Fantasy Football: 10 Bold Predictions for Week 1

A 100-Yard Rusher & a 2-Touchdown Buster

Adrian Peterson Will Rush for 100+ Yards

At 33 years old, running back Adrian Peterson will take on the Arizona Cardinals Sunday night in his fourth uniform in two years. And Washington looks ready to feed the future Hall-of-Famer behind a (finally) healthy offensive line.

There is not a lot of sizzle left in the tank for AD, but we've seen him turn large workloads into big performances as recently as last year. Plus, his performance early in the season at peak health figures to be better than what we will see from him in December.

Peterson rushed for over 100 yards in two of six games in Arizona last year, going for 134 yards on 26 carries in his first game in red. He followed that up 2 games later with 159 yards on 37(!!!) carries against the 49ers.

In what should be an evenly matched battle (currently a pick 'em on most sites), Washington should stick to their game plan of featuring Peterson behind a sneaky good offensive line. Positive game script should give him the volume he needs to break off a few long runs and hit the 100-yard threshold.

Mike Gillslee Will Score 2 Touchdowns

As the President and CEO of the Mike Gillislee Fan Club, I have to admit I'm a bit biased. But I really think Gilly is an effective NFL running back.

In his two seasons with at least 100 carries, he has posted Rushing Success Rates of 57.43% in 2016 and 47.12% in 2017. League averages were 40.28% and 38.08% in each of those years, respectively.

He is also a supremely efficient touchdown scorer. With a touchdown rate of 7.9% and 4.8%, compared to a running back league average of 2.4%, scoring touchdowns is what Gillislee does best. Now he is one of only two running backs on the entire New Orleans Saints' roster behind supernova Alvin Kamara.

And this game should be a beatdown in favor of the Saints, who could look to grind clock and set up residence in the Bucs' red zone. Gillislee is a sneaky bet for a dozen touches, and I'm betting he finds the end zone twice in this one.

It's gonna be a party on Gilly Island, and you're all invited!