Week 1 of the NFL season gets into full swing on Sunday, and with it, the ever tumultuous fantasy season gets into full swing as well. Unfortunately for owners of Dallas' skill players, the Cowboys open the season against one of the better defenses in the league as they take on the Jets - in New Jersey.
The projections for Dallas' players aren't too kind in Week 1.
Quarterback Tony Romo is ranked as the 24th best quarterback option in Week 1 by numberFire, which is the same say saying bench him if you've any other good option. Using Yahoo!'s standard scoring, numberFire has Romo scoring just 10.56 fantasy points this week, with quarterbacks such as Luke McCown, Cam Newton and Chad Henne outscoring him.
Certainly, if you've a solid quarterback backing up Romo, it's not a bad idea to bench him with Dallas' offensive line a bit banged up (see: Tyron Smith). Romo obviously provides much more upside than many of the quarterbacks listed ahead of him, but still, the projections just don't favor him in Week 1.
While numberFire essentially advocates sitting Romo, the projections most certainly advocate starting running back Felix Jones, who is ranked as the No. 11 running back this week. Jones is projected to score 12.45 points.
If you've Miles Austin on your team, you should be starting him as well, despite facing a tough secondary. Austin is ranked as the sixth best wide receiver in Week 1, making him a strong WR1 play. He's projected to produce 10.68 fantasy points.
Dez Bryant, however, is a bit more dicey. The projections have him ranked as the No. 48 receiver, so you likely have better options than him this week as he's projected to score a meager 5.42 points.
At tight end, Jason Witten is a must start as well. Witten is projected to be the third most productive tight end this weekend, behind Antonio Gates and Jermichael Finley. Witten is likely an every-week starter regardless of his matchup, and that's certainly the case this week.
START: Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones.
SIT: Dez Bryant
At your own peril: Tony Romo.
I certainly understand starting Romo this week, even if the projections say otherwise. It is, though, a tough matchup, but Romo's upside is certainly superior to that of Newton, Fitzpatrick, McCown, Henne or even Mark Sanchez.