Week 1 DFS locks of the week

We’ve gone over which players you should avoid or fade in DFS this weekend, and now it’s time to run through a list of players who should be locked into your lineups.

Will every single player on this list smash in Week 1? That’s the goal — but also a bit unrealistic. But these are the players I’m most confident in, and they are the players I’m building many lineups around.

Without further ado, here’s the list of Week 1 DFS locks for the 2017 NFL season.

Note: There’s always a case to be made for playing any player in tournaments. This list of “locks” is cash game focused, but most of the players are worthy GPP roster locks as well.

Quarterbacks

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Newton torched the 49ers last year for 353 passing yards and four scores last year, along with 37 rushing yards — his best fantasy performance of the year. Since then, the Panthers offense has only gotten better.

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles

Wentz is just too cheap on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He had a great preseason, going 16-of-23 for 241 yards and three touchdowns (with one interception), and he’s playing in a game with a high over/under of 48.

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans

The over/under in the Tennessee-Oakland tilt is 50.5 — the second-highest of the week. Mariota’s offense is absolutely loaded with weapons, and he’s not even that expensive. This is the lock of the locks.

Running backs

Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Bell (and David Johnson) are always locks, but it’s especially easy to love Bell this week, as the Steelers are favored by 9.5 points against the horrid Cleveland Browns. Bell lit them up for 146 yards on 28 carries last year, and added eight receptions in that game as well.

DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans

Murray — along with the rest of Tennessee’s offense — is just in a smash spot against the Raiders. The Titans are nearly three-point favorite in a home game, which is always a good spot to target running backs.

Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

This might be the best opportunity Gurley has all season. The Rams are playing at home, and they are actually four-point favorites against the Colts. Gurley is extremely cheap, and the Colts ranked 25th against the run last season. He’s an auto-include.

Wide receivers

A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

Green is my favorite wideout of the week. He has scored against the Ravens in five straight contests, and he has averaged over 120 yards per game in those five tilts.

Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers

This may seem like a strange “lock” given that the Packers are facing the stingy Seahawks defense, but it’s a home game for the Packers, the game has the highest over-under of the week (51), and Nelson won’t see too much of Richard Sherman. Plus, his ownership will be lower than usual, because people are scared of the Seahawks.

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks

Baldwin has the best individual WR-CB matchup of the week, and he should absolutely demolish Green Bay’s slot man Quinten Rollins.

Paul Richardson, Seattle Seahawks

Richardson is the third wideout in the Green Bay-Seattle game that I love. He’ll see plenty of Damarious Randall and Davon House, both of whom ranked in the bottom six last year in terms of fantasy points per route run ceded to opposing wideouts. He’s so cheap that it’s impossible for me to quit.

Terrelle Pryor, Washington Redskins

Pryor has the second-best individual WR-CB matchup this week, and he should physically dominate Eagles corner Jalen Mills. Pryor ran a 4.38, Mills ran a 4.61. Pryor weighs 228, Mills weighs 191 — and Pryor has four inches on him. Plus, it’s going to be a high-scoring game. All of the boxes are checked.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

Fitzgerald, now notorious for hot starts, should continue the streak in 2017 against Detroit slot man Quandre Diggs. Fitzgerald scored 0.35 fantasy points per route run last year, while Diggs gave up 0.36 (10th-most among all corners). The puzzle pieces fit.

Tight ends

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

I like Olsen for the same reason I like Newton. He pounded the 49ers last year, catching five passes for 122 yards and a score, and while he’s older, he’s on fresh legs to start the year.

Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans

Mariota-Walker might be my favorite stack of the week. It’s definitely my favorite QB-TE stack. Mariota is deadly in the red zone, and that’s where Walker shines. The Raiders gave up the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends last year.

Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles should be throwing a lot, and Ertz is expected to soak up most of the targets — what with Alshon Jeffery being blanketed by Josh Norman all day. The Redskins gave up 106 receptions to tight -ends last year, the second-highest mark in the league.