When ranking these players, I have taken several factors into account. Some of these are the player's own past performance, his projected usage rate at his position on his team, his team's usage of that position in total, injuries to teammates, and the upcoming opponents' average performance against that position. Rather than just looking at how many fantasy points are usually scored against that opponent, I look at how that compares to the number of points that offense usually scores, which will tell whether a defense is likely to allow more or less than usual in the future. I then ranked the players at each position based on projected points scored during the week.
A couple of quick disclaimers: Just because one player is ranked ahead of another does not mean he is a better player, in real life or in fantasy, he may just have a better matchup. For example, Andrew Luck does not appear in my top 20 quarterbacks for week 1, despite being one of the top 2 QB's taken in most fantasy drafts. This is not because he is not good or overrated. It is because he is facing Buffalo, which allowed only 2 touchdown passes in its final 6 games last season, which included games against Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers, none of which recorded a single touchdown. Luck will be great this season, but you might want to start your backup this week.
Also, if two players are ranked pretty close together, it does not mean that you should definitely play the one that is ranked higher. These are just guidelines, but you should still use your gut feelings to some extent over data, which will never be entirely perfect. Also, if you should lose money gambling on any of my picks, I am not liable, although I would be happy to accept a portion of your winnings if these rankings should come in handy.
I have separated out each position below. I have included an extra column on the right side of the running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends labeled Flex. That column can be helpful for those of you with a Flex position in your league (one that allows you to use a player from any of those 3 positions).
Rank
|
Quarterback
|
Team
|
1
|
Aaron Rodgers
|
GB
|
2
|
Ryan Tannehill
|
MIA
|
3
|
Tom Brady
|
NE
|
4
|
Tony Romo
|
DAL
|
5
|
Drew Brees
|
NO
|
6
|
Matt Ryan
|
ATL
|
7
|
Eli Manning
|
NYG
|
8
|
Ben Roethlisberger
|
PIT
|
9
|
Sam Bradford
|
PHI
|
10
|
Peyton Manning
|
DEN
|
11
|
Philip Rivers
|
SD
|
12
|
Cam Newton
|
CAR
|
13
|
Joe Flacco
|
BAL
|
14
|
Andy Dalton
|
CIN
|
15
|
Carson Palmer
|
AZ
|
16
|
Kirk Cousins
|
WAS
|
17
|
Teddy Bridgewater
|
MIN
|
18
|
Russell Wilson
|
SEA
|
19
|
Jay Cutler
|
CHI
|
20
|
Colin Kaepernick
|
SF
|
Rank
|
Running Back
|
Team
|
Flex
|
1
|
Eddie Lacy
|
GB
|
1
|
2
|
Jeremy Hill
|
CIN
|
3
|
3
|
Marshawn Lynch
|
SEA
|
4
|
4
|
Alfred Morris
|
WAS
|
6
|
5
|
DeAngelo Williams
|
PIT
|
7
|
6
|
Jonathan Stewart
|
CAR
|
8
|
7
|
LeSean McCoy
|
BUF
|
9
|
8
|
Carlos Hyde
|
SF
|
14
|
9
|
Lamar Miller
|
MIA
|
16
|
10
|
Joseph Randle
|
DAL
|
18
|
11
|
Alfred Blue
|
HOU
|
19
|
12
|
Doug Martin
|
TB
|
21
|
13
|
CJ Anderson
|
DEN
|
22
|
14
|
Latavius Murray
|
OAK
|
26
|
15
|
DeMarco Murray
|
PHI
|
27
|
16
|
Andre Ellington
|
AZ
|
28
|
17
|
Justin Forsett
|
BAL
|
32
|
18
|
Chris Ivory
|
NYJ
|
35
|
19
|
Mark Ingram
|
NO
|
36
|
20
|
Giovani Bernard
|
CIN
|
41
|
21
|
Jamaal Charles
|
KC
|
50
|
22
|
Matt Forte
|
CHI
|
52
|
23
|
Rashad Jennings
|
NYG
|
55
|
24
|
Devonta Freeman
|
ATL
|
56
|
25
|
Tre Mason
|
STL
|
63
|
26
|
Frank Gore
|
IND
|
70
|
27
|
Isaiah Crowell
|
CLE
|
73
|
28
|
Dion Lewis
|
NE
|
74
|
29
|
Tevin Coleman
|
ATL
|
77
|
30
|
Adrian Peterson
|
MIN
|
78
|
31
|
Shane Vereen
|
NYG
|
|
32
|
Darren McFadden
|
DAL
|
|
33
|
Duke Johnson
|
CLE
|
|
34
|
Brandon Bolden
|
NE
|
|
35
|
David Johnson
|
AZ
|
|
36
|
Joique Bell
|
DET
|
|
37
|
Ameer Abdullah
|
DET
|
|
38
|
Ryan Mathews
|
PHI
|
|
39
|
Buck Allen
|
BAL
|
|
40
|
Lance Dunbar
|
DAL
|
Rank
|
Wide Receiver
|
Team
|
Flex
|
1
|
Julio Jones
|
ATL
|
2
|
2
|
Odell Beckham Jr.
