5 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 1

Fantasy football sleepers for Week 1, including Dallas Goedert.
Fantasy football sleepers for Week 1, including Dallas Goedert. / Steven Ryan/Getty Images
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Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season is already bringing us some tough spots in fantasy football. Early-round picks like Mike Evans and Miles Sanders are dealing with question marks, and many fantasy managers may already be scrambling for starting options to kick the season off with a win.

With that in mind, here are five fantasy football sleeper options for Week 1.

1. Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Goedert is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option.
Dallas Goedert is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option. / Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Dallas Goedert isn't the Philadelphia Eagles No. 1 tight end, but he's still going to be one of the top options in their passing game. With Alshon Jeffery and Jalen Reagor hurt, Goedert joins Zach Ertz and DeSean Jackson as the top targets available for Carson Wentz. Goedert closed out the final seven games of the 2019 season with at least 6 targets in seven straight games, averaging 7.9 per contest even though Ertz was active in six of those games. That kind of volume isn't easy to come by at the tight end spot, making Goedert a solid Week 1 play.

2. James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

James Robinson is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option.
James Robinson is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option. / Joe Robbins/Getty Images

James Robinson has a very low floor for fantasy production this week, but his upside is still worth targeting if you're in a bind. He's atop the Jacksonville Jaguars depth chart with Leonard Fournette gone, and even though he'll likely cede passing down work to Chris Thompson, Robinson is one of the few RB options on most waiver wires that has a real shot at seeing a big workload.

3. Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Cheifs

Darrel Williams is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option.
Darrel Williams is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option. / David Eulitt/Getty Images

Darrel Williams is the RB2 in Kansas City, but he's apparently playing well in training camp, and rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire may not be a workhorse just yet. With no preseason, it may take a few games before Edwards-Helaire really gets his footing, opening the door for some early-season fantasy relevance for Williams. He also, of course, gets a big boost from playing in one of the league's best offenses.

4. Randall Cobb, WR, Houston Texans

Randall Cobb is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option.
Randall Cobb is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option. / Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Brandin Cooks is banged up, but whether Cooks plays or not, Randall Cobb could be an interesting sleeper option in the Houston Texans' offense. Between Cooks, Will Fuller and Kenny Stills, Houston has plenty of redundancy with deep threats on the outside. Cobb fits an entirely different mold as a slot receiver, and that could give him a pretty solid volume floor on a weekly basis. Running back David Johnson is really who Cobb will be competing for targets with, and with DeAndre Hopkins out of town, there are going to be no shortage of looks to go around in this passing game.

5. Tyrod Taylor, QB, Los Angeles Chargers

Tyrod Taylor is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option.
Tyrod Taylor is a Week 1 fantasy football sleeper option. / Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

If you're in a deep league or a two-QB league, Tyrod Taylor is a guy that should be firmly on your radar. To start with, he's simply a better QB than he's ever been given credit for. Since 2015 (his first year as a starter), Taylor has averaged 7.3 adjusted yards per pass attempt (AY/A). That would have tied for 13th among qualifying QBs in the 2019 season, putting him ahead of players like Matt Ryan (7.1), Tom Brady (6.8) and Josh Allen (6.7). Making him more valuable in fantasy, Taylor also offers plenty of rushing upside. In his three full seasons as an NFL starer, Taylor averaged 35.8 rushing yards and 0.3 touchdowns per game — good for 5.4 fantasy points per game before factoring in his passing stats. In Week 1 he gets a primo matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who checked in at 28th in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA rankings in 2019, allowing top-five fantasy production to opposing quarterbacks as well.


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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.