Who to Start On Week One

Being a fantasy football coach is a little bit like being a college football coach in that you don’t get any real preseason games. Sure your players back in real life play four preseason games, but what does your star running back taking four carries for 13 yards supposed to tell you?

As a fantasy coach the two most important things you need to know are how a player is going to be used within his team’s setup, and how many fantasy points is he likely to earn in that role. Right now, I don’t know how C.J. Spiller is ultimately going to be used. I don’t think his coach even knows. I don’t know how many snaps Beanie Wells can take before his knee falls out and Tim Hightower has to go in. I don’t know how many carries Chester Taylor will steal from Matt Forte. I need to see them actually play a real game to have some idea.

Given this lack of information, it might be hard to know who to start on week one. Especially in your weaker roster slots. I’ve got several teams where I don’t have big talent for the #2 wide receiver or running back slot. So I’m left guessing between Wes Welker and Malcolm Floyd, or Ricky Williams and Jerome Harrison.

My suggestion is, don’t sweat it. Week one is a learning week, where you see how guys really perform in gametime situations. Sure things will change, guys will go hot, guys will go cold, but for now don’t sweat it. Pick your best talent to start and where that’s not obvious just go with your favorite guy.

If you’d like some help deciding, the percentage of owners starting a player is often available to compare on fantasy football websites so you can see what the popular trends are. And most of the bigger fantasy football sites feature by-week rankings for who to start. Here are a few you can use: FFToolbox, FantasyFootballCafe, or FantasySharks. Pick your favorite and go with them. And if they’re wrong at least you’ll have somebody to blame if your backup RB blows up and runs for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

I hope you’re all as excited about the start of football season as I am. It’s going to be a great year. So go get your teams rosters set up for your first game—and good luck!

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