The NFL returns on Thursday, and that means fantasy football is back. As of August 2021, over 40 million people in the United States play fantasy football, and that number continues to grow. Each week, we will bring you new rankings. The rankings will be based on matchups and injuries.
Let’s start with the Week 1 Quarterback rankings:
- Justin Herbert vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Patrick Mahomes at Arizona Cardinals
- Josh Allen at Los Angeles Rams
- Lamar Jackson at New York Jets
- Jalen Hurts at Detroit Lions
- Russell Wilson at Seattle Seahawks
- Kyler Murray vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Aaron Rodgers at Minnesota Vikings
- Tom Brady at Dallas Cowboys
- Joe Burrow vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Dak Prescott vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Matthew Stafford vs. Buffalo Bills
- Trey Lance at Chicago Bears
- Jameis Winston at Atlanta Falcons
- Kirk Cousins vs. Green Bay Packers
- Trevor Lawrence at Washington Commanders
- Derek Carr at Los Angeles Chargers
- Carson Wentz at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Matt Ryan at Houston Texans
- Mac Jones at Miami Dolphins
The top three quarterbacks will shuffle throughout the season, but Herbert, Mahomes, and Allen will likely remain the top three options. As for the other quarterbacks listed, it will depend on the matchups. Justin Herbert has chemistry with his wide-receiver corps, the Chargers added tight end Gerald Everett, which is a big upgrade over Jared Cook, and running back Austin Ekeler is fully healthy and will give Herbert a lot of dump-off yards. In Week 18, the last time the Chargers played against the Raiders, Herbert put up 28.4 fantasy points. Patrick Mahomes also has a favorable matchup, but it remains to be seen how he will perform without top wide-receiver Tyreek Hill. Josh Allen will face a tough Rams defense; therefore, he is behind Herbert and Mahomes for Week 1.
Here are the top 20 Running Backs in the points per reception (PPR) format for Week 1:
- Jonathan Taylor at Houston Texans
- Austin Ekeler vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Christian McCaffrey vs. Cleveland Browns
- Derrick Henry vs. New York Giants
- Alvin Kamara at Atlanta Falcons
- Dalvin Cook vs. Green Bay Packers
- Joe Mixon vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Najee Harris at Cincinnati Bengals
- D’Andre Swift vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- James Conner vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Leonard Fournette at Dallas Cowboys
- Saquon Barkley at Tennessee Titans
- Javonte Williams at Seattle Seahawks
- Aaron Jones at Minnesota Vikings
- Nick Chubb at Carolina Panthers
- Ezekiel Elliot vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Josh Jacobs at Los Angeles Chargers
- Tony Pollard vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Antonio Gibson vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elijah Mitchell at Chicago Bears
The top five running backs listed above will be interchangeable based on matchups. The sleeper running back in Week 1 is Tony Pollard. He will have opportunities as a wide receiver and running back, so he will get a lot of chances to rack up rushing and receiving yards.
Next, we have the top 20 wide-receiver rankings:
- Justin Jefferson vs. Green Bay Packers
- Cooper Kupp vs. Buffalo Bills
- Ja’Marr Chase vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Davante Adams at Los Angeles Chargers
- Stefon Diggs at Los Angeles Rams
- Keenan Allen vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Deebo Samuel at Chicago Bears
- CeeDee Lamb vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Michael Pittman Jr. at Houston Texans
- Tyreek Hill vs. New England Patriots
- Diontae Johnson at Cincinnati Bengals
- A.J. Brown at Detroit Lions
- Tee Higgins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Mike Evans at Dallas Cowboys
- Terry McLaurin vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Mike Williams vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Courtland Sutton at Seattle Seahawks
- Gabe Davis at Los Angeles Rams
- JuJu Smith-Schuster at Arizona Cardinals
Any wide receiver on a given day could show out and produce for your fantasy football team; however, I believe the wide receivers listed above will be the most consistent in Week 1 because of the targets they could potentially see, which will lead to fantasy football production.
The last top 20 rankings will be for the tight end position:
- Mark Andrews at New York Jets
- Travis Kelce at Arizona Cardinals
- Dalton Schultz vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kyle Pitts vs. New Orleans Saints
- Darren Waller at Los Anegels Chargers
- George Kittle at Chicago Bears
- Dallas Goedert at Detroit Lions
- T.J. Hockenson vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Pat Freiermuth at Cincinatti Bengals
- Dawson Knox at Los Angeles Rams
- Zach Ertz vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Cole Kmet vs. San Francsico 49ers
- Irv Smith Jr. vs. Green Bay Packers
- Mike Gesicki vs. New England Patriots
- David Njoku at Carolina Panthers
- Austin Hooper vs. New York Giants
- Gerald Everett vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Noah Fant vs. Denver Broncos
- Albert Okwuegbunam at Seattle Seahawks
- Evan Engram at Washington Commanders
Most tight ends — outside of the top-seven — are going to be touchdown or bust on most weeks, which means they either catch a touchdown(s) or they don’t produce many fantasy points.
Here are the top-10 defenses and special teams:
- San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears
- Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
- New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
- Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks
- Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions
- Tennessee Titans vs. New York Giants
- Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns
Lastly, here are the top-10 kickers for Week 1:
- Evan McPherson vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Justin Tucker at New York Jets
- Nick Folk at Miami Dolphins
- Matt Gay vs. Buffalo Bills
- Brandon McManus at Seattle Seahawks
- Harrison Butker at Arizona Cardinals
- Daniel Carlson vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Matt Prater vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Tyler Bass at Los Angeles Rams
- Greg Joseph vs. Green Bay Packers
This wraps up the Week 1 rankings. As mentioned earlier, we will bring you new rankings based on matchups and injuries each week.
Good luck in Week 1!
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