The time has finally come, friends. Months of planning, analysis, and debate will finally be replaced by NFL games that matter. Soon we will have the answers we have been seeking for what seems like forever. We might already have one such resolution. It looks like Ezekiel Elliott is finally (maybe?) signing a contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys. All signs point to Elliott suiting up Sunday afternoon for Dallas’ divisional tilt with the New York Football Giants. It appears that those who got Elliott at a discount in drafts can breathe a sigh of relief. I do have Zeke slightly lower in my Week 1 fantasy football rankings than I do in my season-long rankings.
Assuming the deal gets done, Elliott slots in as my RB7 this week. My reasoning is quite simple. I want to see him play an NFL game at full speed before I rank him in the top five. Training in Cabo with Marshall Faulk is not the same as taking part in training camp. Of course, I did not drop him too far down. He still offers elite upside, and you’re starting him if you have him. I would just expect him to get closer to 20 touches this week rather than the 25 he averaged per game last season. If you drafted Tony Pollard, you might be able to use him as a Flex this week, but that’s likely to be as much mileage as you’re going to get out of that pick.
While drafters were taking Pollard and Darwin Thompson as high as the seventh round in recent weeks, Justin Jackson has remained largely available after pick 100. I feel like I must be missing something. Austin Ekeler is going to produce in Melvin Gordon’s absence. Historically, however, Ekeler’s production does not increase much when Gordon has been out of the lineup. Ekeler has a very valuable and defined role. I think Jackson gets more of the pie than most seem to think. Six weeks ago, I called Jackson this year’s James Conner and I stand by it. Jackson is in Flex consideration for me this week. If Gordon does not ink a new deal, I expect Jackson’s role to continue to increase in the coming weeks. The Chargers have several winnable games early on, and I would not sell high on Jackson after a big game or two.
Before I unveil my Week 1 rankings, this is my final plea to ask you all to do yourselves a favor and check out our Draft Kit. It has so much information for a variety of different league formats. We have tons of analysis to help you crush your competition this season. If you still want to get in one last league we have plenty of options available in our game lobby. We will continue to provide quality insight and content throughout the season. Every Wednesday my rankings will be posted right here on FantraxHQ. I will also be doing an underrated/overrated column every Friday, and a touches and targets recap each Wednesday.
Here are my Week 1 rankings for standard, PPR, and half-PPR leagues. I also have Flex rankings for each format. This should help narrow down some of those tough lineup decisions you will ultimately have to make. Feel free to comment below or follow me on Twitter with any questions you may have regarding your rosters and lineup decisions. I will update these on Saturdays each week but will not be creating a separate article. This article will automatically update with the new rankings. So, if you click this link Saturday night or Sunday morning, you should be able to see the newer version. I will also send out a notification on Twitter that my rankings have been updated. Now that my shameless promotion is out the way, let’s get to the rankings!
Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings
Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.
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