NFL Week One Fantasy Football Player Rankings

Hey there guys.   AFC and NFC predictions are still works in progress due to some miscommunication between Skillet and myself, so I'm going to get right to posting my fantasy football rankings at each position for this week. It's week one, so obviously this is going to be extremely speculative and based heavily on offseason rankings, but it should still be helpful for those making their last minute lineup changes.  Very little explanation will be offered because of the sheer number of players that require ranking.....

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees - Brees and Rodgers should be locked in a shootout on Thursday night and that should give both quarterbacks plenty of opportunities to rack up the points.
3. Philip Rivers 
4. Michael Vick - Just because I didn't like the idea of drafting Vick, doesn't mean I'm not going to rank him highly while he's playing.
5. Matt Schaub
6. Tom Brady - I'm surprisingly high on the Dolphins this year, which bumps Brady down a few spots here week one.
7. Josh Freeman
8. Matthew Stafford - Stafford and Freeman are another pair of solid fantasy choices here facing each other, and that should keep both teams throwing all Sunday.  Stafford was an injury risk on draft day, but needs to be playing while hes here.
9. Eli Manning - Hard matchups for other players move Eli to the top ten.
10. Matt Ryan - The Chicago matchup is a worry, but he's still top ten option.
11. Sam Bradford - Philly defense isn't going to be great week one.  Bradford should be able to score some points at home against them.
12. Kyle Orton - He's not going to be who he was last year with John Fox leading the team, but he'll still contribute plenty.
13. Ben Roethlisberger - Baltimore defense knocks him down here.
14. Tony Romo - Playing the Jets is always a knock down for your quarterback.
15. Colt McCoy - The Bengals just aren't very good at all.  I think McCoy is a huge sleeper this year. That's why he's 15.
16. Jay Cutler - Cutler will be forced to throw while playing from behind against Atlanta.  That's always good for fantasy points.
17. Joe Flacco - While I like Flacco, can't recommend him highly against the Steelers
18. Ryan Fitzpatrick
19. Kevin Kolb
20. Matt Cassel

Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Jamaal Charles
3. Frank Gore
4. Chris Johnson
5. Darren McFadden
6. Maurice Jones-Drew
7. Peyton Hillis
8. Arian Foster - Hammy has me worried, but obviously you are still starting him if he plays unless your team is impossibly stacked at running back.
9. Ahmad Bradshaw - Giants' passing attack hasn't looked great this preseason, so I expect them to feed the ball to Bradshaw here a bunch on Sunday.
10. LeSean McCoy - I had Shady out of my top ten for the year, but a couple other bad matchups make him a top ten guy here.
11. Michael Turner
12. Matt Forte
13. LeGarrette Blount
14. Steven Jackson
15. Ray Rice - Horrible matchup versus the Steelers defense here has him slide down the list.
16. Knowshon Moreno
17. Jahvid Best
18. Shonn Greene
19. Rashard Mendenhall - I'm down on Mendenhall overall, and the Ravens defense is an avoid.
20. Felix Jones
21. DeAngelo Williams
22. Tim Hightower
23. Ryan Grant - I don't know how the workload will look.  But I like his upside more than the other guys following him here.
24. Cedric Benson
25. Beanie Wells
26. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
27. Brandon Jacobs
28. Reggie Bush
29. Ryan Mathews
30. Joseph Addai
31. Pierre Thomas
32. Willis McGahee
33. Fred Jackson
34. Mike Tolbert
35. Marshawn Lynch
36. Jonathan Stewart
37. Mark Ingram
38. James Starks
39. C.J. Spiller
40. Daniel Thomas

Wide Receivers

1. Andre Johnson
2. Hakeem Nicks
3. Calvin Johnson
4. Vincent Jackson
5. Greg Jennings
6. Roddy White
7. DeSean Jackson
8. Larry Fitzgerald - I'm getting worried about the Kolb situation out there.  He didn't look good during the preseason.
9. Mike Williams
10. Mike Wallace
11. Reggie Wayne
12. Brandon Lloyd
13. Marques Colston
14. Dez Bryant
15. Miles Austin - Most people believe that Darrelle Revis will be on Austin, and have ranked him much lower than Bryant. I think Revis will start on Austin, but I don't think Antonio Cromartie can stop Dez Bryant, and Revis will need to be moved to Bryant at some point, giving both guys a shot at good numbers.
16. Marques Colston
17. Mario Manningham
18. Wes Welker
19. Percy Harvin
20. Anquan Boldin
21. Kenny Britt
22. Santonio Holmes
23. Malcom Floyd
24. Brandon Marshall
25. Jeremy Maclin
26. Santana Moss
27. Dwayne Bowe 
28. Chad Ochocinco
29. Steve Johnson
30. Lee Evans
31. Sidney Rice
32. Steve Smith
33. Mike Thomas
34. Julio Jones
35. Braylon Edwards
36. Jacoby Ford
37. Johnny Knox
38. Pierre Garcon
39. Austin Collie
40. Danny Amendola

Tight End

1. Antonio Gates
2. Jermichael Finley
3. Owen Daniels
4. Dallas Clark
5. Jason Witten
6. Kellen Winslow Jr.
   
7. Vernon Davis
8. Greg Olsen
9. Jimmy Graham
10. Brandon Pettigrew
11. Zach Miller
12. Tony Gonzalez
13. Marcedes Lewis
14. Aaron Hernandez
15. Rob Gronkowski
16. Todd Heap
17. Jermaine Gresham
18. Jared Cook
19. Dustin Keller
20. Lance Kendricks

Streaming Defense Recommendations

1. New York Giants Defense at Washington Redskins
2. Cleveland Browns Defense vs Cincinnati Bengals
3. Tennesee Titans Defense at Jacksonville Jaguars - McCown is a turnover machine.

-Fred "Big Derf" Tobin