Are you playing against Amari Cooper or Rob Gronkowski? Did you leave Antonio Brown on your bench? Did you start Ezekiel Elliott or Mike Evans? Did you lose Gus Edwards this week?
There are already a slew of injury concerns so we may need a sleeper or two, even in Week 1. Here are five players I expect to have solid fantasy days who may be slightly off your radar:
Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are facing the Bengals, who should be a better football team as long as Joe Burrow remains healthy, but I’m not sure that improvement will be shown on the defensive side of the ball. In what could be a shootout, Cousins could be in for a 300-yard, three-touchdown performance or better.
Raheem Mostert, RB, San Francisco 49ers
The Lions’ defense is going to be bad … period. Even with Trey Sermon threatening to steal some carries away, Mostert should still get enough work to have an above-average performance.
Jakobi Meyers, WR, New England Patriots
I think six catches for 70 yards is a very reasonable expectation for Meyers this week. He is Mac Jones’ favorite target. If he scores a touchdown, he may be a WR1 this week.
Juwan Johnson, TE/WR, New Orleans Saints
In 2007, Marques Colston came into the season unknown and off the fantasy radar. Johnson is giving me Colston vibes. Act accordingly.
James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Robinson is a starting running back in the NFL, period. His tape from Illinois State is awesome — go watch it or just trust me. Chris Thompson is hanging around, sure, but 15 to 20 touches for Robinson is almost a guarantee this week. I hope the kid does well. I’ll be rooting for him. With so many split backfields, you can do worse this week.
Wait, that is what I wrote last year! I just needed to remind everyone that diamonds in the rough can be discovered, even in Week 1 …
Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, Carolina Panthers
Kid could be special and will be a red-zone threat from Day 1.
Sleeper defense: Denver Broncos
Need a kicker? Matt Gay, Los Angeles Rams
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
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Ken Zalis ranked No. 3 in FantasyPros’ 2019 Fantasy Football Draft Accuracy Rankings.