Your Five Fantasy Winners From Sunday’s NFL Day Games

The five top scorers on any given NFL Sunday are typically mixed with a hearty representation of big stars, along with a marginal player who might have frustratingly been stuck on your bench. But this being Week 1, there’s nothing beyond a wholly deceptive preseason and the numbers from 2009 upon which a fantasy owner will base their selection. The top three managed to set some sort of Opening Weekend record, which is all well and good, but especially useful because they helped rack up big points for your team.

Arian Foster - Little doubt this guy gets the top spot by being the first guy in NFL history to run for more than 200 yards and score three touchdowns in Week 1. Foster was a sleeper in name only. He was one of those players mentioned so often as one that he became hyped on his sleeper status alone. That said, he more than lived up to it for the first game, at least.

Matt Forte - Many stayed away from Matt Forte given his grossly underwhelming performance in 2009, when many took him as a top five pick in fantasy that year. While he put up only 51 running yards, he’s proven early to be a more than capable receiver in Mike Martz’s offense. He had 151 yards receiving with two scores. That 151 yard figure is the most by a running back on opening weekend.

Peyton Manning - If you have Peyton, chances are you wanted a quarterback high, but Brees and Rodgers were already taken. While Manning lost the first regular season game that he played all the way through since 2008, he padded his stats exceedingly well trying to close the gap late against the Texans.

Chris Johnson - Well, that’s a no. 1 pick well spent. 142 yards and two touchdowns make you feel like quite the genius for reaping the rewards of dumb luck.

Hakeem Nicks - In all likelihood, unless you’re a huge Giants homer, you were fighting with yourself about whether to take Nicks or Santana Moss as your second or third receiver. With three touchdowns from Nicks, you chose wisely for Week 1 at least, though don’t be too surprised when he puts up a total of two points next week.