We’re back again this season to track the weekly accuracy of the industry’s top fantasy football experts. For those new to our accuracy competition, this is the 7th year we’ve run our assessment that evaluates the experts’ weekly rankings (past results are available here).
Over the next 16 weeks, we’ll analyze several million predictions from over 100 fantasy experts (see methodology). Included in the expert lineup is our returning champ, John Paulsen (4for4). John will once again face stiff competition from the best experts the fantasy industry has to offer.
Of course, before we can crown a winner for the season, we need to look at week 1′s accuracy results. Below are the highest rated pundits for the first week of the season (full standings here). Also, if you’re a Daily Fantasy player, be sure to check out our DFS Accuracy standings.
Week 1 Accuracy Results
| Top 10 Experts – Overall Leaderboard* | ||
| Rank | Expert | PAY™ |
| 1. | Chet Gresham – Walter Football | 62.8% |
| 2. | Andy Behrens – Yahoo! Sports | 62.3% |
| 3. | Walter Cherepinsky – Walter Football | 61.7% |
| 4. | Brandon Funston – Yahoo! Sports | 60.8% |
| 5. | Sablich Brothers – The NY Times | 60.5% |
| 6. | Brad Evans – Yahoo! Sports | 60.5% |
| 7. | Jeff Brubach – The Fake Football | 60.4% |
| 8. | Dave Major – XN Sports | 60.1% |
| 9. | Patrick Daugherty – Rotoworld | 60.1% |
| 10 | Tozzi Brothers – Legion Report | 60.0% |
*View Full Accuracy Scores (137 experts) | Combine Top Experts into Consensus Rankings
Congrats to week 1’s most accurate expert: Chet Gresham (Walter Football). Chet edged out the field of 137 experts to take an early lead in the competition. He did so in large part due to the strength of his RB predictions. Week 1’s top stud was Carlos Hyde (182 total yards, 2 TDs) and Gresham had him ranked above 98% of experts as his RB #13. He also had a good read on a couple of RBs that have disappointed fantasy owners in the past: Bishop Sankey (+9 rank spots vs. consensus) and Chris Ivory (+5 rank spots vs. consensus). Both players started the season strong with top 5 RB performances. Gresham had Ivory rated as a RB1 (his RB #11) and he went against the grain by slotting Sankey above all but a handful of experts (his RB #25). Gresham also delivered a nice sleeper hit by ranking Dion Lewis (120 yards) inside his top 30 RBs. Only 7 other experts took such a risk on what was undoubtedly a difficult player to predict (you know, because he’s a Patriots’ RB). Outside of his RB picks, Gresham also gets credit for downgrading Peyton Manning (his QB #12). Only 3 experts went lower on Manning and it turned out to be the right call as Peyton had a below-average day (175 passing yds, 0 TDs, 1 INT) against a stingy Ravens’ defense.
Peak Performers
As always, we recognize the experts that did the best job of ranking the week’s peak performers. Below are several key players that came through beyond expectations for fantasy owners along with the experts who delivered their top ranking.
James Jones (GB)
Consensus: WR #60
Best Rank: WR #27
Actual Rank: WR #4
Top Expert: Terrance Bridgett (ProjectRoto)
Kendall Wright (TEN)
Consensus: WR #41
Best Rank: WR #19
Actual Rank: WR #5
Top Expert: Dawgmatica (Pyromaniac)
Stevie Johnson (SD)
Consensus: WR #42
Best Rank: WR #16
Actual Rank: WR #7
Top Expert: Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Carlos Hyde (SF)
Consensus: RB #19
Best Rank: RB #11
Actual Rank: RB #1
Top Expert: Mike Clay (Pro Football Focus)
Chris Ivory (NYJ)
Consensus: RB #16
Best Rank: RB #5
Actual Rank: RB #3
Top Expert: Tony Mauriello (ProjectRoto) & ScoutFantasy Staff
Bishop Sankey (TEN)
Consensus: RB #34
Best Rank: RB #21
Actual Rank: RB #4
Top Expert: Michael Beller (Sports Illustrated) & Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Danny Woodhead (SD)
Consensus: RB #32
Best Rank: RB#14
Actual Rank: RB #5
Top Expert: Sigmund Bloom (FootballGuys)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TB)
Consensus: TE #16
Best Rank: TE #8
Actual Rank: TE #2
Top Expert: Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Sports) and Muntradamus (Beast Dome)
Tyler Eifert (CIN)
Consensus: TE #9
Best Rank: TE #4
Actual Rank: TE #3
Top Expert: Tom Poisal (Top Tier Football)
Carson Palmer (ARI)
Consensus: QB #13
Best Rank: QB#5
Actual Rank: QB #2
Top Expert: R.C. Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)
Marcus Mariota (TEN)
Consensus: QB #23
Best Rank: QB #16
Actual Rank: QB #3
Top Expert: Dave Richard (CBS Sports), Mike Krueger (FFToday), Jim McCormick (ESPN), and ScoutPRO
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We’ll be back again after the games this weekend to provide another update on the experts making the most accurate predictions. Until then, be sure to check out the experts’ weekly rankings to help with your lineup decisions.
