Sleepers and Pick-Ups: Week 1
Wondering who to start week one in your fantasy league? We’ve got you covered.
QB: Patrick Mahomes II Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes II is a high-risk high reward QB with tremendous upside. Mahomes has a cannon of an arm and speedsters Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins perfectly match his play style. With his skill set and elite receiving corp, I could see him having a breakout year, similar to Carson Wentz last season.
RB: Aaron Jones Green Bay Packers
Aaron Jones is the best running back of a packed corp in Green Bay, and he’s only owned in 39% of fantasy leagues. Don’t let his 2 game suspension scare you off, fantasy is a 17-week game and Jones will be worth the pickup in the long run. If he wins the battle for RB1 like I think he will, he could be a valuable flex play, especially in PPR leagues.
RB: D’Onta Foreman Houston Texans
When healthy, D’Onta Foreman will be the feature back in Houston. With such a bad offensive line the Texans need a power back who can move a pile, and Lamar Miller has been incredibly underwhelming. He has had a slow recovery process after rupturing his Achilles tendon and has been put on the Texan’s PUP. Pick him up now and stash him for his return.
WR: Dede Westbrook Jacksonville Jaguars
Dede Westbrook is the most talented WR on the Jacksonville Jaguars after Allen Robinson’s move to the Bears, the only concern is Blake Bortles’ ability to get the ball to him. Despite having one of the worst QBs in the NFL, Dede can be a valuable flex play in standard leagues due to the volume I expect him to see.
WR: Mike Williams Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Williams was the no. 7 overall pick in the 2017 draft, but he missed 6 games this past year with a vertebral disc hernia. William’s elite size and ability to catch over defenders can mean a lot of red zone targets for the sophomore out of Clemson. Williams is expected to fill a bigger role this year in the explosive Chargers offense.
TE: George Kittle San Francisco 49ers
It didn’t take long for San Francisco to get back to its usual status in the league as a budding super bowl contender. Jimmy Garoppolo is special, he showed last year that he can carry a team and make everyone else around him better. George Kittle is no exception, as Garoppolo’s TE1 expect him to have some monster games. He can be even more valuable in PPR leagues, Kyle Shanahan’s death by a thousand paper cut offense can seriously help his reception count.
K: Adam Vinatieri Indianapolis Colts
Adam Vinatieri is owned in less than half of fantasy leagues, and he finished last year as only K16. Although it was the worst fantasy year of his career, he did this behind the 3rd worst offense in Indianapolis. With the return of Andrew Luck, the offense should be able to put more points on the board, meaning more point for Vinatieri.DOn’t let his age or his stats last season scare you away.
The Tennessee Titans had the 4th best run defense and finished 5th in the league in sacks last season. The offseason additions of Malcolm Butler, Rashaan Evans, and Harold Landry should improve the secondary drastically. Last year’s INT co-leader Kevin Byard and emerging second-year playmaker Adoree’ Jackson are also returning and ready to make just as much of an impact as they did last season. The Titans don’t have many holes in their defense and it should show this season.
This is Rex’s second year on the newspaper staff, he is the managing editor and writer for the Eagle magazine. He enjoys writing opinion-based articles...