions offense look good doing it. Stafford had a near flawless game going 31/39 for 340 yards with three TDs and no turnovers. Stafford could be the reason the Lions sneak into the playoffs.

Theo Riddick is going to have a huge season for the Lions, and Detroit gave him the contract extension to prove they have faith in him. Riddick ran the ball seven times for 45 yards and a TD and he caught five passes for 63 yards and a TD. Riddick should be a starter at the FLEX position no questions asked.

Big Ben Roethlisberger proved he still has something in the tank by throwing for 300 yards and three TDs. Start him as a QB1 until an injury puts him out for a few games, which seems to happen every season.