Football season is officially upon us. The first NFL games is finally here. After months of not scrambling to set your lineups on Sunday morning, it’s time again. With that said, all 16 teams play this weekend. That means that there are going to be several options for fantasy players who decided to wait until the final round of their drafts to snag a QB. This strategy is getting more and more popular, as more and more quarterbacks are becoming acceptable fantasy starters. Here are five quarterbacks to stream in week one.
Quarterbacks to Stream in Week One
5. Robert Griffin III
Robert Griffin III? For that crappy 3-13 team? Yes. RGIII has a pretty favorable matchup in week one against an iffy Philadelphia Eagles defense. The Eagles gave up the third most total yards defensively in the 2015 season, and gave up the fifth most yards through the air. It doesn’t seem like they made huge leaps this offseason to improve. Expect their defense to struggle again this year.
RGIII, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year winner, was benched the entire 2015 season. He has since moved on from the Washington Redskins and is now heading the offense in Cleveland. The Browns were not a good football team last year, ranking 26th in total offense. Although, they did finish 22nd in the league in passing offense, ahead of teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers.
Cleveland isn’t expected to be a whole lot better in the 2016 campaign but their offense could be adequate enough. With the additions of the speedy Corey Coleman out of Baylor and recently converted Terrell Pryor, RGIII has options to throw to. Don’t forget about the 2015 breakout tight end Gary Barnidge who should be highly used in the red zone. With the weapons around him and the ability to scramble, Griffin has the talent to be a fantasy relevant quarterback.
4. Joe Flacco
A lot of fantasy news has been coming out of Baltimore in the last week. Justin Forsett is cut, no wait, he just got signed. With all the controversy in the backfield aside, we do know that Flacco has always been a middle of the pack QB. The Ravens face off against the Buffalo Bills at home. Just one year ago, many believed the Bills were going to be a top defense in the league. Well that isn’t exactly what happened. Buffalo finished outside the top half of the league in total yards allowed and in total passing yards allowed. They have also lost their first two players selected in the previous draft, both linebackers.
Flacco, a former super bowl champion, has always been a decent quarterback that won’t blow you away with his numbers. He is coming off a knee injury that caused him to miss six games last year. Flacco has been claiming he is ready to go, and there’s no reason to believe he will falter. His weapons aren’t eye popping but they could be sneaky good this year.
Kamar Aiken is assumed to be the main target. He was just shy of 1,000 yards last year and could surpass that this season. Steve Smith Sr., who had a double rupture Achilles injury, is also ready to go. It’s unknown whether Smith Sr. will be the player he was before his injury last season, but if there is anyone you don’t want to doubt, its Steve Smith. Breshad Perriman, the third option in the passing offense, could also make quite a splash this year. Perriman is another player coming off an injury that held him out all year last year. These three players could prove to be enough to push Flacco into fantasy relevance.
3. Dak Prescott
Possibly the most talked about player of the preseason, Dak Prescott is taking the reins in Dallas. With Tony Romo out for several weeks at least, Prescott is the next man up. He wowed Dallas fans with his preseason numbers, averaging 114 yards per game and throwing five touchdowns. A lot of question marks come up with Dak, being only the 12th fourth round quarterback to start game one of their rookie season.
However, throwing to Dez Bryant is never a bad thing. Bryant is healthy coming off his foot injury and is ready to resume his domination of opposing defenses. Prescott also has rookie Ezekiel Elliot in the backfield. “Zeke” is highly touted out of Ohio State University and is ready to break the rookie rushing record. With possible the best offensive line in football, the stars seem to be aligning for Dak to be a very good fantasy option.
He is also facing the worst passing defense in the league from a year ago. The New York Giants gave up the most passing yards in the entire league in 2015, averaging almost 300 yards per game. The Giants are in the first year of the Ben McAdoo era, a very offensive minded coach. The Giants could very well finish in the bottom five defenses again this year.
2. Kirk Cousins
What is there to say about Kirk Cousins? He dominated the second half of the season last year, finishing in the top five. Cousin’s doesn’t have any of the drama from last year, knowing he is the sure starter coming into the season. DeSean Jackson is the deep threat on the outside. Pierre Garcon has always been a reliable option as the wide receiver two, although he could start to be pressed for playing time. Jamison Crowder has been improving and been showing he can be trusted with an increased role.
The Redskins also drafted Josh Doctson this year. An Achilles injury is keeping Doctson as day-to-day. If he ends up playing he can make an immediate impact. Jordan Reed can’t be forgotten either. Cousin’s favorite target is ranked as the second best tight end in the league, and has the chance to give Rob Gronkowski a run for his money if he can stay healthy.
The Redskins face off the Pittsburgh Steelers in the home opener. Expect this to be a high scoring game, as the Steelers should have a high powered offense. The Redskins are going to need to use the passing game to keep up, along with the fact that starting running back Matt Jones is coming off a sprained AC joint that could prove to be an issue when he takes on contact.
1. Matthew Stafford
The number one streamer this week is Matthew Stafford. It doesn’t seem that the loss of one of the best receivers in the league in Calvin Johnson would mean anything good for an offense. But, Stafford could be the biggest quarterback sleeper of the year. He has a big, athletic tight end in Eric Ebron that should be a monster in the redzone. The Lions also acquired Marvin Jones Jr. in the offseason. Jones is making his presence known as he could soon become the number one option. Golden Tate is the slot guy in the offense. Tate is a small guy that always seems to find the open field and scurry away from defenders.
The Lions also have a pair of pass catching backs that will be utilized. Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah should provide Stafford with a good dump off option. The Lions are entering their first full season with Jim Bob Cooter running the offense as the coordinator. Cooter came on late in the season last year, and Stafford had positive responses to him. Expect a lot of short, quick passes from Stafford with Cooter calling the plays.
The Lions play the Indianapolis Colts, who finished 27th in total offense last year. Coming in at 25th in passing defense, the Colts shouldn’t stop the Detroit offense. With the return of Andrew Luck, this game could turn into a shootout as well.
