Reuters Ireland's Dan Martin completed a hat-trick of grand tour victories when he prevailed in the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia as overall leader Egan Bernal showed his first sign of weakness on Wednesday. Israel Start Up Nation rider Martin led from the breakaway in the 193-km mountain ride from Canazei to Sega di Ala, ahead of Portugal's Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Briton Simon Yates (Team Bike Exchange), who came in second and third, 13 and 30 seconds off the pace respectively. Yates attacked the group of top contenders with four kilometres left in the 11.2-km ascent, at an average gradient of 9.8%, to Sega di Ala, and Bernal followed easily before suddenly coming almost to a halt a kilometre further up.<doc-sep>USA TODAY Sports Fantasy football rankings for Week 1 are based on the point-per-reception (PPR) scoring used in most seasonal and daily fantasy football formats. One point is awarded for every 10 rushing and receiving yards and one point for every 20 passing yards. Six points are awarded for touchdowns scored, four points for passing TDs and one point for receptions. Rankings are compiled by FantasySharks.com. (*- Be sure to check injury/status before kickoff) QUARTERBACKS 1 Tom Brady N.E. vs. Hou. 2 Ben Roethlisberger Pit. at Cle. 3 Matthew Stafford Det. vs. N.Y.-J 4 Russell Wilson Sea. at Den. 5 Aaron Rodgers G.B. vs. Chi. 6 Dak Prescott Dal. at Car. 7 Andrew Luck Ind. vs. Cin. 8 Drew Brees N.O. vs. T.B. 9 Kirk Cousins Min. vs. S.F. 10 Marcus Mariota Ten. at Mia. 11 Nick Foles Phi. vs. Atl. 12 Cam Newton Car. vs. Dal. 13 Blake Bortles Jac. at N.Y.-G 14 Philip Rivers L.A.-C vs. K.C. 15 Alex Smith Was. at Ari. 16 Andy Dalton Cin. at Ind. 17 Deshaun Watson Hou. at N.E. 18 Ryan Tannehill Mia. vs. Ten. 19 Matt Ryan Atl. at Phi. 20 Derek Carr Oak. vs. L.A.-R 21 Ryan Fitzpatrick T.B. at N.O. 22 Jared Goff L.A.-R at Oak. 23 Case Keenum Den. vs. Sea. 24 Mitchell Trubisky Chi. at G.B. 25 Eli Manning N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 26 Patrick Mahomes K.C. at L.A.-C 27 Sam Darnold N.Y.-J at Det. 28 Nathan Peterman Buf. at Bal. 29 Sam Bradford Ari. vs. Was. 30 Joe Flacco Bal. vs. Buf. Fantasy sizzlers/fizzlers: Adrian Peterson, Alfred Morris on the rise RUNNING BACKS 1 Alvin Kamara N.O. vs. T.B. 2 David Johnson Ari. vs. Was. 3 Todd Gurley L.A.-R at Oak. 4 Ezekiel Elliott Dal. at Car. 5 Leonard Fournette Jac. at N.Y.-G 6 Kareem Hunt K.C. at L.A.-C 7 Alex Collins Bal. vs. Buf. 8 Melvin Gordon L.A.-C vs. K.C. 9 Devonta Freeman Atl. at Phi. 10 Dalvin Cook Min. vs. S.F. 11 Christian McCaffrey Car. vs. Dal. 12 LeSean McCoy Buf. at Bal. 13 *Rex Burkhead N.E. vs. Hou. 14 Kenyan Drake Mia. vs. Ten. 15 Jay Ajayi Phi. vs. Atl. 16 Jordan Howard Chi. at G.B. 17 Adrian Peterson Was. at Ari. 18 James Conner Pit. at Cle. 19 Jamaal Williams G.B. vs. Chi. 20 James White N.E. vs. Hou. 21 Kerryon Johnson Det. vs. N.Y.-J 22 Lamar Miller Hou. at N.E. 23 *Marlon Mack Ind. vs. Cin. 24 Javorius Allen Bal. vs. Buf. 25 Bilal Powell N.Y.-J at Det. 26 Giovani Bernard Cin. at Ind. 27 Joe Mixon Cin. at Ind. 28 Tevin Coleman Atl. at Phi. 29 Saquon Barkley N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 30 Peyton Barber T.B. at N.O. 31 Alfred Morris S.F. at Min. 32 Marshawn Lynch Oak. vs. L.A.-R 33 Theo Riddick Det. vs. N.Y.-J 34 Devontae Booker Den. vs. Sea. 35 Carlos Hyde Cle. vs. Pit. 36 C.J. Anderson Car. vs. Dal. 37 Isaiah Crowell N.Y.