Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Sit’em
QB
Cam Newton @TB (70%, 18) – The O-line sucks, his receivers suck, and he has a busted rib… If you have a decent backup, week 1 would be a good time to use him until Cam proves that the rib injury is no big deal and that his supporting cast isn’t as bad as it looks on paper. Tampa has as much talent on their D as anyone and new HC Lovie Smith knows what he’s doing on that side of the ball.
Robert Griffen III @HOU (49%, 20) – Has looked bad all preseason and there are rumors that everybody (teammates, coaches, announcers) prefers Kirk Cousins under center. With Brian Cushing healthy, rookie Jadeveon Clowney, and of course J.J. Watt, the Texans rush could be fierce and the pocket integrity won’t last long. We’ll see how RG3 adapts to his new role as a pocket passer… I’m not expecting much success and 20 points seems high to me.
RB
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Doug Martin CAR (89%, 14) – My shocker of the week. The Bucs line has been really bad all preseason and I don’t think the recent addition of 32-year-old Logan Mankins fixed everything. If you have been reading my rankings, you know I’m not a big fan of Martin’s talent and I think he will struggle against the Panthers fierce run D.
Stephen Jackson NO (21%, 11) – He hasn’t played all preseason due to a hamstring injury, he’s old as dirt and the Saints run D was solid last year (9th fewest fantasy points). I think the Saints will run up the score quick and the Falcons will need to throw to keep up which could mean fewer snaps for S-Jax and his plodding speed.
Trent Richardson @DEN (27%, 10) – I was 12-12 last year picking T-Rich on the under and I’m not going to stop now. He may vulture a goal line TD as coaches try to build his confidence, but in a game that they will be trailing early there won’t be many opportunities for T-Rich Sunday. Go get Ahmad Bradshaw in your leagues now and beat the week 2 rush.
Maurice Jones-Drew @NYJ (27%, 9) – The Jets have a lot of problems, but their D-line isn’t one of them. It’s one of the elite units in the league and gave up the 4th fewest points to fantasy RBs last season. It’s rookie QB Derek Carr’s first NFL start and the Jets are going to make the rookie beat them. I don’t think there will be any room for MJD to run and at this point of his career he needs massive holes to make anything happen.