Week 1 of the NFL is finally underway, which means it's time to set your fantasy football lineups. Nobody wants to start their season by leaving a huge scorer out of the starting lineup. Here are three players who might be on your bench but could score big points in the season opener.
Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka vs Atlanta
Depending on when you had your fantasy draft and how deep your league is, you might have drafted Egbuka onto your bench with the hopes that he would pay dividends later in the season, as rookies often do. But with news that Chris Godwin would miss significant time to start the year, Egbuka now steps into a starting role on what was one of the best offenses in the league last year. Baker Mayfield has raved about the professionalism of his new weapon all off-season. Expect him to hit the ground running against an Atlanta defense that allowed 34 passing touchdowns a year ago.
Commanders RB Austin Ekeler vs New York
For all the late hype around seventh round rookie Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merrit following the trade of Brian Robinson, the sentiment around Austin Ekeler hasn’t really changed. It’s very possible that Croskey-Merrit takes over this backfield right away, but it’s more likely that he’s slowly eased into things. Robinson’s departure also means the short yardage role is up for grabs, something that Ekeler has excelled at his entire career. Facing a young Giants defense with one of the best pass rushes in the NFL, Jayden Daniels will be looking for quick completions to the always reliable Ekeler, helping him rack up the PPR points.
Patriots QB Drake Maye vs Las Vegas
The fact that Drake Maye was able to put up respectable numbers last season with the supporting cast he had was a mini miracle. The Patriots heavily invested in everything around him, drafting 4 offensive players in the top 100 and signing Stefon Diggs to a big contract. Most of the patriots additions are unproven commodities, but they simply cannot be worse than what was out there a season ago. The Raiders defense might take time to get going early in the year with Pete Carroll coming to town and putting his fingerprints on the defense. They also have very little in the way of proven talent on the backend.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Three players you should start in week one of fantasy football
