FANTASY SPORTS

Who to start, who to sit in Week 1 of fantasy football

9/5/2018
BY BILL PIOTROWSKI
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
  • Titans-Chiefs-Football-2

    Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt should be in your fantasy lineup for Week 1, Blade fantasy sports writer Bill Piotrowski said.

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • This is what we’ve all been waiting for. The NFL regular season starts this week, so let’s go over who you should start or sit.

    You’ve probably been looking up and down your roster, admiring the running backs you stole from others, and decrying the receivers you got stuck with because you waited too long. Here’s how we think it should play out in Week 1:

    Start ’em

    For quarterbacks, you must play New England’s Tom Brady, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Carolina’s Cam Newton, New Orleans’ Drew Brees, and Seattle’s Russell Wilson.

    Houston’s Deshaun Watson looks to be in good shape and should pick up where he left off when he was injured last season. He can run, and he has DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller at his disposal. He should put up good numbers.

    Since Miami’s defense isn’t good, Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota could light them up. He too can run, so look for a good afternoon from the 2015 No. 2 overall pick.

    Kirk Cousins’ Minnesota career should get off to a good start. San Francisco does not have a strong secondary,

    Out of the backfield, make sure you use the Rams’ Todd Gurley, the University of Toledo’s Kareem Hunt of Kansas City, Dalvin Cook of the Vikings, Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas, and Jacksonville’s Leonard Fournette.

    Denver rookie Royce Freeman has a good matchup against Seattle. Pencil him in for at least one touchdown.

    Reigning offensive rookie of the year Alvin Kamara of New Orleans will get the ball a lot against Tampa Bay. He should pick up where he left off last year.

    David Johnson of Arizona missed most of last season, but he’s back after a breakthrough 2016. Put him in your lineup and watch the fireworks.

    As for receivers, make sure your active lineup includes Odell Beckham, Jr., of the Giants, Antonio Brown of Pittsburgh, New England’s Chris Hogan, Hopkins of Houston, and Julio Jones of Atlanta.

    Jamison Crowder of Washington should see a lot of targets, so he’s a good play against Arizona. But be sure to check his injury status.

    Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton should get a touchdown, and it could go for more than 50 yards. A 100-yard game is possible.

    There is a good chance Alshon Jeffery won’t play for Philadelphia, so make sure you put Nelson Agholor in your lineup. You could get a pleasant surprise.

    At tight end, you should play Jimmy Graham of Green Bay, Rob Gronkowski of New England, and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce.

    Jared Cook of the Los Angeles Raiders should get some over-the-middle looks, so play him against the Rams.

    Cleveland’s David Njoku might become Tyrod Taylor’s favorite dump-off target, so you could take a flyer on him.

    Sit ’em

    Minnesota is tough at home, and the Vikings will give San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo trouble all game.

    Likewise, Carolina will be hounding Dallas’ Dak Prescott into mistakes.

    Running back Tevin Coleman will have trouble getting rolling behind his Atlanta teammate, Devonta Freeman, so leave him on the bench.

    The best years are behind Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy, so don’t expect much combined with Nathan Peterman at quarterback.

    We don’t know what to expect from rookie quarterback Sam Darnold of the Jets, so we’re going to diminish the returns of receiver Robby Anderson.

    Michael Crabtree of Baltimore has a tough matchup against the Buffalo secondary, so look elsewhere.

    If you must play a tight end in your lineup, shy away from San Francisco’s George Kittle, even if he’s at full health.