-J at Det. 38 T.J. Yeldon Jac. at N.Y.-G 39 Mike Gillislee N.O. vs. T.B. 40 Duke Johnson Cle. vs. Pit. 41 Chris Carson Sea. at Den. 42 Corey Clement Phi. vs. Atl. 43 Kenneth Dixon Bal. vs. Buf. 44 Latavius Murray Min. vs. S.F. 45 Dion Lewis Ten. at Mia. 46 Frank Gore Mia. vs. Ten. 47 Chris Thompson Was. at Ari. 48 Derrick Henry Ten. at Mia. 49 Austin Ekeler L.A.-C vs. K.C. 50 Jordan Wilkins Ind. vs. Cin. 51 Samaje Perine Was. at Ari. 52 Spencer Ware K.C. at L.A.-C 53 Jonathan Stewart N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 54 Tarik Cohen Chi. at G.B. 55 Ameer Abdullah Det. vs. N.Y.-J WIDE RECEIVERS 1 Antonio Brown Pit. at Cle. 2 Michael Thomas N.O. vs. T.B. 3 Julio Jones Atl. at Phi. 4 DeAndre Hopkins Hou. at N.E. 5 Chris Hogan N.E. vs. Hou. 6 Jarvis Landry Cle. vs. Pit. 7 Davante Adams G.B. vs. Chi. 8 Kenny Stills Mia. vs. Ten. 9 Keenan Allen L.A.-C vs. K.C. 10 Odell Beckham N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 11 Mike Evans T.B. at N.O. 12 Terrance Williams Dal. at Car. 13 A.J. Green Cin. at Ind. 14 Marvin Jones Det. vs. N.Y.-J 15 Larry Fitzgerald Ari. vs. Was. 16 Stefon Diggs Min. vs. S.F. 17 Brandin Cooks L.A.-R at Oak. 18 Tyreek Hill K.C. at L.A.-C 19 Keelan Cole Jac. at N.Y.-G 20 Devin Funchess Car. vs. Dal. 21 Doug Baldwin Sea. at Den. 22 JuJu Smith-Schuster Pit. at Cle. 23 Adam Thielen Min. vs. S.F. 24 Demaryius Thomas Den. vs. Sea. 25 Golden Tate Det. vs. N.Y.-J 26 Randall Cobb G.B. vs. Chi. 27 Amari Cooper Oak. vs. L.A.-R 28 Nelson Agholor Phi. vs. Atl. 29 Josh Gordon Cle. vs. Pit. 30 Ted Ginn Jr. N.O. vs. T.B. 31 Robert Woods L.A.-R at Oak. 32 T.Y. Hilton Ind. vs. Cin. 33 Corey Davis Ten. at Mia. 34 Robby Anderson N.Y.-J at Det. 35 Michael Crabtree Bal. vs. Buf. 36 DeSean Jackson T.B. at N.O. 37 Cooper Kupp L.A.-R at Oak. 38 Mohamed Sanu Atl. at Phi. 39 Pierre Garcon S.F. at Min. 40 Allen Hurns Dal. at Car. 41 Tyrell Williams L.A.-C vs. K.C. 42 Emmanuel Sanders Den. vs. Sea. 43 Phillip Dorsett N.E. vs. Hou. 44 Will Fuller Hou. at N.E. 45 Sterling Shepard N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 46 Geronimo Allison G.B. vs. Chi. 47 Kelvin Benjamin Buf. at Bal. 48 Donte Moncrief Jac. at N.Y.-G 49 Michael Gallup Dal. at Car. 50 John Ross Cin. at Ind. 51 *Rishard Matthews Ten. at Mia. 52 Allen Robinson Chi. at G.B. 53 Tyler Lockett Sea. at Den. 54 Sammy Watkins K.C. at L.A.-C 55 Kenny Golladay Det. vs. N.Y.-J TIGHT ENDS 1 Rob Gronkowski N.E. vs. Hou. 2 Zach Ertz Phi. vs. Atl. 3 Travis Kelce K.C. at L.A.-C 4 Jack Doyle Ind. vs. Cin. 5 Evan Engram N.Y.-G vs. Jac. 6 Kyle Rudolph Min. vs. S.F. 7 *Greg Olsen Car. vs. Dal. 8 Delanie Walker Ten. at Mia. 9 Jordan Reed Was. at Ari. 10 O.J. Howard T.B. at N.O. 11 Nick Vannett Sea. at Den. 12 *Austin Seferian-Jenkins Jac. at N.Y.-G 13 Charles Clay Buf. at Bal. 14 Tyler Eifert Cin. at Ind. 15 Jimmy Graham G.B. vs. Chi. 16 Geoff Swaim Dal. at Car. 17 Jared Cook Oak. vs. L.A.-R 18 Antonio Gates L.A.-C vs. K.C. 19 Nick Boyle Bal. vs. Buf. 20 Cameron Brate T.B. at N.O. 21 Eric Tomlinson N.Y.-J at Det. 22 Eric Ebron Ind. vs. Cin. 23 Ricky Seals-Jones Ari. vs. Was. 24 Mike Gesicki Mia. vs. Ten. 25 Ben Watson N.O. vs. T.B. 26 Ryan Griffin Hou. at N.E. 27 Tyler Kroft Cin. at Ind. 28 George Kittle S.F. at Min. 29 Vernon Davis Was. at Ari. 30 Trey Burton Chi. at G.B. KICKERS 1 Stephen Gostkowski N.E. vs. Hou. 2 Wil Lutz N.O. vs. T.B. 3 Justin Tucker Bal. vs. Buf. 4 Chris Boswell Pit. at Cle. 5 Greg Zuerlein L.A.