The Week 1 matchup between the Detroit Lions and the San Diego Chargers should feature a lot of touchdowns through the air. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 1: Lions-Chargers featuring Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Philip Rivers
We break down the Week 1 matchup between the Detroit Lions and the San Diego Chargers.
Detroit Lions
Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a bit of an off year by his own fantasy standards last season. He threw just 22 touchdown passes and had his lowest number of passing yards in four years. While nobody can expect him to flirt with 5,000 yards every single season, there is room for improvement going into 2015. Stafford remains a must start quarterback, and given that the Chargers don’t defend well against fantasy quarterbacks, Week 1 is no exception.
Though the Chargers gave up lots of points to quarterbacks last year, they were pretty good at containing wide receivers. Still, nobody can contain Calvin Johnson. Johnson’s challenge the last two years has been staying healthy. He hasn’t played a full 16-game schedule since 2012, yet he still managed to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in 13 games last year and score eight times. His days as a top-flight receiver will slow down eventually, but those days aren’t coming in 2015. He should be a standout performer on Sunday like he always is.
San Diego Chargers
After putting together a rocky 2012 season, Philip Rivers has managed to put together two pretty solid years back to back. Last year his 18 interceptions were probably a little bit more than most fantasy owners would be happy with, but at the end of the day he’s still in the lead conversation. Rivers may not have access to tight end Antonio Gates for a number of weeks due to suspension, but he’s always been a high-volume passer and should be able to get his numbers one way or another.
Some of the passes he throws this Sunday will connect with wide receiver Keenan Allen. Despite the fact Allen notched a career-high 77 receptions last year, he was largely considered one of the biggest disappointments of 2014. He managed to score just four touchdowns and totaled only 783 yards receiving in 14 games. The good news is he put together an absolutely outstanding preseason. A good start to 2015 against the Lions would help to reinvigorate some faith in the hearts of fantasy owners for the remainder of the year.
