Marcus Mariota leads bold Week 1 fantasy plays
So you went through your draft. You made a trade
Chris Paul Jersey or two, picked up a guy off the waiver wire. But then before everything went live ... something didn't feel right. Maybe you had a player who was a game-time decision. Or there was a matchup that wasn't in your favor. Whatever the reason, you decided it was time to make a bold choice. You know what they say ... No Guts, No Glory. So this column is for you. Every week here, we'll salute the outside-the-box thinking that was rewarded with big fantasy production. Fortune favors the bold, so here's to you. Marcus. Mariota. manly j panda (@manlyjpanda) With so much depth at quarterback, it was truly gutsy to go with a rookie. But boy, did Mariota ever produce. Heading into Monday night's games, Mariota was the third-highest scoring quarterback behind only and . But Mariota wasn't the only rookie to bring unexpected glory in Week 1. Tyler Lockett in a PR/KR league over Andre Ellington jchernabaeff4 (@jeremychern_) my wife (& fan) started rookie Tyler Lockett. With his punt return TD, he turned out to be her best WR. Scott Landers (@scottlanders) Not everyone gets credit for
Paul George Jersey kick and punt return yardage. But if you do, was a stellar play for you this week. The Kansas State product wowed by taking a punt 57 yards to the house. The four catches and 34 yards he added as a receiver was an added bonus. Yet, it wasn't all about the rookies this week. I bet everyone went with Davante Adams but I went with former All-Time Raider great James Jones Spencer Honda (@SpncerHonda) "All-Time Raider"? Whoa! Slow down, Turbo. Jones isn't likely to be remembered in the pantheon of great , but he'll be remembered fondly by anyone who took advantage of his two touchdown catches
Nerlens Noel Jersey in Week 1. Speaking of being remembered ... look who returned from the fantasy dead!You're telling me more than one person started this week? What are you doing playing ? We need you out there doing important work -- like predicting if Episode VII will be more like Empire Strikes Back or Attack of the Clones (we're hoping for the former). While
Mike Muscala Jersey it was a good day for Sankey, he wasn't the only Washington Husky to play big in Week 1.Drafted in the 14th round, started today...Austin Seferian-Jenkins, 5-110 2 TD's... out of NOWHERE! Rick Ryall (@RickRyall) Big tight end working with a young quarterback ... maybe we should have expected big things out of this week. Even though his points came in garbage time -- admittedly, garbage time started early in that game -- you were still thrilled to have them if you had the guts to put ASJ in your lineup. Finally, there was this ...Picked up Dion Lewis 15 mins before thurs game and started on a gut flyer. Made game a wonderful watch cuz I also had Gronk. James Leavitt (@jimleav) This reeks of all kinds of humblebragging. I dig it. If you paired with , you should brush some dirt off your shoulder. Nice work, everyone. Here's to more gutsy plays in Week 2!Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who has a fondne s for coffee, beer and fantasy picks -- and he likes them all bold. Follow him on
Ricky Rubio Jersey Twitter .