First things first, let us take a moment to remember the events of September 11 and the people affected by it.

Week one of the NFL is where you directly pour football into your veins for the first time since winter. It is one of the best weekends of the year next to the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. One of the most thrilling things about NFL Sunday is tracking the progress of your fantasy team throughout the day. The highs and the lows is what makes fantasy football such a rewarding hobby. Not so much if you played against Alvin Kamara or Michael Thomas or Tyreek Hill. I had all three in my leagues and Thomas in my “money league” so I enjoyed the fruits of my drafting this weekend for sure. I do not work for ESPN or Yahoo! (someone could step up though) so I do not have the exact stats but I cannot remember a time where so many guys eclipsed 40 fantasy points.

Michael Thomas got you 38 points in PPR leagues but my teachers taught me to round up when it benefits your articles. He is the model of consistency. It was his 11th consecutive regular-season game scoring 10 of more points.

I read countless fantasy magazines this summer that predicted that Alvin Kamara would be a prime regression candidate. Those writers and “experts” need to make a walk of atonement for their sins (I have been waiting for the perfect moment to fit a Game of Thrones reference in this article). I won’t name names because I’m no snitch but I read things like “Owners paying a first-round price for the 2017 Rookie of the Year are chasing an outlier season”. Foolish words written by so-called experts. Kamara is a freak and a special talent that is attached to an elite offense.

Another freak is Tyreek Hill who literally looks unstoppable. He had a 91-yard punt return on his first touch of the season. His second touch of the game was a 50-yard touchdown where he caught it on a short slant and outran everyone to the house. His matchups going forward look brutal but if his week one performance tells us anything, I think he will be just fine. He’s a top ten maybe even top five receiver now, set it and forget it.

Heroes

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They call him Fitzmagic for a reason. He seems to have great games every season no matter who he plays for. He scored 42.3 points in PPR leagues, the best performance of his career. I don’t think it is enough to keep him ahead of Jamies Winston when he comes back, and Fitz also plays the Eagles next week so I would stay away. Nice week one though.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints: You want to hope that the Saints defense is this bad every game because the Saints offense is a machine. I was very high on Brees this year who had a pedestrian 2017 by his own standards. He scored 31.6 points on Sunday which is what we are accustomed to seeing from him. He has to improve on those 23 touchdowns from last season and with Mark Ingram still sidelined, he should continue to put up great fantasy points.

Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Are we really shocked? Julio is amazing year in and year out and started off his season hot with 10 catches for 169 yards. He did not get into the end zone which I think now has to be more than concerning. According to ESPN Stats and Information, coutning the playoffs Matt Ryan is 1-for-20 targeting Jones in the end zone in the last two seasons. He still accounted for 28 points in PPR leagues which is more than enough go help you win. His 19 targets will also get the job done.

Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Mixon was drafted as a top 14 running back and he delivered on his ADP (27th) with his best point total of his career. He finished with 25.9 points on 22 total touches. This is what we thought we would see last season but it looks like Mixon is ready to take off. He has a chance to be a top ten running back this season. It was one of his most favorable matchups of the season but I am willing to bet on Mixon being a RB1 the rest of the season.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: It was a sweet debut for Mahomes who outperformed his ADP by a longshot. His stats are not amazing. He only completed a shade over 50% of his throws but four touchdown passes will work. He finished with 28 points against a banged up but still a stingy Charger defense. No quarterback scored that many points against that defense all of 2017. He made De’Anthony Thomas a weapon. Hell, even Anthony Sherman caught a beautiful 36-yard dime for a touchdown. Mahomes has no ceiling and he could earn QB1 status before too long. His schedule is tough in the upcoming weeks as he faces the Steelers in week 2 but this was a great start to prove he belongs in the QB1 conversation.

Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: We should have seen this coming. Case Keenum loves his slot receivers as he turned Adam Thielen into a force out of the slot last season. So it made sense to be excited about Sanders going into the season. Sanders scored 29.5 points in PPR leagues with a team high 11 targets. I have faith in Keenum even though he threw three interceptions, to get the best out of Sanders and Demaryius Thomas this season. Sanders looks to have the highest ceiling but either guy could have a big week similar to Diggs and Thielen last season.

Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers: I spent a lot of time pumping up Devante Adams during the summer that I forgot that all receivers suiting up for an Aaron Rodgers led offense are good fantasy options. Cobb caught a 75-yard touchdown that sealed the victory for the Pack on Sunday night. He scored 29.2 points good for his best effort in a long time. He will still be sort of a boom or bust option going forward but more times than not he will boom as long as Rodgers is back there throwing him the rock.

Villians

Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots: This is not what I expected from Hogan given he was their #1 receiver going into Sunday. Tom likes to spread the wealth and different guys will be involved in the game plan week to week. The only constant is Gronk. He only had 2.1 points on Sunday on five targets. Next week does not look any easier as they go against the Jags vaunted defense.

Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: When the Chiefs score 38 points you would expect Hunt to get at least a touchdown. Sunday was the Mahomes and Hill show though while Hunt took a backseat finishing with 4.9 points in PPR scoring. Owners who drafted him in the first round are probably itching to trade him. Be patient with Hunt. He will eat most weeks. This offense has so many weapons Hunt, Kelce and Hill will take turns having big weeks. Hunt may not be a top five guy like he was last season but he still carries value as a low end RB1. There will be better weeks.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: Everything I said about Hunt you can pretty much copy and paste for Kelce too. He scored a sad 1.6 points on six targets. Maybe he won’t be as dominant with right end loving Alex Smith gone, but Kelce is too good to be ignored. He will have better weeks. Stay patient with him.

Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers: It has been documented that Rodgers does not look to his tight ends very often. Still, I have hope for Graham even though he only scored 2.8 points on just four targets. The Packers will be in the red zone a bunch this season and Graham is hard to ignore with his frame, and how hard it is to score once you get closer to the goal-line. He probably won’t get a lot of volume but the touchdowns should come.