It's Week 1 of the fantasy footballseason, and while we're not dealing with any bye weeks yet, we're always dealing with injuries. Players you drafted a few weeks ago could be a bit banged up by this point. This will be a weekly piece where I look at readily available players to grab and drop into your lineups.
*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or fewer of Yahoo! leagues.
Quarterbacks
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
Shough and the Saints visit the Detroit Lions, where we see a big 49.5 over/under. Shough posted 18 fantasy points or more in each of his final six games last season, pretty darn good for a player rostered in only 40% of leagues this season. The Lions allowed the 9th most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last season (18.2) and have a bad secondary, putting
Shough in a good spot.
Running Backs
Brian Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
With Tua Tagovailoa potentially out for Week 1, the Falcons might get back to basics and aim for a run-heavy game. Of course, Bijan Robinson leads the way, but there's no reason for the Falcons to run him into the ground in Week 1.
It's a lower total vs. the Steelers, but a few carries and a vulture at the goal line is a path to production for Brian Robinson.
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
There's no doubt Quinshon Judkins is the starting running back for the Browns, but Dylan Sampson has clear upside in the passing game. In 15 games last season, Sampson had 40 targets and 33 receptions, which is solid for a running back in a split backfield.
The Browns are 8.5-point underdogs against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which should push them into a heavier passing game script and give Sampson a path to production.
Wide Receivers
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
With Brock Bowers out for the Las Vegas Raiders, the passing game is up for grabs. Bowers posted a team-high 21.7% target share last season, so anytime someone like that is out, someone else has to step up. Hopefully, it's Tre Tucker, who was second on the Raiders last season with a 17.5% target share.
It's a layup spot against the Miami Dolphins, who are going to be dreadful this season, making this one of the easiest streams we could get all season.
Kayshon Boutte, Houston Texans
After Jayden Higgins went out for the year with an ACL injury, the passing game for the Houston Texans opened up a bit. They went out and traded for Kayshon Boutte from the New England Patriots, and he's immediately thrust into a starting role.
The verbiage from the Texans' coaching staff has alluded to "big plans" for Boutte, which hopefully means downfield targets, as he posted a big 16.9 aDOT (Average Depth of Target) last year with the Patriots.
Tight End
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have a solid 24 point implied team total this week, and we're hoping for plenty of passing touchdowns. The Jags paid Strange in the offseason, and it was for good reason: he was effective last year.
A 15.4% red zone target share was tied for the third-highest on the team, along with a 12.5% receiving touchdown market share. Trevor Lawrence looks to Strange in the red zone; it's that simple.
Defense
Tennessee Titans
Sure, the Titans aren't a "good" team, but they're going up against the New York Jets and Geno Smith. Smith had clear issues with sacks and turnovers last season and while the Jets' offensive line is better than what he had in the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line last season, Smith's still turnover-prone, providing some upside for the Titans.
Depending on how deep your league is, there are worse options out there compared to the Titans' defense.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football Week 1 sleepers: 6 streamers to target
