Each week, you can try to predict the perfect fantasy lineup on NFL.com for a chance to win $1 million. Never played before? Don't worry, it's super simple and it's completely free. All you have to do is select who you think will be the highest scoring player at each position in a given week. Easy. And it gets better. Each week I'll collect the perfect lineup from each of our fantasy experts to try and help guide you all to the $1 million prize. Haven't joined NFL Perfect Challenge yet or bothered to play? Don't worry, you can get started in just a few seconds **RIGHT HERE**.
Below are the Perfect Challenge picks of Marcas Grant, Matt Franciscovich, Matt Harmon and me.
Marcas Grant's Week 1 lineup
I like Marcas' contrarian tactic here, being the only one to invest so heavily in the Dolphins. I'm a believer in their offense as well, and a Week 1 matchup against Washington's porous secondary could be just the ticket for your Perfect Challenge lineup. Jarvis Landry is the way to go among Dolphins pass-catchers if you want to follow Marcas' strategy. The Dolphins defense added Ndamukong Suh this offseason, and could terrorize Kirk Cousins behind his leaky offensive line. Eddie Lacy and Rob Gronkowski appear in all four of our lineups, so I won't spend too much time on them here. Does anyone think Adrian Peterson is not getting a million carries in Week 1? I'd expect the team to run him early and often against a 49ers defense that has lost several superstars this offseason. With Martavis Bryant out as he serves a four-game suspension, Antonio Brown could get ALL OF THE TARGETS on Thursday night.
Matt Franciscovich's Week 1 lineup
Franchise believes in Aaron Rodgers carving up the Bears secondary, which isn't a bad strategy at all. Last year against the Bears, Rodgers threw for 617 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Jeremy Hill is an excellent pick as well, as he's looked great this preseason and should be the focal point of the Bengals running attack. Assuming Khalil Mack doesn't live in the Cincinnati backfield, Hill could have a big day as the Bengals try to salt away a win. With the committee backfield in Dallas, I feel like Dez Bryant could see a ton of targets -- especially in the red zone.
Matt Harmon's Week 1 lineup
Harmon and I are on the same page with the Julio Jones pick this week. He has a great matchup, and is now in Kyle Shanahan's offense that has produced monster numbers for it's No. 1 wide receiver. He's a no brainer. The Jets defense against the Browns is a frisky pick, but with Darrelle Revis back in New York and a talented young front disrupting the trenches, Cleveland could find it difficult to score points. Odell Beckham Jr. is also a great choice, given Dallas' losses in the secondary to injuries this offseason, and his all-world talent. And last but not least, I like the bold move selecting Sam Bradford. I love his potential and have him in DFS lineups this weekend, but for this format I'm just a tad too worried that DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews could scoop up a handful of rushing scores, limiting Bradford's ceiling.
Alex Gelhar's Week 1 lineup
I went with the Tom Brady/Gronk tandem, as I like them to put up a ton of points on Thursday night against the Steelers suspect secondary. With most of Brady's top targets injured, Gronk could be even more heavily targeted than he already is on a normal week. The Bears defense is a mess and in the transition to a 3-4, with players like Jared Allen playing new positions. Given this is the first game for the Packers sans Jordy Nelson, Eddie Lacy could EAT on Sunday. Maybe the Bills defense slows down the Colts enough to force a few field goals? That's why I went with Vinatieri. As for the Vikings D/ST, the 49ers offense has also lost a number of stars, and I think Mike Zimmer's unit is young, talented, and ready to make a splash in prime-time.
Anyway, that's how we're rolling for Week 1. I'm doubting any of us will win the $1 million dollars, but that's OK, we're here to help YOU win it after all. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for NFL Perfect Challenge and prove that you're indeed smarter than all of us. I'll gladly celebrate with you if and when you take home that grand prize. So keep me posted.
-- Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexGelhar.
