Lions Insider

Week 1 of the regular season begins tonight with the Giants and Cowboys squaring off in New York.

We all know what that means - millions of fantasy football players begin their dreams of year-long bragging rights around the water cooler at work and hoisting up hastily made trophies come January in front of their friends.

Here’s my weekly take on everything fantasy for Week 1.

LIONS FIVE

Kevin Smith, RB, Start: Smith will get the bulk of the carries Sunday against the Rams with Jahvid Best (PUP) and Mikel Leshoure (suspension) not on the roster. The Rams ranked 31st in the NFL last year against the run and the Lions could be handing the ball off plenty to Smith in the second half with a lead.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Start: It’s really a no-brainer here. Stafford is a start pretty much every week he's in the starting lineup. Stafford is a great start this week against a Rams pass defense that allowed 12 pass plays of 40-plus yards last year, fifth-most in NFL.

Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Start: He's coming off a season in which he caught 83 passes for 777 yards with five touchdowns. He’s become a reliable safety net for Stafford and will be big on third down all year. Expect more touchdowns this season, too.

Lions defense, Sit: What? Again the Rams’ 31st-ranked offense last year? These are now Jeff Fisher’s Rams. I’d guess the plan against the Lions Sunday is to get the ball out of quarterback Sam Bradford’s hands quickly with short routes to avoid the Lions rush, then pound running back Steven Jackson, who’s averaged 114 yards per game in three career games against the Lions. That’s fewer opportunities for sacks and interceptions.

Nate Burleson, Sit: Titus Young and Ryan Broyles are going to start taking some catches away from Burleson this season. It’s inevitable. If the Lions get a lead early Sunday those touches could drop even more. Fantasy owners should also be a little worrisome of his three touchdowns last year. He has a good matchup this week against the Rams, but he’s probably a flex player or second receiver at this point.

UNDERRATED PLAYERS FOR WEEK 1

Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers:The Steelers are an injury mess at running back and No. 1 receiver Mike Wallace has only had one week to learn the new offense after a training camp holdout. Brown should be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's No. 1 option come Sunday and Brown will be eager to make good on the $42.5 million deal he signed this offseason.

Roy Helu, RB, Redskins: From Week 12 to Week 15 last season, Helu had 96 carries for 387 yards and 16 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He showed the Redskins he can handle the load.

Titus Young, WR, Lions: Expect a breakout second season by the Lions receiver. He’ll benefit from having Calvin Johnson on the other side, finishing last season with four touchdowns over the team’s final four games.

Coby Fleener, TE, Colts: Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck is facing a stiff pass rush in Julius Peppers and the rest of the Bears front seven on defense. Fleener is a familiar target and Luck might find some comfort in that in his first NFL start against a good rush.

Eric Decker, WR, Broncos: He’s going from Tim Tebow as his quarterback to Peyton Manning. Really, that should be all that has to be said. But all reports out of Denver say Decker’s become Manning's favorite target so far this season.

START-EM FOR WEEK 1

Cam Newton, QB, Panthers: In two games against the Buccaneers last season, Newton rushed for four touchdowns and had 37 and 36 fantasy points, respectively. Bucs have to prove they can stop him at least once before he's not a must-start against them.

Matt Forte, RB, Bears: Forte has 555 total yards and four touchdowns in his previous four season openers. The Bears could help him out with a potent pass attack, too, and are playing a bad Colts defense.

Michael Vick, QB, Eagles: The Browns could be without their best cornerback in Joe Haden as he waits on word from the NFL on his appeal from a four-game suspension. If the Browns don’t have Haden, a rested Vick could feast on the Browns with both his arm and legs.

Rashad Jennings, RB, Jacksonville: Jennings should get the bulk of the carries Sunday against the Vikings 30th-ranked rushing defense with Maurice Jones-Drew reporting to Jaguars practice just this week after a holdout. Jennings rushed for 209 yards (4.4 average) over four preseason games this year.

Julio Jones, WR, Falcons: The Chiefs gave up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to receivers last year, but Jones has looked incredible this preseason. He was quarterback Matt Ryan’s favorite target over the preseason, averaging 18.5 yards per catch.

SIT-EM WEEK 1

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, Bengals: The Ravens allowed the third-fewest yards to rushers last season. They also allowed the six-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2011. Green-Ellis owners rely on touchdowns and the Ravens are pretty stingy in that department.

Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers: Wallace has great speed and big-play potential, which usually makes him a must-start, however, he just reported to Steelers practice a week ago after a holdout and fantasy owners have to wonder how much of new offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s offense he’ll have down in a week.

49ers defense: The 49ers allowed the second-fewest points and fourth-fewest yards on defense last year, but they didn’t have to face reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the potent Packers offense in any of those games. The Packers come to town Sunday. Rodgers threw a grand total of six interceptions to 45 touchdowns last season.

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars: A top-10 pick in most fantasy drafts, the NFL’s leading rusher last year ended his holdout this week. He’s expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Vikings (and their bad rush defense) but is expected to be the team’s third-down back with Rashad Jennings getting the start and the bulk of the carries. Assume he’ll be back to starting status in Week 2 with another week of practice under his belt.

Ryan Matthews, RB, Chargers: It doesn’t look like Matthews is going to play Sunday against the Raiders, just four weeks removed from a broken clavicle. The frustration for Matthews owners begins early this year. He has yet to play in more than 14 games in either of his first two seasons.