Welcome back, DFS players.
Sure, you had the chance to partake in some preseason action, but let's face it: This is when the real DFS football calendar begins. And with DFS sites effectively hitting the salary reset button following an entertaining 2014 campaign, here's a look at the best quarterback value plays for Week 1:
Value Rankings
QB | RB | WR | TE
Top 3
Ryan tops the list by virtue of a plum home matchup with the up-tempo Eagles. This game has the highest total of the week, and the Falcons' equally dreadful D should give Ryan plenty of opportunities to air it out. Rodgers may have been the top pick had it not been for Jordy Nelson's season-ending knee surgery, while Palmer looks like a great value play against the visiting Saints.
Next 3
Romo should have little trouble carving up the suspect New York Giants' pass defense, and he and Dez Bryant represent one of the top stacking options of the week. Manning has a great home matchup against Baltimore, and is as fresh as he'll be all season. Luck has one of the highest floors of any QB in Week 1, but his upside could be limited against a Buffalo defense touted among the league's best.
Best of the Rest
| RANK | NAME | OPPONENT | RISK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Philip Rivers (SD) | vs. DET | Low |
| 8 | Sam Bradford (PHI) | @ ATL | Low |
| 9 | Eli Manning (NYG) | @ DAL | Low |
| 10 | Ryan Tannehill (MIA) | @ WAS | Low |
| 11 | Andy Dalton (CIN) | @ OAK | Medium |
| 12 | Russell Wilson (SEA) | @ STL | Medium |
| 13 | Drew Brees (NO) | @ ARI | Medium |
| 14 | Jay Cutler (CHI) | vs. GB | Medium |
| 15 | Cam Newton (CAR) | @ JAC | Medium |
| 16 | Joe Flacco (BAL) | @ DEN | Medium |
| 17 | Derek Carr (OAK) | vs. CIN | Medium |
| 18 | Jameis Winston (TB) | vs. TEN | Medium |
Road quarterbacks dominate the middle tier, with question marks dogging nearly all of them. Rivers and Bradford are the strongest cash-game choices in this group, given their favorable matchups in games with higher-than-average totals. Newton faces the largest variance in the group, with an already-lean receiving corps decimated by the season-ending knee injury to No. 1 wideout Kelvin Benjamin.
Nothing to See Here
| RANK | NAME | OPPONENT | RISK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Matthew Stafford (DET) | @ SD | High |
| 20 | Colin Kaepernick (SF) | vs. MIN | High |
| 21 | Marcus Mariota (TEN) | @ TB | High |
| 22 | Ryan Fitzpatrick (NYJ) | vs. CLE | High |
| 23 | Alex Smith (KC) | @ HOU | High |
| 24 | Tyrod Taylor (BUF) | vs. IND | High |
| 25 | Kirk Cousins (WAS) | vs. MIA | High |
| 26 | Teddy Bridgewater (MIN) | @ SF | High |
| 27 | Nick Foles (STL) | vs. SEA | High |
| 28 | Blake Bortles (JAC) | vs. CAR | High |
| 29 | Brian Hoyer (HOU) | vs. KC | High |
| 30 | Josh McCown (CLE) | @ NYJ | High |
Stafford is too error-prone to count on most weeks, even with a season opener against the soft Chargers on the docket. The rest of the group also carries considerable risk, though you could make an argument for considering either Kaepernick or Fitzpatrick in GPPs. McCown is easily the worst choice of the week, with few offensive weapons at his disposal heading into a difficult road contest against an improved Jets defense.
