Top Scoring Players on Fantasy Football (Week 1)

One of the many awesome attributes of the NFL season is, of course, Fantasy Football. I love Fantasy Football. I started doing it when I entered the NFL's yearly Fantasy Playoff Challenge, which was discontinued last year, and that led me to do the fantasy thing on a yearly basis. This is actually my seventh year playing Fantasy Football, and I've learned so much over the years. I've also won my share of leagues, and I did win one league last year.

Of course, Week 1 of the NFL season is also Week 1 of the Fantasy Football season, but regarding the latter, it's a shorter sprint. A standard league now consists of a 15-week regular season, followed by two weeks of playoffs. The semifinals often take place on Week 16, and that's followed by the championship and other consolation games on Week 17. Normally, Fantasy Football doesn't take place during Week 18, usually because by then, most players (depending on their team's situation) are usually benched. Despite this, some custom leagues do go the full 18 weeks, and even have extended playoffs.

I have mentioned Fantasy Football in last year's weekly recaps, and for this year, I decided that I'll do a weekly recap listing the highest scoring players in Fantasy by position. On a standard Fantasy Football team, players select a quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, a tight end, a Flex position (usually an additional RB, WR, or TE), a kicker, and a team defense. Some leagues do use a Superflex position, which allow a second quarterback to be placed in that position, and some leagues use IDPs (Individual Defensive Players).

For these recaps, I will only list the standard positions (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, and DEF). So here are Week 1's highest fantasy scorers:

QB: Josh Allen

As it turned out, Week 1's highest scoring QB on Fantasy Football just happened to be Josh Allen. Here's how fantasy scoring goes for QBs. It's 1 point per every 25 passing yards (or 0.04 points per passing yard), and passing touchdowns are 4 points each. Interceptions are usually a 1 point deduction, and lost fumbles are a 2 point deduction. Allen threw for 232 yards (9.28 points) and 2 TDs (8 points), and ran for 39 yards (3.9 points) and 2 TDs (12 points), but lot a fumble (-2 points), for a grand total of 30.18 fantasy points in Week 1. Allen was the only QB to crack 30 points in Week 1, I do expect that to change in the weeks to come.

RB: Saquon Barkley

Unsurprisingly, Saquon Barkley was the highest scoring RB on Fantasy Football. Fantasy scoring for running backs goes like this: 1 point per 10 rushing yards, and touchdowns are 6 points. Receiving scoring rules also apply; 1 point per 10 receiving yards, and touchdowns are 6 points, and there's also PPR (Points Per Reception). Barkley ran for 109 yards (10.9 points) and two touchdowns (12 points), and also had two receptions (2 points) for 23 yards (2.3 points), and a touchdown (6 points). A grand total of 33.2 points. Barkley played on Friday, and yet none of the other running backs who played Sunday or Monday surpassed that total.

WR: Jayden Reed

Saquon Barkley wasn't the only one who showed out during that Brazil game. Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed ended up taking the mantle of the highest scoring receiver on Fantasy for Week 1. Here's how scoring for receivers goes. PPR is applied, and most leagues awards a full point per reception. Also, it's 1 point for every 10 receiving yards, and touchdowns are 6 points each. Regarding Reed: 4 receptions (4 points), 138 yards (13.8 points) and a touchdown (6 points). Reed also ran for 33 yards (3.3 points) and a touchdown (6 points). A grand total of 33.1 fantasy points; only one-tenth less than Barkley. The closest receiver to Reed in Week 1 was Cooper Kupp with 32 fantasy points.

TE: Isaiah Likely

Imagine setting the tone for Fantasy scoring on the very first game of the season, and still ending the week on top. That's what Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely did. Likely is likely (see what I did there?) the team's TE2 behind Mark Andrews, but Likely took the helm big time over the underused Andrews. Seeing as how tight ends are basically receivers, the scoring is the same for them as it is for wide receivers. Likely had 9 receptions (9 points) for 111 yards (11.1 points) and a touchdown (6 points), totalling 26.1 points. If he had clipped his toenails before the game, he would have had at least seven more points on that catch at the end. Even so, Likely ran away with the top scoring nod for tight ends this week, as the closest to him was Foster Moreau with 14.3 points.

K: Chris Boswell & Jake Moody

We have a tie in the kicker position, as Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell and San Francisco's Jake Moody shared the nod for highest scoring kicker on Fantasy. Here's how scoring for kickers goes: extra points are 1 point, of course. Regarding field goals, those under 40 yards are worth 3 points, 40-49 yard FGs are worth 4 points, and those 50 yards or longer are worth 5 points. Boswell made six field goals: 3 from 50+ (15 points), 2 in the 40s (8 points), and one from under 40 yards (3 points). Moody also made six field goals: 2 from 50+ (10 points), 2 in the 40s (8 points), and 2 from under 40 yards (6 points), as well as 2 extra points (2 points). Each kicker finished with 26 fantasy points.

DEF: Chicago Bears

For scoring for team defenses, there's a lot to cover. Regarding scoring defenses, a shutout is 10 points, giving up 1-6 points is 7 points, giving up 7-13 points is 4 points, giving up 14-20 points is 1 point, giving up 21-27 points is no points, giving up 28-34 point is a 1 point deduction, and giving up at least 35 points is a 4 point deduction. Elsewhere, sacks are 1 point, interceptions are 2 points, safeties are 2 points, fumble recoveries are 2 points, blocked kicks are 2 points, and touchdowns are 6 points. So who had the top scoring defense on Fantasy this week? The Chicago Bears. They gave up 17 points (1 point) and racked up 3 sacks (3 points), 2 interceptions (4 points), recovered a fumble (2 points), scored two touchdowns (12 points), and blocked a kick (2 points). A grand total of 24 fantasy points; the Bears and Vikings (22 points) were the only team defenses to surpass 20 points in Week 1.

So do I have any of these players? I do have Saquon Barkley and I did start him. I also have Jake Moody, but I did not start him. If you had any of these players in your starting lineup during Week 1, chances are your fantasy team(s) definitely thrived!