FanDuel Fantasy Football: Week 1 Position Rankings

This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.

These are my favorite players at each position for week one of the NFL season on FanDuel. These are not value picks because the picks do not factor in the player salaries.

Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning – Ind@Den ($10,200) – Manning gets a decent matchup, at home, against his former team. He is your number one quarterback for the first week of the NFL season.

2. Drew Brees – NO@Atl ($9,700) – Atlanta has one of the worst pass defenses in the league. Brees should be in for a big game.

3. Andrew Luck – Ind@Den ($9,200) – In a matchup of Luck against Manning, Luck will have something to prove. It should be a high scoring game with a lot of balls flying through the thin air of Denver.

4. Matt Ryan – NO@Atl ($8,100) – The Saints have a very solid pass defense, but I do not think that matters in this game. The Falcons will not be able to stop the Saints on offense, so this should be a shoot out featuring Matt Ryan and Drew Brees. Ryan should lead the NFL in pass attempts in week one.

5. Matt Stafford – NYG@Det ($9,300) – This is not a great matchup for Stafford because the Giants do have a decent pass defense. However, the game is at home and Stafford plays a little better at Ford Field than he does on the road.

1A. LeSean McCoy – Jac@Phi ($9,400)  – McCoy gets a great matchup in week one against the Jags. The Eagles should get up big and lean on McCoy heavily. There is some concern about a blowout, but McCoy should be able to put up enough points before he is pulled.

1B.  Jamaal Charles – Ten@KC ($9,800) – Charles and McCoy are very close for me. I give a slight edge to McCoy because of his matchup and that FanDuel only awards 0.5 points per reception.

3. Matt Forte – Buf@Chi ($9,300) – This is not a great matchup for Forte, but it's not a terrible one either. The rest of the top backs (Peterson, Lacy and Murray) have very tough matchups.

4. Arian Foster – Was@Hou ($8,800) – This is of course contingent on Foster's health going into week one. If he is a full go, roll him out there. Washington is a below average team against the run and he is at home.

5. Adrian Peterson – Min@STL ($9,300) – This is a very tough matchup for AP, but he is AP, so he will still get 25-30 carries and should be able to break a few of those for big gains.

6. Zac Stacy – Min@Stl ($8,300)  – Because of Bradford's injury, the Rams will lean heavily on the run. Minnesota is a decent team against the run, but Stacy should still get a heavy work-load and have some success. The week one leader in carriers will most likely come from this game, either Peterson or Stacy.

Wide Receivers

1. Julio Jones  – NO@Atl ($8,000) – Jones is a beast. I fully expect him to come out week one and put up 150 yards and two touchdowns.

2. Demaryius Thomas – Ind@Den ($8,700) – As I said with Luck and Manning, this game will be high scoring. Because of yet another Wes Welker concussion and the departure of Eric Decker, Thomas should see even more action, especially around the red zone.

3. Calvin Johnson – NYG@Det ($9,200) – This is not a great matchup for Johnson, but he's Megatron, so there is always a chance for a monster game.

4. A.J. Green – Cin@Bal ($8,300) – This is not a great matchup for Green, but he should still get the ball thrown his way in an offense that features him as the star; especially with Marvin Jones out for the first few weeks.

5. Alshon Jeffery – Buf@Chi ($7,800) – No, I have not forgotten about Brandon Marshall; he'll be around in a little while. I just like Jeffery more than Marshall this year, but it's still very close.

6. Brandon Marshall - Buf@Chi ($8,100) – Here he is. Marshall and Jeffery are pretty close on every list you see, but I'm giving the slight edge to Jeffery.

7. Dez Bryant – SF@Dal ($8,500) – This is not the best matchup for Bryant or the Cowboys. He still makes a decent play, and should make his way into a few of my lineups.

8. Michael Crabtree – SF@Dal ($6,500) – The Cowboys are terrible on defense. If San Francisco decides to pass, Crabtree will have a monster day. However, if they decide to just run the ball down the throat of the Dallas defense, Crabtree could be in for a slow day.

Tight Ends

1. Jimmy Graham  – NO@Atl ($8,100) – Graham is by far the number one tight end this year, with his margin for just week one being even greater. He should be able to put on an exhibition against the Falcons in week one.

2. Julius Thomas – Ind@Den ($7,400) – I've said it a couple times already, this game will be high scoring. Thomas should have a big game which includes one, maybe two touchdowns.

3. Rob Gronkowski – NE@Mia ($8,000)  – As with anything Gronkowski-related, this comes down to his injury status. If he is a full go, he makes a great play.

4. Jordan Cameron – Cle@Pit ($6,500) – The Browns have no one else to pass to, so Cameron should see a ton of action all season long.

5. Jordan Reed – Was@Hou ($6,100)  – I am all over Reed this year. He should put up big numbers, unless he succumbs to yet another concussion. This is daily fantasy, so we just need him for one game.