Ah, the thrill of Kickoff weekend, when every team in real and fantasy football has championship dreams. Many of those with high hopes will be met with disappointment. Make sure that isn’t you. Here are the favorable and unfavorable matchups for the inaugural week of the 2015 NFL season.
Starts
Markus Wheaton, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
If you’ve been following me for the past couple weeks, you know I’ve paid a lot of attention to the Steelers wide receivers not named Antonio Brown. There’s good production to be had as the Steelers No. 2 receiver and that starts Thursday with wideout Markus Wheaton going up against a downgraded Patriots secondary. With running back Le’Veon Bell suspended, look for Ben Roethlisberger to throw the ball more in this game. His primary target will be Brown no doubt, but look for Wheaton to have a big game as the Patriots will probably try and take “Big Ben’s” top target away. Play him as a Flex.
Related players to start: Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Tom Brady has had a rough offseason but he may find a respite in a porous Steelers defense Thursday. reports the Steelers gave up the sixth-most points to opposing fantasy quarterbacks last year and from their preseason play, it doesn’t look like the team improved much since 2014. Pro Football Focus ranked the Steelers as the league’s worst in terms of pass coverage. Pittsburgh was awful throughout preseason. Teddy Bridgewater and Aaron Rodgers moved the ball easily on them in the early weeks of the preseason. Then, in preseason Week 3, EJ Manuel cooked them for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Manuel split work with Matt Cassel (who went 6/7 for 38 yards), Tyrod Taylor (12/13 for 122 yards) and Matt Simms who went five of five for 65 yards and a touchdown. Tom Brady is better than all those quarterbacks and should be looking to make a statement in the Patriots opener. Start him with confidence.
Related players to start:Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills
The Bills’ home opener against Indianapolis should provide fantasy owners with a litmus test of how Buffalo intends to use running back LeSean McCoy. While many are down on McCoy due to his drop in yards per carry — 5.1 in 2013 to 4.2 last season — McCoy finds himself in a position where he’ll get the majority of the work near the goaline and will once again be involved in the passing game. Last year, McCoy was phased out of the passing game almost completely, eliminating his biggest asset, elusiveness. This year, he’ll get some of that back. While Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman offer a much more ground-and-pound style, look for McCoy to get his fair share of passes out of the backfield especially as the team tries to groom new starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Indianapolis is susceptible to the checkdown and I expect “Shady” to exploit that. The Bills will probably limit McCoy’s carries Sunday to decrease the risk of him re-injuring his hamstring but he should be a solid second running back.
Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
The Redskins are a middle-of-the-pack pass defense going up against a Dolphins offense that seems to be firing on all cylinders. Last year, Washington gave up the second-most points to opposing wideouts in fantasy according to . That bodes well for lead receiver Jarvis Landry. With Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill having a great preseason and the makings of what could be a breakout year, Landry should be the primary beneficiary of Miami’s improved passing offense which includes veteran receiver Greg Jennings, tight end Jordan Cameron and former Saints deep threat receiver Kenny Stills. He should be used as a first receiver.
Related players to start: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
Sit
Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers
Running back Melvin Gordon was the early frontrunner for fantasy rookie of the year following the 2015 NFL draft. The rookie drew raves in OTAs and comparisons to rival running back Jamaal Charles. Since then, Gordon has fallen off significantly as evidenced by a poor outing this preseason. Gordon, who was once thought to be the featured back is now in a committee with a returning Danny Woodhead and a surging Branden Oliver according to quarterback Philip Rivers. On top of that, Gordon opens against one of the better run defenses of last season and this preseason in the Detroit Lions. No doubt the loss of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley weakens the Lions’ defensive front, but Detroit has replaced them with former Baltimore Raven Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker out of New Orleans.
Steve Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens
The Denver Broncos are Pro Football Focus’ second-best defense coming out of the preseason. While the preseason features a few meaningless games, Broncos fans have to be pleased with what they’ve seen from the defense. The team recorded 20 sacks in four preseason games and allowed just one offensive touchdown in the first half of those exhibition games. The lone offensive score came in the most meaningless game in all of preseason, Week 4. If you’re a fantasy owner with wide receiver Steve Smith on your squad, this isn’t the best matchup. The lone highlight of this contest is that Smith will likely see his old rival in cornerback Aqib Talib. So maybe Smith brings an extra effort. Also, Smith may not have that many opportunities to make a play as Denver seems poised to go after the league’s record for sacks with a pass rush that includes Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Shane Ray.
Related players to sit:Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Related players to start:Denver Broncos defense
Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
Two words: Joe Haden. It’s one thing if analysts and fantasy owners worry about a particular receiver matching up against the Browns’ cornerback Haden, but it’s another matter when a player voices those concerns.
“Man. I never look forward to going against Joe,” receiver Brandon Marshall told Dom Consentino of . “He’s one of the most competitive guys out there. He’s hyper-competitive, he works hard, and he’s always in the right place.”
No doubt, Marshall is simply giving Haden his due respect. The veteran receiver is more than ready to compete but he understands it’ll be an uphill battle on Sunday. One I’m not convinced he can win at 31 years old.
Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins
Amidst the tumult and chaos of the Washington Redskins’ offense, running back Alfred Morris has remained the team’s constant over the years. The solid running back faces new challenges this year. One that includes competition from rookie tailback Matt Jones. While Morris is still expected to be the bell cow back, Jones will no doubt eat into his production. It’s nothing Morris isn’t used to but this week he and Washington go toe to toe with the Miami Dolphins. Remember what I said about the Dolphins improving their receiving corps earlier? Their biggest improvement is on defense and in the form of a 6-foot, 4-inch, 307-pound defensive lineman named Ndamukong Suh. Suh was one of the primary reasons Detroit’s run defense was so formidable last season. Between that and the constant pass rush the Redskins will encounter from Suh and defensive end Cameron Wake, the Dolphins could get ahead fast which would mean less carries for Morris.
Related players to sit: Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins
Curb your Enthusiasm
Curb your Enthusiasm is a section where I list top-tier players owners generally can’t afford to sit but who are in bad matchups for the week.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
It’s a divisional battle in St. Louis and the Seahawks are coming off of an awful preseason offensively. The team’s tour through the AFC West exposed an ineffective Seahawks’ offensive line that struggled to give quarterback Russell Wilson time to execute plays. I expect Seattle to remedy this issue as they have aspirations of appearing in their third straight Super Bowl. However, I don’t think that will happen in Week 1.
Hugh Johnson: 303-954-1037, hjohnson@denverpost.com or
