Fantasy Football: Chris Towers' first look at Week 1 rankings plus injury updates

Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / U

Welcome to Week 1! I know plenty of you have drafts remaining -- I've got two tonight! -- and if you still have yours coming up, our Draft Day Cheat Sheet has everything you need, including my top-200 rankings.

But for most Fantasy players, drafts are done and it's time to stop fretting about your big board and start fretting about your lineup. We've got all week to do that, and we'll learn about injuries and potential role changes throughout the week in practice leading up first to Thursday's NFL opener between the Bills and Rams and then into Sunday of Week 1, but today's your first chance to check out our Week 1 rankings.

Head here to see rankings from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings, and make sure you tune into Fantasy Football Today on CBS Sports HQ at noon ET Monday and every day this week as they discuss and debate their rankings all the way through Sunday's games -- we'll also be live on HQ Sunday morning from 11 a.m. to kickoff to help you set your lineups.

And the FFT team has a whole lot more than that going on now that the season is starting, too. On Tuesday, we'll be live on the FFT YouTube channel to talk about some deep sleeper and waiver-wire targets to look out for, and we'll be live every week at that time to help you with all of your waiver-wire needs, so make sure you subscribe to the FFT YouTube channel to notifications of when we go live. We'll also be live Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET to take your start/sit questions and again Sunday at 11:30 through kickoff to do the same. That's all at YouTube.com/FantasyFootballToday, so make sure to head there and subscribe to get notified every time we go live.

It's all about helping you set the best lineup every week all the way through your championship. Through the rest of the week, we'll be blending in a bit of season preview content, including Fantasy MVP picks, Bold Predictions from the staff, and everything else you need for last-minute draft prep.

For now, let's take a first look at the Week 1 rankings, and if you've got any lineup or trade questions, send them my way at Chris.Towers@ViacomCBS.com! I'll be doing a trade mailbag every Wednesday morning right here, with lineup questions all week long, so send those emails in with the subject line #AskFFT!

Injuries, News, and Notes

Sep 11, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin (70) and center Travis Frederick (72) celebrate with running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) after he scored a touchdown in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Tim Heitman, Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are in line to play in Week 1 -- Coach Sean McVay declared both backs "good to go" Friday, after they made their returns from soft-tissue injuries last week during practice. It's not clear what kind of injury either had, but with the Rams set to kick off Thursday, they'll have both of their top backs healthy. The question beyond that is, how are they going to use their top two backs -- both missed significant time during camp, but they were splitting first-team reps pretty evenly when healthy. McVay hasn't historically used committees at running back, as Henderson played 60% of the snaps or more in 10 of the 12 games he played last season, with Sony Michel logging a snap share over 70% in seven games. I'm giving Akers the benefit of the doubt that he'll be the lead back, but this could be a frustrating situation if not.
The Rams aren't planning to limit Matthew Stafford (elbow) -- Stafford has been dealing with elbow pain since last season, and he had his reps managed during training camp, but that won't be the case during the season. At least, not during games -- don't be surprised if we see Stafford limited during the season in practice to keep his proverbial pitch count lower. But at this point, it doesn't seem like there is much concern about the injury limiting Stafford or the Rams offense, so I'm not too worried about it. The fact that Stafford had 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns while dealing with the pain last season is a good sign, in my eyes.
Isaiah McKenzie practiced Sunday -- McKenzie returned to practice after being sidelined for about a week with an undisclosed injury, but it sounds like he'll be good for Week 1. Expectations are high for McKenzie -- Dave Richard named him his "Sleeper of the Summer" -- so entering the season healthy will be important.

Albert Okwuegbunam (lower body) is aiming for Week 1 -- Okwuegbunam hasn't practiced since the team's last preseason game, but it isn't considered a serious issue at this point -- Okwuegbunam told the Denver Post Thursday he would have played if it was a regular season game.
Russell Gage (hamstring) is "on track to play" in Week 1 -- Gage practiced on consecutive days over the weekend, so it looks like he'll be ready to make his Buccaneers debut next Sunday against the Cowboys, but the biggest question is whether Chris Godwin will be out there with him. In projecting the Buccaneers offense without Godwin for Week 1, both Gage and Julio Jones were top-36 wide receivers, so Godwin's status will be worth watching.
Van Jefferson (knee) is still unclear for Week 1 -- McVay said Jefferson is "making good progress" in his recovery from knee surgery but he didn't have anything to say over the weekend about Jefferson's chances of playing in Week 1. At this point, I'm not expecting much from Jefferson even if he does play, but in deeper leagues, he's worth keeping an eye on early in the season.
Irv Smith (thumb) is expected to play in Week 1 -- Smith underwent surgery on the thumb back in early August, but he's been catching footballs at practice in recent days and the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported over the weekend he is expected to play in Week 1. Smith has an opportunity for a bigger role after missing all of last season following knee surgery, and he could break out in a more pass-happy Vikings offense, but I'm still viewing him as a low-end roll-of-the-dice-type tight end until he proves more than that.

