8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 1

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions unveiled their depth chart for Week 1, and to little fanfare, LeGarrette Blount was listed as the starting running back.

This wasn't exactly surprising, as Theo Riddick does most of his work on passing downs, and Kerryon Johnson was third in line for touches in the preseason, but it's certainly nice to confirm before trusting Blount in fantasy.

It's no secret that teams run more when they're winning football games, and in 2017 the Lions averaged 25.22 rush attempts per game in wins, compared to 19.4 per game in losses. If we just look at wins of at least 6 points, that average jumps to 26.4 per game.

Those numbers are significant because this week they sit as 6.5-point favorites against the New York Jets.

Games like this, where we can expect Detroit to play with a lead, are where Blount should really shine. He's not going to see many snaps over Riddick when they are trailing and need to pass, but volume should absolutely be there for him in one-sided matchups like this. And volume is what it's all about for running backs.

I also took a look before the season at why Blount is a guy who offers big touchdown upside this year. That gives him a great combination of both floor and ceiling in this matchup.