Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers at Falcons: 5 best fantasy options

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

When the Atlanta Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season, here are the five guys to play in fantasy football this week.

Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season starts on Thursday night, with the defending Super Bowl 50 Champions Denver Broncos hosting the NFC juggernaut Carolina Panthers at Mile High Stadium in primetime. It also means the start of fantasy-football season, which is why you clicked on this here link.

There should be plenty of great players competing in a great NFC South matchup in Week 1 when the Atlanta Falcons host rivals in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 1:00 PM ET kickoff at the Georgia Dome. Which player on either the Falcons or the Buccaneers should one start on their fantasy team in Week 1?

Aug 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) shown on the sidelines during the game against the Washington Redskins during the second half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Redskins 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Julio Jones

Wide Receiver, Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones

The best offensive player in Week 1’s game between the Buccaneers and the Falcons is easily Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones might be a top three wide receiver in the NFL today, but don’t expect him to be gangbusters in Week 1 coming off a preseason ankle injury.

On NFL.com, Jones is projected to have 10.2 points on Sunday against a below-average Buccaneers secondary. ESPN, meanwhile, has Jones is slated to do slightly better with 12.9 points.

Jones could be fed early and often by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s West Coast system. Ryan’s favorite target through the air last fall was Jones, with the latter nearly setting an NFL record for receiving yards in a season. The problem is that Jones has never been spectacular about getting into the end zone with great regularity.

Could Jones have 10-plus catches for over 100 yards? Absolutely, but that’s only 10 fantasy points against a sub-par Buccaneers secondary. Tampa Bay is likely going to put its best cover corner (possibly rookie Vernon Hargreaves, III) on an island to contain Jones. Surely Jones will get his yards, but Atlanta’s struggles in the red zone will keep its best player from recording his first touchdown of the year in this tight ball game.

Aug 25, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws a pass during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Ryan

Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan

2016 is going to be a very interesting year for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. He’s coming off a decent but less-than-desirable first season in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme. Ryan thrived for years running Dirk Koetter’s Air Coryell in Atlanta, but struggled with the little nuances of a West Coast offense in 2015.

Now Koetter is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Ryan’s former head coach, Mike Smith, now runs the defense in Tampa. Don’t think for a second that the Tampa coaching tandem aren’t scheming up something real tasty to throw Ryan off his game in Week 1.

That said, Ryan has always and probably will always throw for a ton of yards. He’s incredibly accurate passer with average to below-average arm strength. NFL.com has Ryan projected to yield 18.02 fantasy points, while ESPN.com has him projected to earn 14.8 fantasy points.

Should Ryan have two turnovers or fewer, the Falcons quarterback could get as many as 25 points in this one. Tampa Bay allowed 31 passing touchdowns (25th) and 3,840 yards through the air (16th) in 2015, so Ryan might be worth starting if the other fantasy quarterback on one’s roster has a tough matchup defensively.

Aug 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) celebrates after he scored a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Evans

Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans

Regardless of what fantasy experts may think entering Week 1, this might be a nice week to play Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. Though Evans is only projected to have 13.60 points on NFL.com and just 9.8 on ESPN.com, who on the Falcons defense is going to stop him?

Atlanta has one elite defensive player in cornerback Desmond Trufant. Falcons head coach Dan Quinn likes to put Trufant on an island to cover half of the field all game. Koetter will exploit the well-coached, but talent-poor Falcons defense between the hash marks by drawing up Jameis Winston-to-Evans slants on several occasions.

Evans is a big physical receiver that loves to go up and grab it. He can stretch the field a bit, but he plays like a Tony Gonzalez tight end when he is at his best. If Winston can find Evans open in the middle of the field early and often, Evans could have one of his best fantasy games on 2016 in Week 1.

He should be able to get yards if is his route running is decent to fair, as Atlanta is incredibly thin at safety. The biggest question is if Evans can be as effective as a red zone target to Winston? Will Winston just toss it to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins or hand the football off to running back Doug Martin?

Jul 30, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) works out at One Buccaneer Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Doug Martin

Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Doug Martin

If there’s one player to play on Sunday from the Buccaneers, it has to be Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin. Mark it down: Martin will score at least one of the Buccaneers touchdowns in this divisional rivalry game.

Atlanta may be better than average in run defense, but Martin’s ability to catch passes out of the backfield makes him an ideal fantasy threat in this one. Winston is still growing as a young quarterback in Koetter’s Air Coryell. Ideally, Koetter will want the run to open up the pass so that Winston can gain confidence under center.

That means a ton of carries for the Buccaneers’ bell-cow back in Martin. NFL.com has Martin garnering 15.30 points on Sunday, while ESPN.com has him collecting 10.8 fantasy points. A touchdown and close to 150 all-purpose yards would put Martin over the 20-point fantasy threshold.

Martin is the type of back that game get one’s fantasy team over 30 points in a week should he get a favorable matchup. Atlanta isn’t ideal, but with a pair of fresh legs in Week 1, let’s see what Martin can do to the Falcons middle of the pack team defense.

Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) breaks free for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Devonta Freeman

Running Back, Atlanta Falcons

Devonta Freeman

Though he definitely tailed off in the second half of 2015, Falcons running back Devonta Freeman had a breakthrough sophomore campaign and will be huge for Atlanta this fall in terms of fantasy football. Freeman is doing a better job of taking care of his body entering year three and should have a field day against the Buccaneers in Week 1 at home.

Freeman is projected to have a whopping 20.90 points on NFL.com and a respectable 12.0 on ESPN.com. Like Martin, Freeman is great at catching passes out of the backfield. Freeman is fearless and thrives in initiating contact in the running game.

Since Atlanta should have a top five offensive line in football thanks to Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme, the shifty Freeman should easily eclipse 1,000 rushing yards again in 2016. He should have one of Atlanta’s touchdowns in this one, perhaps as many as three if the Falcons can get on the Buccaneers early.

If Freeman rushes for over 100 yards and has two scores, he’ll garner a fantasy team at least 22 points. That is the number of points one would want from a No. 1 running back on a fantasy team. He was a No. 1 tailback for many last year. Week 1 against Tampa Bay could be a great start for him in 2016 and your fantasy team.