The first week of the NFL season was an absolute treat to watch thanks primarily to a Bucs and Saints shootout and the Aaron Rodgers comeback game. For some fantasy owners, however, it was not all roses as there were countless surprises. Many failed start/sit decisions wrecked a fantasy matchup as is the case every week. This is why we keep track of expert accuracy throughout the season so that you know which experts have been recommending the right calls all year. Keep in mind, it is a long season and we will see major changes in these rankings over time so make sure to check back in with us when we next publish after a quarter of the season is complete. With all that said, it is time to give credit to the fantasy experts who provided the best fantasy football rankings in Week 1. As always, you can check out the entire standings in our accuracy section.
Week 1 Accuracy Results
| Top 10 Experts – Overall Leaderboard* | |
| Rank | Expert |
| 1. | Matt Camp – Bleacher Report |
| 2. | Justin Boone – theScore |
| 3. | Jared Smola – Draft Sharks |
| 4. | Bill Enright – FFChamps |
| 5. | Dominick Petrillo – Fantasy Hot Read |
| 6. | Kevin Wheeler – NFL Mock |
| 7. | Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts |
| 8. | John Paulsen – 4for4.com |
| 9. | Andy Holloway – The Fantasy Footballers |
| 10 | Staff Rankings – ScoutFantasySports |
*View Full Accuracy Scores (133 experts) | Combine Top Experts into Consensus Rankings
Matt Camp (Bleacher Report) started the season off on the right foot, placing first among 133 experts in Week 1. His 1,020 accuracy gap score is a huge 57 points above the expert average, giving Matt some cushion room for the remaining weeks. He was able to accomplish this feat by placing in the top quartile with his running back and wide receiver rankings while finishing atop the list at quarterback ranking accuracy. Rather than a handful of breakout players swinging his rankings, Matt’s success this week boiled down to being on the correct side of the Expert Consensus on nearly every player. For instance, he ranked Emmanuel Sanders as his WR #20 (+4 ECR). Likewise, Randall Cobb was his WR #30 (+6 vs. ECR), Derrick Henry was down at his RB #25 (ECR RB #20) and Matt had Adrian Peterson at RB #26 (ECR #30). Perhaps his top call of the week, however, was putting Philip Rivers as his #4 QB (ECR #8). Only a handful of experts had him as high which helped propel Camp to the top of the rankings.
Three of the experts who placed in the top 10 to start this season finished 2017 within the top 10. Congratulations to those three, Justin Boone (theScore), Bill Enright (FFChamps) and John Paulsen (4for4.com), along with all of the other experts off to hot starts after one week.
Biggest Surprises
As always, we recognize the experts that did the best job of ranking the surprise performers from Week 1. Below are several key players that came through beyond expectations for fantasy owners along with the experts who delivered their top ranking.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (TB)
Consensus: QB #27
Actual Rank: QB #1
Best Rank: QB #12
Top Expert: Mike Krueger (FFToday)
Jay Ajayi (PHI)
Consensus: RB #22
Actual Rank: RB #7
Best Rank: RB #10
Top Expert: Andy Behrens (Yahoo)
Isaiah Crowell (NYJ)
Consensus: RB #32
Actual Rank: RB #3
Best Rank: RB #25
Top Expert: Kyle Kontos (Double K Football)
Kenny Stills (MIA)
Consensus: WR #29
Actual Rank: WR #3
Best Rank: WR #14
Top Experts: Scott Spratt
Emmanuel Sanders (DEN)
Consensus: WR #24
Actual Rank: WR #3
Best Rank: WR #9
Top Experts: Brad Evans (Yahoo! Sports)
Jared Cook (OAK)
Consensus: TE #14
Actual Rank: WR #1
Best Rank: WR #6
Top Expert: Staff Rankings (ScoutFantasySports)
Biggest Disappointments
On the flip side, there is plenty of credit due to the experts who did the reverse. The experts warned many off of players who would have otherwise wrecked their weeks. Let’s take a look at some of the most disappointing fantasy players from Week 1 and the experts whose rankings were closest to their lackluster performance.
Matthew Stafford (DET)
Consensus: QB #6
Actual Rank: QB #26
Best Rank: QB #15
Top Experts: Muntradamus (Beast Dome)
LeSean McCoy (BUF)
Consensus: RB #15
Actual Rank: RB #52
Best Rank: RB #31
Top Expert: Dylan Chappine (White Wolf Sports)
Kareem Hunt (KC)
Consensus: RB #7
Actual Rank: RB #41
Best Rank: RB # 21
Top Expert: Armando Crespo (Eat.Sleep.Fantasy)
DeAndre Hopkins (HOU)
Consensus: WR #2
Actual Rank: WR #41
Best Rank: WR #13
Top Expert: Mike Krueger (FFToday)
Amari Cooper (OAK)
Consensus: WR #23
Actual Rank: WR #65
Best Rank: WR #43
Top Expert: Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Travis Kelce (KC)
Consensus: TE #2
Actual Rank: TE #28
Best Rank: TE #8
Top Expert: Kevin Wheeler (NFL Mock)
We’ll be back again after Week 4 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.