This week starts our brand new weekly fantasy segment, Friday Fantasy Talk. Every Friday we will provide the good people with five QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs, and DEFs (kickers don’t count, they’re not real people). We will give you 3 players we like, one sleeper, and one bust for the week in each position. Obviously we will not include guys playing on Thursday night. You won’t see guys like Antonio Brown or David Johnson on our lists because they should be no brainer starts every week. Hopefully our picks lead you to victory but if not, who cares your team probably sucks anyway. Now lets get it!

QUARTERBACKS

Derek Carr, OAK vs ATL

Last week Winston threw all over Atlanta, throwing for 281 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT. Carr is a better QB than Winston and after throwing for over 300 yards against New Orleans you can expect similar numbers this week. Carr scored 22 points in standard scoring leagues last week and another 20+ week is imminent. Start Carr with confidence.

Matthew Stafford, DET vs TEN

Stafford and the Lions love to throw the ball. Last week against the Colts, he grew the ball 39 times with 31 competitions and 340 yards. There is a chance they go up big but even if they do it will be thanks to Stafford throwing the ball a ton. He may throw an interception or 2 but he will make up for it by throwing for around 350 yards and multiple TDs.

Eli Manning, NYG vs NO

Like we mentioned earlier, Derek Carr threw all over the Saints in week 1. Eli and his dynamic squad of receivers will have a field day with that terrible secondary. Expect big numbers from this mouth breather. We would be shocked if he does not throw for over 300 yards and at least 3 TDs.

SLEEPER: Carson Wentz, PHI vs CHI

Wentz had an impressive debut. He threw for 278 yards and 2 TDs. Yes, we know it was against the Browns, but it was still impressive. Chicago is by no means a shut down defense. They gave up 231 yards through the air last week against the always dominant Brock Osweiler (LOL).  Wentz is a sneaky pick that could pay off if you want to take a chance on someone.

BUST: Jameis Winston, TB vs ARZ

Winston had a good week against Atlanta, scoring 25 points in standard leagues. We think he will finish the season as a top 15 fantasy QB. However, beware this week as he has a very difficult match up against the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has one of the best defenses in the league and should give Winston some trouble. We would bench Winston this week if you have a viable backup. We are not saying you should start the almighty Shaun Hill over him but maybe a guy like, we don’t know, Carson Wentz? Hmmm.

RUNNING BACKS

DeAngelo Williams, PIT vs CIN

Monday night against Washington, Williams had 32 touches. That is tied for the most in the league with Lamar Miller. Williams is the workhorse for that team until LeVeon Bell returns. Last week, Matt Forte had a good game against Cincinnati, accumulating 155 total yards. Pittsburgh is a very good team and you should ride whichever RB is playing and that for now is DeAngelo Williams. Start start start!

CJ Anderson, DEN vs IND

CJ Anderson is coming off a monster game, against a very good Panthers defense. He had 139 total yards and 2 TDs. Next week he goes up against an Indianapolis defense who surrendered at least 18 fantasy points to BOTH Lions RBs. Anderson will see the majority of the carries as well as looks on passing plays. Expect big numbers from Anderson.

Jeremy Langford, CHI vs PHI

Langford had a respectable 57 rushing yards and a TD against a good Texans defense who ranked 10th against the run last season. Philadelphia gave up 78 total yards and a TD to Isaiah Crowell last week. Not only is Langford a better RB than Crowell, but he also gets a higher percentage of touches on his team than Crowell. We expect Langford to have around 100 yards and a TD this week. Langford will keep you happy.

SLEEPER: Rashad Jennings, NYG vs NO

Coming into the season not many people were talking about Jennings and honestly we don’t know why. Last week against the Cowboys he finished with 75 yards on 19 touches, 10 more touches than Vereen who had the second most touches on his team. Jennings is the go to guy in the Giants back field. The Saints defense is bad and we expect Jennings to find the end zone which is always nice.

BUST: Melvin Gordon, SD vs JAX

Don’t get us wrong, we think Gordon is a good RB. So far in his second year in the league he has looked much better than he did in his rookie year. He finished week 1 with 57 yards and 2 TDs for a very nice first week. Unfortunately for him, he is on the Chargers and the Chargers will be playing from behind most of the season. Danny Woodhead, the “backup” RB had 7 more touches than Gordon and sees the field more often as the pass catching back. Gordon is good but if you are going to start a San Diego RB, it should be Woodhead, not Gordon. Nothing against the guy, he is just in a bad spot.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Justin Blackmon, JAX vs SD

Blackmon was quiet last week but expect him to explo- just kidding, he’s probably never going to play in the NFL again.

Mohamed Sanu, ATL vs OAK*

Sanu was brought in this offseason to replace Roddy White as the Falcon’s number 2 WR behind Julio and boy did he impress in his first game. Sanu finished the game with 5 catches for 80 yards and a TD and was tied with Julio and TE, Jacob Tamme, for the most targets on the team with 8. Last week Saints WRs touched Oakland’s secondary. Brandin Cooks finished with 143 yards and Willie Snead finished with 172 yards. We expect both him and Julio to have big games.

*Sanu was “noticeably limping” after last week’s game due to an ankle injury. If healthy he’s a start in our books but its worth noting.

