The fantasy football season is here and some players to start or sit in Week 1 include Mike Evans, LeSean McCoy, Victor Cruz, Charles Sims, Doug Martin, Alshon Jeffery and Tre Mason heading into the games on Sunday.
According to NFL.com, LeSean McCoy is expected to play and could have the "bulk" of the carries for the Bills. Alshon Jeffery is expected to play Week 1 even though he is not 100 percent. Victor Cruz is out for the Giants and is a SIT option for this week, while Charles Sims and Doug Martin are solid options with rain coming down in Tampa for the Bucs. Mike Evans is likely playing and NFL.com reports that the Bucs are "optimistic" that he will be on the field.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping Mike Evans can play Week 1 against the Titans and head coach Lovie Smith is expecting the wideout to be on the field. Fantasy football owners should look at Charles Sims and Doug Martin as solid starter options along with Jameis Winston and Vincent Jackson for the Bucs.
The team is coming in after taking Winston number one overall in the draft and the main storyline for this game is a matchup between Winston and Marcus Mariota. The top two picks in the draft will face off against each other and Winston is hoping he has his number one receiver on the field. Evans had a great rookie season and showed that he has the potential to be a star, but he suffered a hamstring injury and has been out of action in the preseason.
Check here for more on Mike Evans and more on players to start or sit for Week 1.
According to Pro Football Talk, Evans missed practice on Thursday and that could be a bad sign for Evans playing on Sunday, but Lovie Smith said Evans is a "whole lot better." Smith said that evans being out of practice makes him a "question mark" but that if he feels good, he will have the chance to play. Hamstring issues can linger, so the Bucs may want to be cautious with the receiver. Last season Evans played in 15 games and had 68 catches for 1051 yards and 12 touchdowns as a rookie.
Evans is still a top fantasy player whether or not he is injured and he is the top WR for Winston alongside Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy. Jackson is a solid fantasy option for owners as a second or third wide receiver, while Murphy is more of a deep league option. Last season Jackson had 70 catches for 1002 yards and two touchdowns and he played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers. Jackson and Evans should give Winston the chance to put up some solid numbers as a rookie.
With Winston coming into year one, Smith may want to push the running game more and that could make Doug Martin and Charles Sims solid options. Smith has praised how Martin has improved after dealing with injuries last season, while Sims showed potential last year while Martin was out. Martin had 494 yards last season in 11 games and he is trying to get back to the form he had as a rookie when he rushed for 1454 yards and 11 touchdowns.