NFL football is finally back and fantasy football along with it! 16 games of football down this week and an assortment of player performances to analyze. This week I will be looking at a few players from each position and giving my opinions on their fantasy outlook for the rest of the season.

Quarterback:

Buy/Trade for Aaron Rodgers(Packers). The entire Green Bay Packers offense was atrocious on Sunday. He only completed 15 of 28 passes for 133 yards and zero touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions on back to back drives even though he only had 5 total interceptions last year. Even worse he got subbed out for his backup, Jordan Love, who ended up playing the last 11 minutes of the game. While all of this sounds terrible for Aaron Rodgers, I still believe him to be a solid prospect for the rest of the year and I would trade for him now while his price is low. Aaron Rodgers missed much of the pre season and training camps while deciding whether to come back for the Packers so a slow start was somewhat expected from last year’s MVP. He also still has an all star wide receiver and running back to help him move around the ball around. In week 2, they will face one of the worst defenses in the Lions, so I expect a solid bounce back performance.

Runningbacks:

Sell High on Melvin Gordon III(Broncos). Melvin Gordon III has been a solid running back every year in the league, but it appears with his new situation on the Broncos, the peak of his career is long gone. While his game 1 stat line looks great, 70 of his 101 yards and his touchdown were from one breakout run in the 4th quarter. The rest of his 30 yards were gained on 10 carries, a measly 3 yards per carry. Rookie Javonte Williams is projected to take over the lead role in the Broncos and he ended up with more overall touches than Gordon in the first game. This points to selling Gordon after his monster week 1 performance.

Pickup Elijah Mitchell(49’ers). Kyle Shanahan backfields are always confusing and full of way too many running backs, but if you want to take a chance Elijah Mitchell is definitely worth the pickup. After Raheem Mostert, the expected starting running back, suffered a season ending injury in the first game, Mitchell exploded for 19 carries, 104 yards, and one touchdown. With Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty expected to be an active part of the backfield, there is no guarantee Elijah Mitchell will perform well regularly, but it most cases he is worth the risk.

Wide Receivers:

Pass on Christian Kirk(Cardinals). Christian Kirk had a a great start to the season with 70 yards and 2 touchdowns, making him one of the top waiver wire pickups this week. I would advise not picking up Christian Kirk. His status as a Boom or Bust player remains true and every year he has 2 or 3 amazing performances scattered in with an overall mediocre season. He is clearly at least the 3rd receiver on the roster and could possibly fall to 4th with Rondale Moore now on the team.

Buy Corey Davis(Jets). Davis started week 1 with a bang, going for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Even at this new price I still Think Corey Davis is a must buy candidate. He and Zach Wilson had a strong connection throughout the pre season and I expect it to only get better in the future. He is clearly the most skilled receiver on the Jets right now, so I expect him to be getting the majority of the the targets and yards every game.

Pickup Tyrell Williams(Lions). In deeper leagues, Tyrell Williams is certainly worth a pickup. The Lions receiver had an uninspiring stat line of 2 receptions for 14 yards, but the player certainly has promise. He ended up not playing the second half due to a helmet on helmet collision that has since put him in the concussion protocol. In the first half he played, however, he ran routes on all 23 of the Lion’s first half pass plays, while no other wide receiver ran more than 14 at the same time period. With such little competition in the Lion’s Receiving Corps, Tyyrell Williams certainly has potential to be the #1 receiver on the team and a reliable fantasy option every week if things go well.

Buy Ja’Marr Chase(Bengals). After a pre season riddled with drops and criticism, Ja’marr Chase was able to prove everybody wrong in week 1 with 5 receptions, 101 yards, and 1 touchdown. He seemed to have solid rapport with Bengals QB Joe Burrow from their time together at LSU and his routes and speed are already elite. Overall I expect Chase to only get better throughout the season.

Tight-Ends:

Buy Kyle Pitts(Falcons). The number four overall pick had a quiet start to his NFL career on Sunday with 4 receptions for 31 yards. While for a receiver these stats are quite unimpressive, they are decent for a tight end and hopefully a sign of what is to come in the future. He had 8 targets, so it is clear that the Falcons intend to use him heavily in the game plan. This will probably be Pitt’s lowest price as a breakout game looms nearby for the John Mackey Award winner.

Sell Rob Gronkowski(Buccaneers). Rob Gronkowski had an amazing game week 1, causing many fans to question if the five time pro-bowler is back to his former self. While it is possible, I would recommend selling Gronk for a high price after a performance of this caliber. With injury concerns and his age seemingly catching up to him, I am not confident in Gronkowski maintaining this level of play over the course of the season. Additionally, The Buccaneers offense has too many mouths to feed including elite receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown along with two solid running backs in Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones. In this high powered offense, Tom Brady spreads around the ball too much and has too many options for Gronkowski to keep at his week 1 pace for the season