The never-ending saga of Antonio Brown seemingly came to an end on Sunday. The mercurial wide receiver appeared destined to be suspended for the Raiders' season-opener on Monday night against the Denver Broncos after squabbling with general manager Mike Mayock on Wednesday. Two days after the tiff, though, Brown reportedly issued an emotional apology during a team meeting. On Saturday morning, however, he asked for his release on Instagram and was granted his wish several hours later. Then, in a stunning turn of events, the Patriots signed Brown to a one-year deal. Brown won't appear anywhere in the Fantasy football rankings for Week 1 since he's not eligible to take the field until next week, but you'll have to weigh how the news will impact players like Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Tyrell Williams. A reliable set of 2019 Fantasy football rankings is always key, and the proven computer model at SportsLine has a history of helping you come out on the winning end of trades and finding value on the waiver wire. Before you set your lineups, look at the Week 1 Fantasy football rankings from SportsLine.
When it comes to ranking players, their advanced computer model beat human experts in Fantasy football last season when there were big differences in ranking. And the model was closest to the hole overall, meaning it best pinpointed where every player would finish each week. Over the course of a season, that could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home empty-handed.
Now the model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has revealed its Fantasy football rankings for Week 1 of the NFL season. You can only see them at SportsLine.
One player the model is high on this week: Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, who's being started in less than 30 percent of CBS Sports Leagues. The second-year pro out of Oklahoma figures to be a key target of Lamar Jackson in the Ravens' offense this season. As a rookie, the third-round pick caught 34 passes for 552 yards and three touchdowns. His 16.2-yard average was good for 10th in the NFL.
Andrews looked bigger, stronger and more confident during the preseason, and was a red-zone machine for Jackson. The Ravens play the Dolphins on Sunday, a team that ranked No. 21 in the NFL against the pass in 2018 and has committed to developing young talent this season. It is a mouthwatering matchup for Andrews and the Ravens, part of the reason why he's the No. 7 tight end this week even though he's being started in just 27 percent of leagues.
And a massive shocker: Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan stumbles big-time on the road this week against the Vikings and doesn't even crack the top 20. He's a player to bench in Week 1.
Ryan is coming off another strong Fantasy season in which he completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 4,924 yards and 35 touchdowns. Ryan has now thrown for at least 35 scores in two of his last three seasons under center in Atlanta.
However, despite his strong 2018 campaign, Ryan and the Falcons open their 2019 season on the road against the Minnesota Vikings, who boast one of the league's stingiest defenses, In fact, the Vikings gave up just 196.2 yards per game through the air last season, which ranked third in the NFL. The Vikings also allowed just 15 touchdown passes in 16 games, the best mark in the NFL last season.
The model is also calling for a surprising quarterback you aren't even thinking about to finish in the top 10 of its Fantasy football rankings 2019 this week. This pick could be the difference between winning big and going home with nothing.
So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 1 Fantasy football rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
