Week One Fantasy Football Picks

 

The Recorder sports staff gives their thoughts on the fantasy football landscape for the week.

Who is your sure thing for the week?

Daniel Fappiano- Layout Editor: DeAndre Hopkins (WR, Houston Texans)- The return of quarterback DeShaun Watson combined with a poor Patriots pass defense and a matchup with shoot-out potential, could see Hopkins finish the week as the number one receiver

Patrick Gustavson- Sports Editor: Ben Roethlisberger (QB, Pittsburgh Steelers)- Though Big Ben is being overlooked, he has a strong matchup against a questionable Browns defense with one of the best groups of weapons in the league.

Ryan Jones- Assistant Sports Editor: Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans Saints)- The New Orleans quarterback is entering into his 18th season at 39 years old, but has aged like a fine wine. With offensive weapons like Michael Thomas Jr. and Alvin Kamara, Brees has a good chance of repeating his performance last year, where he posted a career-high 72 completion percentage along with 23 touchdowns and over 4,000 passing yards. In a week one matchup against the Buccaneers, a team with a shaky secondary that ranked last in yards allowed last season, expect Brees to have a strong performance.

Who is your sleeper for the week?

Daniel: Peyton Barber (RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)- Functioning as the starting back. Will see a bulk of the carries. With Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, the run game should be the focal point of the offense.

Patrick: Marquise Goodwin (WR, San Francisco 49ers)- With the loss of RB Jerick McKinnon, the Niners will be forced to turn to the passing game as they will likely be playing catchup with the Vikings. Goodwin and QB Jimmy Garoppolo showed strong chemistry at the end of 2017. He may be his favorite target, not Pierre Garcon.

Ryan: Nelson Agholor (WR, Philadelphia Eagles)-Agholor will benefit from leading receiver Alshon Jeffery being sidelined for the Eagles’ season opener against the Falcons. Being the defacto WR 1 for Nick Foles, Agholor will be getting most of the targets in week one for the reigning Super Bowl champs.

Who is going to bust this week?

Daniel: Odell Beckham Jr (WR, New York Giants)- With a likely matchup against Jags’ corner Jalen Ramsey, plus a new emphasis on the run game, don’t be surprised is OBJ finishes outside the top 15 at his position.

Patrick: Josh Gordon (WR, Cleveland Browns)- After a tumultuous offseason where he just recently, Gordon is expected to play but not start the game against Pittsburgh. It may take him more than a week to reincorporate himself in the offense.

Ryan: LeSean McCoy (RB, Buffalo Bills)-Not even factoring in his off the field legal issues, McCoy will be a bust this week and the rest to come for multiple reasons. The Bills lost three of their starting linemen over the offseason due to retirement (Eric Wood, Richie Incognito) and trades (Cordy Glenn), and with Nathan Peterman the confirmed week one starter against the Ravens, it can be expected that the box will be stacked often against the 30-year-old back.