FanDuel: Who is set up for success this weekend?

Tuesday, I offered a look at the game of FanDuel, and how to play. Thursday, I came back with the rosters I'm using in this week's games. Good times were had by all.

• Colin Kaepernick gets to take on the travesty that is the Dallas Cowboys defense in Week 1. Any time you can grab a quarterback there, it's a nice time.
• Carson Palmer ended the 2013 season on a hot streak - he averaged 10.25 fantasy points per game in the first half, then 15.88 down the stretch. He cut his interceptions way down as well. And Monday night, he faces a San Diego defense that is known to struggle.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick seems to show up once or twice every season with a big game before slinking back to being Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now he's the starter in Houston, with weapons like Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, and he faces a Washington defense that doesn't stop many people.

• Aaron Rodgers plays ag... ah, you knew that already.
• Cam Newton not only goes against a decent Tampa Bay defense, but he's also banged up, to an extent that he's scary to even play in fantasy, let alone invest in in FanDuel.

• The Bears took steps to improve their defense after last year's atrocity, but taking two steps forward is only worth so much when you started nine steps behind. Even with the improvements, Bills running backs C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson could be nice investments.
• As if it weren't enough that Jamaal Charles is the Chiefs' only real option, and that Dwayne Bowe is suspended, and that he was already the top running back in the game a year ago, but the Chiefs also take on a Titans defense that shut down wide receivers in 2013, let running backs run wild, and didn't change a lot of defensive pieces in the offseason.
• Related to the Cam Newton point, DeAngelo Williams could offer value this week. Newton's rib malady means he might not be carrying the ball as much, and is even more unlikely to do so at the goal line. That could lead to good things for Williams.

• I'm not a fan of Bernard Pierce in general anyway - he hasn't impressed me as an NFL runner. So even though he gets definite carries while Ray Rice is suspended, he does it this week against a Bengals' run defense that promises to be very strong.
• Maurice Jones-Drew is the likely starter in Oakland now, but Darren McFadden will still be heard from. On top of that, the Raiders play against a Jets' defense that crushed running backs a year ago, and we know Rex Ryan can coach a defense. Even with a rookie quarterback meaning Oakland might lean more heavily on the run, Jones-Drew is a stay-away.

• There are a lot of reasons to shy away from Giants' receivers - Eli Manning's struggles, the poor preseason, etc. But the Lions were nothing special against wide receivers a year ago, and the Giants' other options all have issues - Rueben Randle led the team into several interceptions; Odell Beckham Jr. is hurt; Jerrel Jernigan is unproven. Victor Cruz stands to be very successful Monday.
• Broncos' games tend to be high-scoring, and the Broncos tend to take leads. That all bodes well for opposing wide receivers, which is why the Broncos allowed 22.4 points per game to the position in 2013. As such, T.Y. Hilton could be a nice investment Sunday night.
• I love Michael Crabtree if he plays, but it's looking more and more like he might not. If he sits, against that Cowboys' defense, Anquan Boldin becomes a big beneficiary. Remember his huge Week 1 in 2013? More of that is possible.

• Julian Edelman's success in 2013 was one part his ability, two parts injuries to almost everyone else on the Patriots. Well to start the season, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski are both healthy - as are about 20 other Patriot receivers - and say what you will about the Dolphins, but they do well against opposing receivers.
• Antonio Brown did well against the Browns last year - 92 yards and a score in one game, 87 in another - but he's the primary receiving target for his team, going against a team that has, in Joe Haden, the perfect recipe for shutting down a team's primary receiving target.

• Antonio Gates was supposed to be replaced by Ladarius Green by now, but the longer the preseason went on, the more it looked like he had a last gasp about him. Week 1, he takes on an Arizona Cardinals team that couldn't stop any tight ends last year. Good times might be in the offing for the old guy.
• Take out his first career game against the Falcons, when he had only one target as a rookie, and Jimmy Graham has averaged a touchdown per game against Atlanta over his career. The touchdown machine is even more touchdown-machine-y in those games.

• I've been riding the "Martellus Bennett is overrated" train all by myself for weeks now, but I'm sticking with it, and now he's playing against a Bills team that was tough against tight ends last year. Even if you're on board with him, this isn't the week.

• With Newton banged up, and not a lot of super exciting other options in Carolina, this could be a really good week for an already-decent Tampa Bay defense.
• It's an easy and oft-repeated call leading up to Week 1, but the Jets are a decent defense who draws a subpar rookie quarterback and a team that already struggled on offense. The Jets' schedule gets far worse after Week 1, but they're a good one-week play.

• Well, the Colts play the Broncos, so there's that.
• San Francisco's defense is at least a step or two worse than what it was a year ago, and against a Cowboys team that tends to score a lot of points, they're a bad play this week.

• Dan Bailey, DAL
• Josh Brown, NYG
• Matt Bryant, ATL
• Randy Bullock, HOU
• Phil Dawson, SF
• Jay Feely, ARI
• Kai Forbath, WAS
• Nate Freese, DET
• Shayne Graham, NO
• Nick Novak, SD
• Blair Walsh, MIN
• Greg Zuerlein, STL