FanDuel daily fantasy projections, Week 1: Quarterbacks

If you’re in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) game, you need as many tools as possible to help set your lineup. Sure, there are some things you’ll disagree with, but not acknowledging stats or information is usually a mistake. FanDuel had acquired NumberFire to help on some projections for NFL players each week to give you another tool to help.

Along with the data from NumberFire, we’ll be adding some news, matchups and other information to complement the projections.

Here’s a look at the Week 1 quarterbacks:

As will be the case in many weeks, Aaron Rodgers is projected to be the top scoring quarterback. Sure, he does have a $9,700 price tag, but he’s owned the Chicago Bears and their secondary is weaker without Charles Tillman.

Russell Wilson also gets a favorable matchup as he takes on a vulnerable secondary, though the St. Louis Rams could get some pressure on him. Plus, we’ll see how he likes having Jimmy Graham in the red zone.

Ryan Tannehill is one of the best values at $8,000. He’ll look to use all of his new weapons against what figures to be a disastrous Washington defense.

If you’re looking to save a few bucks, Matthew Stafford could be your guy. Like Tannehill, he has more weapons this year and a healthy Calvin Johnson to give him big upside against an undersized San Diego Chargers secondary.

Perhaps no quarterback created more buzz than Sam Bradford. He’s still priced cheap at $7,500 and should be able to score some points in what Las Vegas projects as the highest-scoring game of Week 1. Sure, he’s a health risk, but he’s certainly a strong option when he’s not on the injury report. He’s going to be somewhat popular in tournaments.

If you really want to save some money, Kirk Cousins is just $6,000. Yes, he’s a turnover machine and the Miami Dolphins have two terrific defensive ends to rush the passer, but his team will be playing from behind and he should rack up the yards. He’s certainly not a cash-game play, but tournament players can consider him while loading up on guys like Julio Jones and Eddie Lacy.

Andrew Luck could be fantasy’s top scoring player at the end of the year, but he’s getting a bad matchup this week against the Buffalo Bills on the road. He could still put up big numbers against a somewhat banged-up secondary with some different pieces from last year, but the odds are against him.

Peyton Manning gets a solid Baltimore Ravens defense and there’s still some concern that coach Gary Kubiak will focus more on running the ball, especially since the Ravens don’t have Haloti Ngata anymore. Like Luck, Peyton could be big-time, but the risk/reward side doesn’t quite overcome his hefty price tag.