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Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 1: Opening Fantasy Football Lineup Decisions to Consider

Fantasy Football
September 10, 2016

There’s only one day left before the NFL‘s first Sunday of the season, which means fantasy owners have a lot of tough decisions to make before kickoff.

Playing fantasy football takes some of the joy away from watching football because it’s not just for fun anymore; you’re personally invested into the players on your team. Only in fantasy football would a Chicago Bears fan root for Aaron Rodgers to score a touchdown. 

Injuries are a key factor in making decisions. What does being “questionable” really mean? With Rob Gronkowski out with a hamstring injury, as reported by the Providence Journal (via Nerdy Football’s Jason Cole), setting your lineup for Week 1 may be even more difficult than you thought:

While Gronkowski is an obvious choice for a spot on the bench, other decisions aren’t as easy. So for the fantasy owners out there, let’s discuss some players who should start this week and others who should be left out of all the fun.

   

Start ’em: Martellus Bennett, TE, New England Patriots 

This selection speaks for itself.

Bennett was already destined to see some targets come his way against the Arizona Cardinals and is a massive upgrade in the No. 2 tight end department from Scott Chandler from last season. Throw in an injured Gronkowsi, and Bennett screams No. 1 tight end upside. 

There is no replacing Gronkowski, but the Patriots have a solid backup who can do a lot of the same things Gronkowski can do in the open field.

   

Sit ’em: Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

There is no reason to play Cutler this weekend.

The game McClain is referencing here took place back in 2012 when the Bears lost 13-6 at the hands of the Texans, where Cutler finished 7-of-14 passing for 40 yards before getting knocked out of the game by former Texan Tim Dobbins.

While both teams look a lot different in 2016 than they did four years ago, the storyline should remain the same.

Cutler will get bullied by the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Vince Wilfork and (of course) J.J. Watt, who according to head coach Bill O’Brien (via Aaron Wilson from the Houston Chronicle) will be all-systems-go on Sunday. 

Cutler, at this point of his career, is a mid-tier NFL quarterback going up against a talented defense in Week 1. While he’s projected to score 16.30 points this week in Yahoo Fantasy leagues, Cutler is too turnover prone and inconsistent with his delivery. Leave him on the bench or just drop him all together—I hear Matt Ryan is still available in 66 percent of Yahoo leagues.

   

Start ’em: Ryan Mathews, RB, Philadelphia Eagles 

With DeMarco Murray out of town and Darren Sproles reduced to a third-down-back role, Mathews seems to be the No. 1 tailback for the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the 2016 season.

While talent was never the concern for Mathews during his time with the Chargers and now into his second season with the Eagles, the seventh-year running back out of Fresno State has a chance to run wild against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 for a couple of reasons. 

First and foremost, the Eagles are going up against a Browns defense that ranked a league worst in rushing yards allowed per game in 2015 (141.6) according to NFL.com

Moving on…

Secondly, the Eagles are starting rookie quarterback and second-overall pick Carson Wentz. Why does that matter? A lot of teams who start young and inexperienced quarterbacks have historically leaned on the run game to settle its signal-caller down at the line of scrimmage. 

Do the right thing and plug Mathews in at running back. You’ll be glad you did.

   

Sit ’em: Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks

So, maybe drafting Rawls early was a bad idea.

Christine Michael will get the majority of snaps for Week 1 and Rawls, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. There’s not point thrusting him into your lineup if he’s not going to get on the field.

NFL Network’s Michael Fabiano is telling everyone on Twitter to draft him if he falls in drafts, but how optimistic can we feel about drafting a guy who isn’t going to be a bell-cow tailback?

The only thing I can promise this week is that Rawls should be on the bench until further notice. I understand that he was questionable entering this past week, but he wasn’t even listed on the Seahawks’ injury report on Wednesday.

This could be a possible running back by committee, similar to the one in Cincinnati between Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Play it safe. Leave Rawls on the bench until the running back picture in Seattle becomes clear. 

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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