Fantasy Football: Jarvis Landry, Chris Ivory Among Players To Avoid For Week One


Grab your laptops, order some chicken wings, and think of the best name for your team because we’re back in the fantasy football season. Thursday night, the NFL season will officially kick off as Cam Newton leads his Carolina Panthers back to Denver for a rematch of Super Bowl 50 with Von Miller and the Denver Broncos. For the next three weeks, all 32 teams will return to football without any off weeks — barring unforeseen events, of course.

In the next 30 or so hours, you and your friends will finally be getting to set your fantasy football lineups for the first time in nearly a year and with the fun of competing for a trophy comes the anxiety of knowing who to play and who to stay away from. Do you play Andy Dalton against the Jets knowing that he’s healthy, or do you instead take a risk with Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott? What about the running game, where the amount of elite, high-caliber backs is at what seems to be an all-time low.

Each week, we at the Inquisitr will try our best to walk you through the players you should avoid playing in your fantasy football leagues this weekend and those you may want to claim or play in their place. In the style of standard fantasy lineups, this will be done through a simple format:

  • Quarterback
  • Two running backs
  • Three wide receivers
  • One tight end
  • One defense/special teams

For those playing daily fantasy sports, we will also include a salary for the players there — both those you should and shouldn’t play; these salaries will be the ones used on DraftKings, so make sure to double check what the salary is if you’re using another site.

QB: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys [$5,000]: Well, it’s hard to win if your quarterback takes the field and has a bad day. People are going to come out and say avoid playing the big-name signal-callers like Carolina’s Cam Newton (taking on the Broncos in Denver) and Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota (starting his second season against the Minnesota Vikings), but don’t let the caution surrounding other quarterbacks lead you to playing an inexperienced player you might not have chosen otherwise. Dallas’ Dak Prescott likely doesn’t fit into that group after a fantastic preseason and an injury to Tony Romo, yet starting a rookie quarterback against a much-improved New York Giants defense is a mistake.

By all means, Prescott could easily dazzle and lead the Cowboys to their second straight 1-0 start, but the risk is just too much with the Mississippi State making his NFL debut on Sunday. Not all rookies struggle in their first game — just ask Mariota, who threw for four scores in his debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year — but those playing in non-two quarterback leagues may want to look for a safer option this weekend. For all ESPN players, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is owned in just 36.5 percent of leagues (and is a fairly inexpensive $6,500 on DraftKings) and he may be worth a pick up if you’ve yet to claim him.

RB 1: Matt Forte, New York Jets [$6,100]: Sticking with the Jets, new running back Matt Forte may seem like an automatic play due to his ability to catch the ball in what will likely be an offense featuring many pass plays, but I’d hold off on using Forte this week. Though the Bengals don’t have the best defense, expect Forte and veteran Bilal Powell to split carries as part of a 1A-1B system rather than Forte being the clear-cut number one and Powell being his backup. Eagles jack-of-all-trades Darren Sproles, available in 57.5 percent of leagues and at a cheap $4,200 on DraftKings, could be an interesting play if new Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson wants to play it safe in the passing game for rookie Carson Wentz’s first start.

RB 2: Chris Ivory, Jacksonville Jaguars [$4,300]: Jet fans openly voiced their displeasure when Chris Ivory left Gang Green for a role with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but fantasy players who happily drafted Ivory after a successful stint with the Jets may want to stay away from the former Pro Bowler. Like with Forte and the Bengals, Green Bay doesn’t have the best defense (more on them below) and is likely to allow a big offensive day to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars. However, the majority of those yards are likely to come in the passing game and second-year back T.J. Yeldon, who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards a year ago, excels in the passing game. Ivory will get touches, but not to the extent that he will in later weeks and most not likely with the success that made him a Pro Bowler a season ago.

Those wanting to go for a cheap option at running back may want to consider Dallas’ Alfred Morris (owned in 35.1 of ESPN leagues and just $3,800 on DraftKings), especially if Ezekiel Elliott runs into trouble early against the Giants’ defensive line. With Prescott making his debut, Jason Garrett may opt to lean more towards the running game and Morris, the former Florida Atlantic Owl, should receive plenty of snaps alongside Elliott.

[Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press]
WR 1: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys [$8,500]: There’s two things that put Bryant on this list, one of which is the fact that Tony Romo is out, and Dak Prescott is making his debut instead. The second is a bit more complicated as Bryant, who turns 28 in November, suffered a concussion in the preseason and is now questionable for Sunday’s game. The chances are that Bryant will still have a big season if he can stay healthy, but fantasy players with the two-time Pro Bowler on their roster may want to look at Baltimore’s Kamar Aiken (available in 43.0 percent of leagues and worth $4,700 on DraftKings) as the Ravens clash with the Buffalo Bills. As former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco is finally healthy again, Aiken will have a chance to prove his breakout 2015 season was no fluke.

WR 2: Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles [$6,700]: Another player who is questionable for Sunday, Jordan Matthews, and his back injury should be an automatic sit as Carson Wentz makes his debut for the Eagles. Fellow NFC East receiver Pierre Garcon [available in 37.2 percent of leagues and just $4,400 on DraftKings) might be a nice play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, though Garcon is long removed from his best days on the field.

WR 3: Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins [$6,000]: With times dark in Miami as the team faces what will likely be another playoff-less season, third-year wideout Jarvis Landry is one of the organization’s few bright spots and one of the few marquee players new coach Adam Gase has on offense. However, a matchup with Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks most likely means that Landry, who nearly had four games of 100 yards receiving in a disappointing year for the offense, is going to be shut down and limited to a catch or two. Though he is also facing a strong defense in the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego’s Travis Benjamin (somehow available in 69.7 percent of leagues and only $4,100 on DraftKings) wouldn’t be the worst play as Andy Reid will likely put most of his men on Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates.

[Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press]
TE: Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers [$4,200]: Speaking of Gates, what was just said is pretty much all that needs to be said. Kansas City normally forces Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers to have below-average performances and Gates, the security blanket for Rivers over the past decade, will suffer because of that. I know I’ve been a bit rough on the Cowboys so far, but Jason Witten [free in 79.5 percent of ESPN leagues and only $100 dollars cheaper than Gates on DraftKings) wouldn’t be an awful play if Prescott wants to play it safe and use the veteran tight end as a safe, short option.

Defense: Green Bay Packers [$2,800]: Mike McCarthy’s defense is going up an offense that features Blake Bortles, T.J. Yeldon, Allen Robinson, and Julius Thomas. It’s a common pick you’ve probably heard before, but Muhammad Wilkerson and the New York Jets (owned in just 61.9 percent of leagues and worth $3,400 on DraftKings) should be a safe option against the Bengals. It probably also helps that the Jets, who haven’t made the postseason since 2010, have only lost one opening day since 2008 — a 2010 showdown with the Baltimore Ravens to open up MetLife Stadium.

[Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press]

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