Jordan Matthews, PHI vs CHI

Jordan Matthews had himself a day. He finished week 1 with 7 catches for 117 yards and a TD. More importantly, he looks like he has pretty good chemistry with QB, Carson Wentz. Wentz targeted Matthews 14 times which was 1 target behind Allen Robinson for most targets among WRs in week 1. Expect the Eagles and Wentz to be throwing the ball often and when they do they will be looking Matthews’ way, especially with TE Zach Ertz being injured.

Marvin Jones, DET vs TEN

Stafford is going to be throwing the ball a lot all season and Marvin Jones has emerged as the number one option. He had the most targets on the team week 1 with 10 and finished the games with 4 receptions for 85 yards. Jones will be going up against a Titans secondary who allowed over 100 yards receiving to Stefon Diggs. We expect a good week from Jones and we see him scoring his first TD as a Lion this week.

SLEEPER: Tajae Sharpe, TEN vs DET

Tajae Sharpe has quietly climbed to the top of Tennessee’s WR depth chart. Last week Mariota targeted him 11 times which was the most on the team. He finished the game with 7 catches for 76 yards. Expect Sharpe to continue to produce as the top WR option for the Titans. Last week Detroit gave up 385 yards through the air to the Colts. Tennessee’s offense is by no means on the same level as the Colts, but still expect Sharpe to be a productive fantasy player who no one talks about once again.

BUST: Will Fuller, HOU vs KC

Last week Fuller led Houston in targets with 11 and yardage with 107. He had a very productive start to his NFL career being the leading receiver on the team week 1. However, this is DeAndre Hopkins’ team. Fuller will be a very nice complimentary number 2 WR for Hopkins, however don’t expect him to put up over 100 yards and a TD every week, especially this week against a good Kansas City defense.

TIGHT END

Eric Ebron, DET vs TEN

Ebron caught all 5 passes that were thrown his way last week for 46 yards and a TD. He is a big, fast, athletic TE who will see a lot of red zone targets. If Ebron can stay healthy, you can expect him to get a lot of the red zone targets and TDs, especially now that Calvin Johnson is no longer there.

Delanie Walker, TEN vs DET

Last week Detroit gave up a combined 88 yards and 3 TDs against Indy TEs. Walker is one of Mariota’s favorite targets, especially in the red zone. The veteran Walker has emerged as one of the top pass catching TEs last year and expect him to improve on his 42 yard game last week.

Jason Witten, DAL vs WSH

 

Witten had 14 targets last week against the Giants, more than any other TE in the league. He hauled in 9 of them for 66 yards. TEs are a young QB’s best friend. They provide them with a comfortable check down and last week that is exactly what Witten was for Dak Prescott. As long as Prescott is QB for Dallas you can expect Witten to be a very productive fantasy TE.

SLEEPER: Virgil Green, DEN vs IND

The same reason Witten is a safe option for the young Prescott, Green is a good safe check down option for the young Trevor Siemian. Last week Green recorded 4 catches for a modest 28 yards. Siemian also had a pass batted down that was intended for a wide open Green in the end zone. If Green can find the end zone, he could be a good sleeper pick at the TE position.

BUST: Julius Thomas, JAX vs SD

Last week Thomas scored the third most fantasy points among TEs with 12. He caught all 5 of his targets for 64 yards and a TD. While we do think Thomas is going to be one of the better TE options all season, we expect Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns to have a much better game and out produce Thomas. Thomas is good but expect a little decrease in production this week.

DEFENSE / SPECIAL TEAMS

Baltimore Ravens vs CLE

Cleveland is probably the worst team in the league (even more now that RGIII is injured again) and Baltimore looked really good last week against Buffalo. There really isn’t much explanation behind this one besides Baltimore is a good defense going up against a bad Cleveland Browns team.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs CIN

Last week Pittsburgh did a very good job shutting down the Washington Redskins. They picked off Cousins twice and held them to 16 points. Granted Cincinnati is a better team than Washington, but Pittsburgh is a very good team and defense.

Philadelphia Eagles vs CHI

From a real life football perspective, the Eagles may not have a great defense. However, from a fantasy perspective the Eagles have been a good defense over the past couple of years. In week 1 they were tied for third most fantasy points among DEF/STs. They force turn overs and always have the potential to score on special teams. They may give up points to Chicago this week but they will make up for it with turnovers, sacks, and the possible TD.

SLEEPER: Los Angeles Rams vs SEA

St. Louis Los Angeles (still getting used to that) looked very bad week 1 against San Francisco but they are a much better defensive team. With Russell Wilson battling an ankle injury, Seattle’s offense will be limited. Expect a low scoring game and LA’s defensive line to be chasing Wilson all game.

BUST: Kansas City Chiefs vs HOU

Last week against San Diego, the Chiefs defense gave up 388 yards and forced no turnovers. They also gave up 27 points. Yes, most of that was in the first half, but expect the Chiefs defense to struggle once again against a strong Houston offense. With Justin Houston still injured the score could be much higher than you would think. Start with caution.

 

Well there you have it. We will give you fantasy advice every week and hopefully we lead you to victory. Tweet us your questions to us @DD_sportstalk. If you want to ask the writers directly you can tween to us at @thegeistman09 (Kev), @vmalley50 (Vinny), or @bmalley13 (Billy). Good luck everyone!

-Double Down Sports Talk