The fantasy football Week 1 matchup is here and some of the best sleeper start options at RB this weekend include names like Andre Ellington, Bishop Sankey, Le'Veon Bell, Lamar Miller, Jeremy Hill, Ben Tate and Montee Ball, as some of those players have very solid matchups and could be top performers once things pick up on Sunday and it comes after the Packers and Seahawks opened the NFL season.
Andre Ellington has been looked at as one of the best sleepers in the league this year, as he is now the number one running back on the Cardinals and could have a big season. Sankey has also been looked at as a major sleeper, as fantasy owners do not have much faith in Shonn Greene keeping that starting job this season. Lamar Miller could be an option in Miami even with Knowshon Moreno there, as he has had some injury issues and Bell also could be a major option with the Steelers despite his off the field trouble.
Jeremy Hill has the chance to cut in a bit with Giovani Bernard and he could be a very good pickup in deeper leagues. Sankey and Ellington are the two major players to watch, while Ben Tate and Terrance West could be strong pickups in Cleveland after Tate signed as a free agent and West was drafted. Tate comes over from the Texans and he has the chance to be a starter and West comes in after being massively productive in college, going for 2500 yards and 41 touchdowns while playing at Towson.
Ellington is very strong in PPR leagues and he should be one of the top five backs in fantasy football this year. Ellington comes in after having a strong rookie season and he has great speed and ball control and could be a top playmaker in the league. Ellington rushed for 652 yards on the ground last year in 15 games while being the backup running back and he also had 39 catches for 371 yards. The Cardinals throw the ball as much as anyone in the league and he could have a 1000 yard season with over 40 catches this year, making him a great pickup in PPR.
Sankey comes in as a rookie after being super productive in college and he had over 1800 yards last season for the Huskies to go along with 20 touchdowns. Sankey hasn't moved past Greene in the depth chart yet, but he is past Dexter McCluster and could have a big season. Sankey is a good option as an RB2 or RB3 and he had 37 touchdowns in his college career, including 36 of those in the last two seasons, which he rushed for 1870 and 1439 yards and he also is a strong receiver out of the backfield.
Miller had a tough season last year with just 709 yards in 16 games, but he is the starting back on the depth chart and with his speed he could be nasty if he stays healthy. Miller had 26 catches last season and that makes him a factor in PPR leagues and even with Moreno there, Miller is way ahead of Daniel Thomas and he should be getting the bulk of the carries.
