Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally reached the point in time where everything matters, including weekly rankings. Below you will find my Week 1 rankings for both Standard and PPR leagues. You can very easily toggle between positions and scoring format. We will post these each week for your viewing pleasure.
The top story of the week is the continued holdout of Le’Veon Bell. He has still not reported to the team and will likely sit out for at least the first game of the regular season. To say this situation will have an effect on the fantasy landscape would be a gross understatement. Bell has been a top-five fantasy pick in nearly every format and his absence has many owners scrambling. As it relates specifically to Week 1 rankings, the big question now is what we make of his primary replacement, James Conner.
We know that Conner should get the bulk of the work on Sunday and that makes him a relatively safe play, particularly in DFS given his low price tag. However, in Redraft leagues I think he’s closer to a Flex play than a no-brainer RB start. Cleveland was pretty stingy against the run last season. They allowed just 79.4 yards per game on the ground at home in 2017, good for sixth-best in the NFL.
Other than those who rostered Conner, I think the big winners here are Ben Roethlisberger and Juju Smith-Schuster owners. I have Roethlisberger as my QB9 and Smith-Schuster as my WR18 (WR16 in PPR) and think I might be too low on them. I expect Pittsburgh to attack Cleveland through the air in this matchup despite Big Ben’s recent history of negative road splits. It should go without saying that Antonio Brown is also in line for a monster game.
Please check out the rest of my Week 1 rankings to see where I have some of your players ranked. Use these in conjunction with your own intuition and analysis to make smart lineup decisions.
Week 1 PPR Rankings
Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End
Week 1 Rankings for Standard Scoring
Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End
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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.