Regular season football is upon us fantasy football lovers! We’ve been waiting months to watch our favorite fantasy stars take the field and battle for our league supremacy. I don’t know about you guys, but I haven’t been this excited for a season in a long time. By now you already have your drafts completed and will have guys hitting the field tonight, so here is a little preview of things to come.

In game one of the regular season, we’ll get to witness Big Ben Roethlisberger take his Steelers out to Foxboro to take on “Mr. Deflategate” Tom Brady’s Patriots. For the first time in Thursday Night Football history, two previous Super Bowl winning quarterbacks will take the field against one another. Overall it should be an exciting contest between two quarterbacks who will be able to air the football out to their respected receivers.

There is a vast amount of intriguing storylines coming from this opener. From suspensions to injuries, this game has it all:

Injuries

• Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell won’t be seeing action tonight. He was placed on the NFL’s PUP list with an undisclosed foot injury, making him ineligible for at least the first six weeks of the season.
• Steelers Pro Bowl Center Maurkice Pouncey will also miss tonight’s game due to a lower leg injury. This will affect the running game, so I’d steer clear of Pittsburgh running backs this week.

Suspensions

• The biggest suspension related storyline is coming out of Patriots camp. If you’ve been living under a rock the past week, you probably don’t know that Tom Brady was acquitted by the Federal Court of his suspension for his role in “Deflategate”. This gives an obvious boost to New England’s receiving core, giving you the green light to start the obvious players.
• One Patriot won’t be seeing time on the field in week one, LaGarrette Blount. Blount is serving a one-game suspension for Marijuana charges. I’m thinking guys like Brandon Bolden and James White will get a slight boost this week, but temper your expectation if you’re gutsy enough to start them
• The Steelers are the team that will be most affected by suspensions. Not only is their best running back Le’Veon Bell out for the first two games, their up and coming wide receiver Martavis Bryant is gone for the first four games as well. Both guys were suspended for breaking the NFL drug policy rules.

Now that we’ve got that all out of the way let’s get down to business with the game preview:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Ben Roethlisberger, QB

I expect huge passing numbers from Big Ben tonight because of a rather slouchy Patriots’ secondary. Just a season ago, the Patriots ranked 10th against the pass, however, key cornerback ingredient Darrelle Revis jetted off to New York. Last year, Roethlisberger averaged 309.5 yards per game and threw 32 touchdowns. I fully expect Pittsburgh’s wide receivers to run wild against this week defense, allowing Roethlisberger to be a must start for week one.

Prediction: 320 yards and 3 touchdowns

DeAngelo Williams, RB

I’m not high on either team’s running game, but I’d say if I had to choose one side it’d be with Pittsburgh. With the Bell suspension in full effect, Williams is the next man up and isn’t a horrible option at the position. Just last season the Patriots were in the middle of the pack at 16th ranked against the rush. I personally just don’t see not having other options to choose from, though. In what I see as a pass happy game from both sides, Williams is a no start for me.

Prediction: 40 yards and no touchdowns

Antonio Brown, WR

Now this is the guy I’m most excited to watch play tonight. Brown is an absolute fantasy football monster for the Steelers and had a career season last year. In 2014, Brown caught 129 receptions for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was the number one PPR wide receiver overall last year and you can’t expect any less this year. Like I said earlier the Patriots are super thin in the secondary, play Brown with high expectations. Last season, the Patriots ranked fourth in the league versus wide receivers, they won’t come close to those types of numbers tonight.

Prediction: 7 receptions, 110 yards, and a touchdown

Markus Wheaton, WR

All off-season the Steelers have been talking Wheaton up, saying he’s going to have a breakout season. With the Bryant suspension in effect, it’s officially his time to shine or be a memory for our fantasy rosters. Wheaton is an ultra quick receiver who has tons of upside that I fully expect to make waves tonight. He’s coming fresh off a 2014 campaign where he only caught 53 balls for 644 yards and two scores. I wouldn’t let these numbers scare you from playing him, though, I expect a decent output from him.

Prediction: 5 receptions, 90 yards, and a touchdown

Heath Miller, TE

If you’re looking for a middle of the back, consistent fantasy tight end look no further than Miller. Every year as long as he’s healthy Miller is one of Roethlisberger’s favorite go-to targets. Last year, Miller caught 66 balls for 761 yards and three touchdowns for Pittsburgh. The Patriots weren’t very good against tight ends at all last year, ranking 24th overall. I don’t expect Miller to blow up your fantasy scoreboards, but he can be a nice play if needed.

Prediction: 5 receptions for 50 yards

NEW ENGLAND

Tom Brady, QB

Following is the acquittal of his suspension, Brady is out to prove he still has something left in the tank. Against this disgusting Steelers secondary is a great first game for this crafty old veteran. Last year, Pittsburgh ranked 27th against quarterbacks, giving up 22.2 fantasy points per game. Brady had a nice stats last season, throwing for 4,609 yards and 33 touchdowns. With very similar numbers as Roethlisberger from last season, I completely expect a quarterback shootout tonight. Some think that this could be Brady’s last year, he may just start his last run out with a bang.

Prediction: 270 yards and 3 touchdowns

Brandon Bolden, RB

My best guess is that Bolden is the main runner in New England with the most upside. With the Blount suspension and the release of Jonas Gray, someone has to take the bull by the horns in this downer of a Patriots backfield. Pittsburgh ranked 13th last season versus the run and I think they will be good enough to stalemate the Patriots. His ability to catch balls out of the backfield increases his upside slightly, but not enough for me to take a chance on him.

Prediction: 50 yards and no touchdown

Julian Edelman, WR

One of my favorite PPR talents, Edelman is a great option versus the Steelers secondary. He excels greatly lining up in the slot position and has quickly built a solid repertoire with Brady who target 134 times last season. The Steelers ranked 22nd against wide receivers last year, which spells good things for this player. A year ago, Edelman caught 92 balls for 972 yards and four touchdowns. There is no reason not to play Edelman this week, roster him, especially in PPR scoring formats.

Prediction: 6 receptions, 75 yards and a touchdown

Rob Gronkowski, TE

You can’t go wrong with Gronk, he’s the best tight end in the world. If you spent that first or second round pick to get the guy, there’s no way you aren’t playing him. So let’s talk about the two obvious reasons to play Gronkowski this week. First of all he caught 82 catches for 1,124 and 12 touchdowns last year. Second thing, the Steelers defense ranked 19th defending tight ends last year. Pittsburgh won’t be able to cover Gronkowski and he will be one of week one’s top tight end plays.

Prediction: 6 receptions, 100 yards and 2 touchdowns

WEATHER

Keep your eye on the forecast for the game, as of right now we’re looking at around a 40 percent chance of rain. Obviously, if it’s raining the quarterbacks could have a slightly more rough time throwing the ball, but I still would roll with either guy for this contest.

 

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