|
NYG
|
5
|
3
|
Demaryius Thomas
|
DEN
|
10
|
4
|
Randall Cobb
|
GB
|
11
|
5
|
Dez Bryant
|
DAL
|
12
|
6
|
Antonio Brown
|
PIT
|
13
|
7
|
Calvin Johnson
|
DET
|
15
|
8
|
Jordan Matthews
|
PHI
|
17
|
9
|
Alshon Jeffery
|
CHI
|
20
|
10
|
Rueben Randle
|
NYG
|
23
|
11
|
Emmanuel Sanders
|
DEN
|
24
|
12
|
Nelson Agholor
|
PHI
|
29
|
13
|
Keenan Allen
|
SD
|
30
|
14
|
Roddy White
|
ATL
|
31
|
15
|
Greg Jennings
|
MIA
|
33
|
16
|
Jarvis Landry
|
MIA
|
34
|
17
|
Julian Edelman
|
NE
|
37
|
18
|
Mike Evans
|
TB
|
39
|
19
|
AJ Green
|
CIN
|
40
|
20
|
Golden Tate
|
DET
|
42
|
21
|
Jeremy Maclin
|
KC
|
46
|
22
|
Davante Adams
|
GB
|
47
|
23
|
DeSean Jackson
|
WAS
|
48
|
24
|
Terrance Williams
|
DAL
|
54
|
25
|
Michael Floyd
|
AZ
|
57
|
26
|
Larry Fitzgerald
|
AZ
|
58
|
27
|
Mike Wallace
|
MIN
|
59
|
28
|
Charles Johnson
|
MIN
|
60
|
29
|
DeAndre Hopkins
|
HOU
|
61
|
30
|
Vincent Jackson
|
TB
|
62
|
31
|
Eddie Royal
|
CHI
|
64
|
32
|
Markus Wheaton
|
PIT
|
65
|
33
|
Pierre Garcon
|
WAS
|
66
|
34
|
Steve Smith Sr.
|
BAL
|
68
|
35
|
Malcom Floyd
|
SD
|
69
|
36
|
Brandon Marshall
|
NYJ
|
71
|
37
|
Kendall Wright
|
TEN
|
72
|
38
|
Kenny Stills
|
MIA
|
75
|
39
|
Brandin Cooks
|
NO
|
76
|
40
|
John Brown
|
AZ
|
79
|
Rank
|
Tight End
|
Team
|
Flex
|
1
|
Rob Gronkowski
|
NE
|
25
|
2
|
Tyler Eifert
|
CIN
|
38
|
3
|
Benjamin Watson
|
NO
|
43
|
4
|
Kyle Rudolph
|
MIN
|
44
|
5
|
Charles Clay
|
BUF
|
45
|
6
|
Jordan Cameron
|
MIA
|
49
|
7
|
Ladarius Green
|
SD
|
51
|
8
|
Greg Olsen
|
CAR
|
53
|
9
|
Heath Miller
|
PIT
|
67
|
10
|
Josh Hill
|
NO
|
|
11
|
Travis Kelce
|
KC
|
|
12
|
Zach Ertz
|
PHI
|
|
13
|
Delanie Walker
|
TEN
|
|
14
|
Jimmy Graham
|
SEA
|
|
15
|
Martellus Bennett
|
CHI
|
Rank
|
Kicker
|
Team
|
1
|
Brandon McManus
|
DEN
|
2
|
Cody Parkey
|
PHI
|
3
|
Matt Prater
|
DET
|
4
|
Mason Crosby
|
GB
|
5
|
Matt Bryant
|
ATL
|
6
|
Nick Folk
|
NYJ
|
7
|
Josh Scobee
|
PIT
|
8
|
Randy Bullock
|
HOU
|
9
|
Chandler Catanzaro
|
AZ
|
10
|
Mike Nugent
|
CIN
|
Rank
|
Team Defense
|
1
|
Seattle
|
2
|
Buffalo
|
3
|
Carolina
|
4
|
Jacksonville
|
5
|
Miami
|
6
|
Green Bay
|
7
|
Tampa Bay
|
8
|
Cincinnati
|
9
|
Cleveland
|
10
|
Detroit
|
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