{"id":355,"date":"2016-09-01T21:36:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T01:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=355"},"modified":"2016-09-01T21:36:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-02T01:36:55","slug":"week-one-fantasy-spotlight-things-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/01\/week-one-fantasy-spotlight-things-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Week One Fantasy Spotlight: Things to Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 2016 fantasy football season is in full swing. Drafts are taking place on a daily basis and football fans across the world are preparing their week one lineups. Although the preseason has come to a close, fantasy football questions still exist. Let&#8217;s look at some\u00a0things to watch week one.<\/p>\n<h2>Week One Fantasy Spotlight: Things to Watch<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SiemTr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trevor<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SiemTr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Sie<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SiemTr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mian<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SiemTr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trevor Siemian<\/a> was named\u00a0starting quarterback for the defending <strong>Super Bowl<\/strong> champs after\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MannPe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peyton Manning<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0retired following the season. On\u00a0March 11th, Denver traded for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SancMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0Sanchez was out-played by Siemian in the preseason and is in danger of being cut. The<strong> Denver Broncos<\/strong> starter is going undrafted in most fantasy leagues, and rightfully so. We just haven&#8217;t seen enough of the young quarterback to know if he can contribute to a successful fantasy team. Head coach<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/K\/KubiGa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Kubiak<\/a><\/strong> said he likes the\u00a0willingness of Siemian to make a play and his ability to get his playmakers the football. If we see a good performance on national television look for the young signal caller\u00a0to be hot on the waiver wire.<\/p>\n<h3>Oakland Raiders Offense<\/h3>\n<p>There are high expectations in <strong>Oakland<\/strong> for the 2016 NFL season. The young <strong>Raiders<\/strong> boast explosive weapons on offense. Quarterback <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CarrDe02.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Carr<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>emerged as a fantasy threat\u00a0throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2015. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CoopAm00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amari Cooper<\/a> <\/strong>averaged nearly 15 yards per catch and had over 1,000 yards as rookie. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MurrLa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Latavius Murray<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0became a viable option at running back recording his first 1,000 yard season. The question remains, can the Raiders do it with the expectations so high?\u00a0<strong>Oakland<\/strong> gets an ideal match-up week one in <strong>New Orleans<\/strong> against the <strong>Saints<\/strong>\u00a031st ranked defense. Carr, Cooper and Murray are all expected to finish in their respective top ten. Fantasy owners will be looking to get rewarded week one.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WinsJa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jameis Winston<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>The second year quarterback is poised to have a big fantasy season. As a rookie <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WinsJa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jameis Winston<\/a> threw for over 4,000 yards and 22 touchdowns. Drafted as a late round QB1 fantasy owners expect big things.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/player_search.fcgi?search=Mike+Evans&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Evans<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JackVi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vincent Jackson<\/a><\/strong> provide Winston with great weapons on the outside. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/player_search.fcgi?search=Doug+Martin&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Doug Martin<\/a><\/strong> is coming off a 1,400 yard season and nearly five\u00a0yards per carry (YPC) so he will draw the attention of opposing defenses. The <strong>Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/strong>\u00a0quarterback had four\u00a0total touchdowns (two\u00a0passing, two\u00a0rushing) against his week one opponent the <strong>Atlanta Falcons<\/strong>.\u00a0Winston had a great preseason throwing for 384 yards and four\u00a0touchdowns which should lead to Winston\u00a0having a big week one.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CruzVi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Cruz<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>New York Giants<\/strong> wide receiver\u00a0has missed all but six\u00a0games the past two seasons with injuries. The Former <strong>All-Pro<\/strong> wide-out is finally healthy and starts the season as the number two receiver\u00a0for the <strong>Giants<\/strong>. Fantasy owners drafting\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CruzVi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Cruz<\/a><\/strong> are hopeful he returns back to his pre-2014 form. With the exciting <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BeckOd00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Odell Beckham<\/a> Jr<\/strong> and rookie <strong>Sterling Shepard<\/strong> alongside, the pressure to perform is low for Cruz. Keep Cruz on your bench and see how looks week one against the <strong>Dallas Cowboys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>Dak Prescott<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>Dallas Cowboys<\/strong>\u00a0had some highs and lows this preseason. The highs being the play of rookies <strong>Dak Prescott<\/strong> and <strong>Ezekiel Elliot<\/strong>. The low, another injury to franchise\u00a0quarterback <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RomoTo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tony Romo<\/a><\/strong>. The All-Pro signal caller\u00a0will be out a minimum of eight-ten weeks with a broken bone in his back. The <strong>Cowboys<\/strong> offense\u00a0is now in the hands of the young Prescott. The rookie from <strong>Mississippi State<\/strong>\u00a0finished the preseason with a 137.8 quarterback rating and five touchdowns. Although it was preseason, Prescott turned some heads with his performance. The <strong>New York Giants<\/strong>\u00a0revamped defense with the additions of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JenkJa03.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Janoris Jenkins<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/V\/VernOl00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Olivier Vernon<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HarrDa03.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damon Harrison<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>will be out to rattle the rookie early.\u00a0Let&#8217;s watch one from Prescott before making him a starter.<\/p>\n<h3>Seattle Seahawks Running Backs<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RawlTh00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Rawls<\/a><\/strong> exploded on the scene last season when he took over for an injured <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/L\/LyncMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marshawn Lynch<\/a><\/strong>. Rawls averaged 5.6 yards per carry (YPC) while rushing for 803 yards and four touchdowns. Lynch a mainstay in the <strong>Seattle<\/strong> offense is now retired. Rawls was expected to take over for Lynch. However,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MichCh00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christine Michael<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0averaged 6.54 YPC\u00a0through three\u00a0preseason games and by\u00a0doing so raised questions about who will be the number one tailback.\u00a0If you drafted Rawls, hopefully you drafted Michael as his handcuff. Use week one to watch and see where the bulk of the carries go.<\/p>\n<h3>Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receivers<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/player_search.fcgi?search=Antonio+Brown&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> is considered by many to be the best wide receiver in the game today. Brown is not the question, but with <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BryaMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Martavis Bryant<\/a><\/strong> suspended for the season the number two\u00a0receiver position is up for grabs.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WheaMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Markus Wheaton<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CoatSa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sammie Coates<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0were considered preseason favorites to win the job.\u00a0However, second year wide receiver\u00a0<strong>Eli Rodgers<\/strong> has impressed throughout camp and will almost certainly get looks week one. Also in the mix is former <strong>Oakland Raiders<\/strong>\u00a0seventh overall draft pick <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HeywDa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darrius Heyward-Bey<\/a><\/strong>. Heyward-Bey had his most productive season since 2013 averaging 15.0 yards per catch. Whoever steps up and takes the spot opposite Brown should get significant looks from two time Super Bowl winning quarterback\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RoetBe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/598596954\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/598596954?et=6yNmhVkuSL9lB7uZ0F_fqw&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=WataO6dS9Lqid_aW22hHqCumANtRWicxUoABIKZgFys=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this Week One Fantasy Spotlight, Scott Burke breaks down some things to watch as the season finally kicks off this month. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1629,"featured_media":403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,19,15,17,20,36,9,32,29],"tags":[49,61,40,157,81,179],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-cowboys","category-broncos","category-raiders","category-giants","category-nfl-news","category-steelers","category-seahawks","category-buccaneers","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-oakland-raiders","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-seattle-seahawks"],"modified_by":"Ryan Smith","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1629"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}