Week 1 Rankings

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 24: Joe Mixon #28 and Joe Burrow #9 celebrate with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals after Chase scored a second half touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) Getty Images

This newsletter will be the place to find my rankings this season, and I'll be including them every Tuesday morning to kick off the new Fantasy week moving forward. Along with my rankings -- which will be updated throughout the week, obviously, so make sure you check back in before locking in your lineups! -- I'll include notes on some of the most interesting players with each update, beginning with today's initial in-season rankings. My goal is to have commented on the majority of the players that matter each week.

Here are my initial rankings for Week 1!

QB Rankings

The preseason QB rankings and the Week 1 rankings look pretty similar because there just isn't much of a difference between weekly expectations and long-term upside for me. That's not true for everyone -- I'd be willing to draft Trey Lance and Justin Fields, among others, a little earlier with the hope they can hit big and give me a high-upside starter that I'm not necessarily expecting in Week 1. But, for the most part, the QB rankings look more or less like they did coming into the season. But I'll be keeping an eye on how often teams like the Eagles, Vikings, and Bengals throw this week to see if I need to adjust my expectations.

Josh Allen @LAR
Patrick Mahomes @ARI
Lamar Jackson @NYJ
Justin Herbert vs. LV
Jalen Hurts @DET
Dak Prescott vs. TB
Tom Brady @DAL
Kyler Murray vs. KC
Joe Burrow vs. PIT
Matthew Stafford vs. BUF
Russell Wilson @SEA
Aaron Rodgers @MIN
Derek Carr @LAC
Kirk Cousins vs. GB
Trey Lance @CHI
Jameis Winston @ATL
Trevor Lawrence @WAS
Justin Fields vs. SF
Ryan Tannehill vs. NYG
Tua Tagovailoa vs. NE
Carson Wentz vs. JAX
Marcus Mariota vs. NO
Daniel Jones @TEN
Baker Mayfield vs. CLE
Jared Goff vs. PHI
Mitchell Trubisky @CIN
Mac Jones @MIA
Matt Ryan @HOU
Joe Flacco vs. BAL
Davis Mills vs. IND
Geno Smith vs. DEN
Jacoby Brissett @CAR

RB Rankings

Maybe Alvin Kamara will end up getting suspended before the season is through, in which case the skepticism that pushed him outside of the first round for the entirety of the draft season will prove founded. But as long as he's active, I'm going to treat him like one of the elite Fantasy options out there. If you want to quibble with him being No. 3, that's fine, but I can't see moving him any lower than No. 5 against a matchup like Atlanta -- he had 38.6 PPR points in two games against the Falcons last season.

WR Rankings

There's no shortage of question marks at the wide receiver position to open the season, and they start with my No. 3 option. I've been higher than the consensus on Davante Adams throughout the draft process, consistently ranking him ahead of Ja'Marr Chase despite his move to Las Vegas. We'll get our first sense of whether that was the right call -- Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller represent a good deal more target competition than Adams has typically dealt with in Green Bay, but I'm still expecting him to be among the league leaders in target share. If not, I'll have to adjust down quicker.

Cooper Kupp vs. BUF
Justin Jefferson vs. GB
Davante Adams @LAC
Ja'Marr Chase vs. PIT
Stefon Diggs @LAR
CeeDee Lamb vs. TB
Tyreek Hill vs. NE
Mike Evans @DAL
Keenan Allen vs. LV
D.J. Moore vs. CLE
Tee Higgins vs. PIT
Deebo Samuel @CHI
Michael Pittman Jr. @HOU
Brandin Cooks vs. IND
Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. PHI
A.J. Brown @DET
Marquise Brown vs. KC
Diontae Johnson @CIN
Mike Williams vs. LV
Darnell Mooney vs. SF
Elijah Moore vs. BAL
Michael Thomas @ATL
JuJu Smith-Schuster @ARI
Adam Thielen vs. GB
Allen Robinson vs. BUF
Jaylen Waddle vs. NE
Robert Woods vs. NYG
DK Metcalf vs. DEN
Terry McLaurin vs. JAX
Hunter Renfrow @LAC
Jerry Jeudy @SEA
Julio Jones @DAL
Courtland Sutton @SEA
Kadarius Toney @TEN
Drake London vs. NO
Gabe Davis @LAR
Amari Cooper @CAR
Christian Kirk @WAS
Tyler Lockett vs. DEN
Allen Lazard @MIN
Rashod Bateman @NYJ
Isaiah McKenzie @LAR
Russell Gage @DAL
DeVante Parker @MIA
Tyler Boyd vs. PIT
DeVonta Smith @DET
Corey Davis vs. BAL
Chris Olave @ATL
Chase Claypool @CIN
Brandon Aiyuk @CHI
Robby Anderson vs. CLE
Jarvis Landry @ATL
George Pickens @CIN
Sammy Watkins @MIN
Nico Collins vs. IND
Rondale Moore vs. KC
Mecole Hardman @ARI
Curtis Samuel vs. JAX
DJ Chark vs. PHI
Treylon Burks vs. NYG

TE Rankings

I'm expecting a big breakout season from Pitts, but this is an especially tough spot to open the season. He faced the Saints twice as a rookie, catching just five of 12 passes for 70 yards. There's no world in which you're sitting Pitts, but I am a little bit worried about his chances of hitting the ground running in Week 1.