The NFL season is finally here and, more importantly, fantasy football has begun! Entering week one, anything is possible. Matthew Stafford, Darren McFadden and Antonio Bryant could finish the season in the top 10 for their positions. However, it is just as likely that none of them even finish in the top 20. This weekend you want to play it safe. Until we see it in a regular-season game, a sleeper is still asleep. The players to target are guys you know will start and you know will get the ball. With that said, here are some key players I am high on this week and a few more I am low on.
Cedric Benson RB/CIN: Carson Palmer is expected to start, but his bum ankle means he will probably hand the ball off often, and Benson is the clear feature-back in Cincy. He also faces one of the league’s worst rush defenses in the Broncos. Expect the Bengals to get up early and run the clock out.
Fred Jackson RB/BUF: Marshawn Lynch is suspended, the Patriots traded Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour, and the Bills cut Dominic Rhodes. Jackson will get all the carries on Monday night, and he has proved himself in the past to be very reliable when depended on.
Joe Flacco QB/BAL: If you have been following, you know I am wacko for Flacco, and this week he faces the porous Chiefs’ defense. All of his weapons are healthy, and the Ravens want to show the league that Flacco is just as good as fellow second-year QB Matt Ryan.
Reggie Bush RB/NO: Pierre Thomas (sprained knee) probably will not play, and the only rush defense more fantasy-friendly than the Broncos is the Lions. When healthy, Bush is a fantasy force. Just ask any owner who started him when he ran two punts back for TDs and had almost 300 all-purpose yards against the Vikings last year. Speaking of, the Saints D/ST is not a horrible play this week if you get points for return yards.
Dwayne Bowe WR/KC: The Ravens defense eats QBs for breakfast as it is. Now, you have either got a hobbled Matt Cassel (sprained MCL) or the quarterback formerly known as Brodie Croyle throwing to Bowe. This does nothing to instill confidence in the receiver who has been in the Chiefs’ doghouse all summer.
Chris Wells RB/ARI-Knowshon Moreno RB/DEN: Both of these rookies could be stars;but as of now, neither is the clear-cut starter for their team, both are in a dreaded running committee and both are recovering from recent injuries.
Matt Schaub QB/HOU: No one loves Corn on the Schaub like I do, but this week he scares me. His ankle is still healing from a sprain, Kevin Walter is nursing a sore hammy, and under Rex Ryan, the Jets’ defense figures to be a near-immovable force. If Schaub plays well on Sunday, I will breathe easy.
All Tampa Bay Running Backs: Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who has had major surgery on both of his knees, is listed as the starter. Earnest Graham, a fantasy star in 2007, is third on the depth chart. Derrick Ward, who rushed for over 1,000 yards as a backup for the Giants last season, was expected to be the starter after signing a substantial free-agent deal in the offseason, and the Bucs are listing him as the No. 2 running back. To make it even more exciting, head coach Raheem Morris said he plans to rotate all three of his backs. The point is, none of these guys are safe in fantasy until we see who is getting the bulk of carries.