Week 1 of the NFL season is here and now it is time for the big decisions, who to start and who to sit in Week 1 and there are plenty of interesting games to look at, including the Falcons and Saints as well as the Bears and Bengals and here is some help with the tough choices.
Some of the tough games to start and sit include players like Giovani Bernard, Rob Gronkowski, Rashard Mendenhall, Danny Amendola, Roddy White, Victor Cruz and Ben Tate.Sit Bernard and Cruz, he is dealing with an injury and the Bears D is nasty and start Roddy White if he is set to play, as the Saints have an awful secondary and also check out Rob Gronk, he will not be playing and Danny Amendola should and one of the toughest things will be to let players laying in the late games start. Cowboys and Giants are on at 8:30 Sunday night on NBC. Also start Kenbrell Thompkins since Aaron Dobson is out.
The NFL season is in full swing with a slate of games this week and the closer it gets to the start of the regular season the closer it gets to the start of the fantasy football season and with drafts going on until then there are a number of interesting players to look at that should have big seasons, including ones like Hakeem Nicks and Darren McFadden that are coming into contract years.
Depending on the type of league format that certain fantasy players use, these names can be prioritized in any way, like if it's a PPR league the wideouts should be considered more valuable, but names like Hakeem Nicks, Eric Decker, Darren McFadden, Jimmy Graham, Jay Cutler, Kenny Britt, Ben Tate, Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Vick and Brandon Pettigrew all should be considered smart bets, as they are all entering contract years. While it doesn't always end up true, contract year players are always good ones to target because they have incentive to perform well in stat categories, aka exactly what fantasy football is about.
The top target should be Hakeem Nicks, but only if he leaves the preseason looking like he will remain healthy, which is something that is in his best interests as well heading into a contract year. The Giants suffered last season without him and while Victor Cruz put up very good numbers, it was nothing close to what he put up in yards the season before and one reason was because Nicks was not fully healthy and missed time.
This season Nicks has appeared to be back to full health from last year's injuries, but he had a groin issue early and the team has been cautious during the preseason. If Nicks is healthy he should put up monster numbers with Eli Manning and Cruz and most fantasy owners may bypass him in early rounds and he could be a steal. Darren McFadden is another prime candidate that should perform in his contract year, but like Nicks, his future with the Raiders depends on if the running back can remain on the field, something he hasn't been able to do in his career.
McFadden has not played more than 13 games in any season in the NFL in his career and he has rushed for over 1,000 yards just once for the Raiders. General Manager Reggie McKenzie loves the explosiveness of McFadden on offense, but if he can't stay healthy he likely won't remain in Oakland, so it definitely is in his best interests to stay healthy this year. He is another player that could slip down in drafts and could be of great value as a running back that can catch the ball out of the backfield.
Decker and Peyton Manning had a great year last season and while Wes Welker will take away some catches from him this time around, Decker still should put up great numbers. Jimmy Graham is a star at tight end and since Rob Gronkowski is dealing with coming back from an injury, the Saints star is looking to put up monster numbers with Drew Brees as head coach Sean Payton returns. Some other players to look at include Pettigrew, Jay Cutler with the Bears, Mario Manningham if he can stay healthy as well as Dustin Keller and Jermichael Finley.
