Kyler Murray Tops Our Week 1 Fantasy Football Quarterback Projections And Rankings
The NFL is about to get real this week, where our “name” investments in drafts start to show their fantasy value on the field. The head-shaking moment for game managers is setting their lineup in Week 1. It immediately highlights your lineup decisions and lowers your post-draft giddiness about your stud roster. The best fantasy teams have the fewest number of weekly draft decisions, supported by upside depth on the bench.
Each week, I’ll release my weekly depth charts and projections on Wednesday, with a neutral eye that is dictated by hinting stats from previous results or in-season injuries. These statistics represent baseline outlooks, with their potential already factored in. Touchdowns create impact scores and winning fantasy days, especially in non-PPR formats. Who scores them each week is the Holy Grail that the fantasy market searches for weekly.
My projections will be sorted into rankings, which won’t look anything close to the weekly consensus. My man, Matt Brandon, is in charge of finding a balance between my player outlooks and the public view of each week's rankings. Those positional rankings will be released tomorrow. In the meantime, let's highlight a few intriguing plays heading into Week 1.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
A matchup with the expected NFL doormats in 2025 gives Murray the top quarterback ranking in Week 1. His value as a runner sets a reasonable floor, and the Cardinals have two dynamic receiving options (Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr.). New Orleans’ defense struggled against the run last year, while allowing the sixth-most passing yards (4,295). Murray’s ceiling this week requires the Saints’ offense to put up some fight on the scoreboard.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
On the opening weekend of the NFL, Williams edges out J.J. McCarthy in the quarterback rankings while both players sit in the top 10. Las Vegas expects a lower-scoring game (over/under of 43.5), suggesting five combined touchdowns and three field goals. I don’t respect the Bears’ defense, forcing Chicago to air the ball out to win the game.
Check out five under-the-radar quarterbacks to start in Week 1.
Click HERE to view our Week 1 fantasy football quarterback projections!
Here's the latests quarterback updates on 9/5:
- San Francisco took Jauan Jennings off their injury report late in the week, leading to me reshuffling the 49ers’ projections and upgrading Brock Purdy’s passing attempts and a half of a touchdown. Jennings goes from unrated to WR2 while Ricky Pearsall is downgraded slightly.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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