The Post analyzes NFL players who helped, and hurt, fantasy football owners in week one.
The start of the 2015 NFL season is a joyous time for all football fans, especially those involved in the ever-popular game of fantasy football.
Whether it is your first time involved in fantasy football or you are already a veteran to the game, it is an exciting time.
A few standouts the opening week of fantasy football include:
Quarterback Tom Brady – New England: The reigning Super Bowl MVP looked sharp against the Pittsburgh Steelers, accumulating 27 fantasy points this week by throwing for 288 yards and four touchdowns. Look for Brady to put up strong numbers all season as he is on a mission to try and capture his fifth ring.
Running back Carlos Hyde – San Francisco: Hyde scored the most points this week (29) as he ran for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns in the 49ers Monday night victory over the Vikings. Hyde is the feature back with Frank Gore now in Indianapolis and he should receive the bulk of the carries this season if he stays healthy.
Wide receiver Julio Jones – Atlanta: After signing a five-year contract extension this offseason, the fifth year receiver backed up the big extension by catching nine passes for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns Monday night for a total of 23 fantasy points. Jones will be the featured receiver in the Atlanta offense all season and expect him to have more performances like he did in week one.
Disappointments from week one include:
Wide receiver Dez Bryant – Dallas: The Cowboys Pro Bowl wide receiver broke a bone in his foot and will miss anywhere from six to eight weeks while recovering from the injury. This has a major impact on many fantasy owners, who used a high pick to draft the talented wide receiver in the early rounds. Your best bet will be to look at the available receivers remaining in your league and choose the best one to try and replace Bryant.
Running back LeSean McCoy – Buffalo: McCoy came over from the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason and was thought to be the focal point of the offense when he arrived in Buffalo. The seventh year running back has battled a hamstring injury for most of the preseason and that injury seemed to carry over into his week one performance.
McCoy managed to only put up eight total points for the week against an average defense in Indianapolis. If you own McCoy you might want to consider picking up another running back because his hamstring injury could definitely affect him for much of the season.
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Quarterback Cam Newton – Carolina: The first overall pick of the 2011 draft struggled for much of the day against a subpar Jacksonville defense and only put up 12 fantasy points on Sunday afternoon. Newton lost his number one wide receiver from last season in Kelvin Benjamin for the season and will have to find other possible weapons to distribute the ball to.
A good alternative to Newton would be picking up Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, who is only owned in 48.2 percent of leagues. Palmer put up 25 fantasy points in week one against the New Orleans Saints and will likely have many more strong performances this season as the Cardinals look like they will be a pass-first team this season.
Under the radar players that are still available in many leagues include:
Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Tampa Bay: Seferian-Jenkins is only owned in 24.6 percent of leagues. Seferian-Jenkins recorded 23 fantasy points on Sunday with five receptions for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With 2015 number overall pick Jameis Winston at quarterback, Tampa Bay will rely heavily on their passing attack this season, especially if they fall behind in games like Tampa Bay did against Tennessee in week one.
Wide receiver James Jones – Green Bay: Jones was recently signed by the Packers after they lost receiver Jordy Nelson for the entire season due to injury. Jones is currently owned in just 32 percent of leagues but expect that number to rise after his week one performance of 17 fantasy points.
Jones will have the luxury of 2014 league MVP Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball, so expect Jones to put up consistent fantasy numbers all season long as long as he can avoid the injury bug.
Running back Benjamin Cunningham – St. Louis: With the Rams top two running backs unavailable for week one, Cunningham had his moment to shine, and he did just that on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Cunningham, who is owned in just 16 percent of leagues could potentially be a quality pickup if you are in need of help at the running back position in the upcoming weeks
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** Note all point totals in the article is based off of the ESPN fantasy football standard scoring