-R at Oak. 6 Graham Gano Car. vs. Dal. 7 Josh Lambo Jac. at N.Y.-G 8 Jason Myers N.Y.-J at Det. 9 Phil Dawson Ari. vs. Was. 10 Robbie Gould S.F. at Min. 11 Matt Bryant Atl. at Phi. 12 Jason Sanders Mia. vs. Ten. 13 Daniel Carlson Min. vs. S.F. 14 Harrison Butker K.C. at L.A.-C 15 Jake Elliott Phi. vs. Atl. 16 Ka'imi Fairbairn Hou. at N.E. 17 Steven Hauschka Buf. at Bal. 18 Chandler Catanzaro T.B. at N.O. 19 Brandon McManus Den. vs. Sea. 20 Dustin Hopkins Was. at Ari. 21 Ryan Succop Ten. at Mia. 22 Mason Crosby G.B. vs. Chi. 23 Matt Prater Det. vs. N.Y.-J 24 Mike Nugent Oak. vs. L.A.-R 25 Sebastian Janikowski Sea. at Den. 26 Randy Bullock Cin. at Ind. 27 Adam Vinatieri Ind. vs. Cin. 28 Brett Maher Dal. at Car. 29 Cody Parkey Chi. at G.B. 30 Aldrick Rosas N.Y.-G vs. Jac. DEFENSES 1 Carolina Panthers vs. Dal. 2 Washington Redskins at Ari. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers at Cle. 4 New England Patriots vs. Hou. 5 New Orleans Saints vs. T.B. 6 Chicago Bears at G.B. 7 Detroit Lions vs. N.Y.-J 8 Denver Broncos vs. Sea. 9 Jacksonville Jaguars at N.Y.-G 10 Arizona Cardinals vs. Was. 11 Baltimore Ravens vs. Buf. 12 Seattle Seahawks at Den. 13 Tennessee Titans at Mia. 14 Cincinnati Bengals at Ind.<doc-sep>2018 looks like the Year of the Running Back. It’s anyone’s guess as to who the weekly Top 5 will be, as there at least 10 to 15 names that could stake claim to that tier. Lucky for you, I’m here to give you the competitive edge at fantasy’s most lucrative position. Week 1 RB rankings Rank Player Team Opponent Rank Player Team Opponent 1 Todd Gurley LAR OAK 2 Alvin Kamara NO TB 3 David Johnson ARI WAS 4 Melvin Gordon LAC KC 5 Leonard Fournette JAX NYG 6 Ezekiel Elliott DAL CAR 7 Christian McCaffrey CAR DAL 8 Kareem Hunt KC LAC 9 Saquon Barkley NYG JAX 10 Alex Collins BAL BUF 11 Devonta Freeman ATL PHI 12 Joe Mixon CIN IND 13 Jordan Howard CHI GB 14 Dalvin Cook MIN SF 15 Rex Burkhead NE HOU 16 Royce Freeman DEN SEA 17 Jamaal Williams GB CHI 18 Derrick Henry TEN MIA 19 Lamar Miller HOU NE 20 Carlos Hyde CLE PIT 21 Jay Ajayi PHI ATL 22 James Conner PIT CLE 23 Marshawn Lynch OAK LAR 24 LeSean McCoy BUF BAL 25 Alfred Morris SF MIN 26 Dion Lewis TEN MIA 27 Chris Carson SEA DEN 28 Adrian Peterson WAS ARI 29 Kenyan Drake MIA TEN 30 Tevin Coleman ATL PHI 31 Peyton Barber TB NO 32 James White NE HOU 33 Tarik Cohen CHI GB 34 Chris Thompson WAS ARI 35 Matt Breida SF MIN 36 Kerryon Johnson DET NYJ 37 Jordan Wilkins IND CIN 38 Duke Johnson Jr. CLE PIT 39 Giovani Bernard CIN IND 40 Frank Gore MIA TEN 41 Bilal Powell NYJ DET 42 Latavius Murray MIN SF 43 Corey Clement PHI ATL 44 Isaiah Crowell NYJ DET 45 Sony Michel NE HOU 46 Theo Riddick DET NYJ 47 Javorius "Buck" Allen BAL BUF 48 Mike Gillislee NO TB 49 Doug Martin OAK LAR 50 Devontae Booker DEN SEA<doc-sep>
Week 1 of the fantasy football season is finally here and unlike in previous years, most of the running backs made it through the preseason unscathed. Unless of course, you drafted Jerick McKinnon in the third round on three of your fantasy teams. And there's also the unresolved matter of whether Le'Veon Bell will make a surprise appearance or frustrate those owners that took him early in the first round by letting his contract holdout carry over into Week 1. A no-show is looking more and more likely, so if you have Bell start working on your Plan B. And maybe go pick up James Conner, if he's available. The good news is that every team is playing in Week 1, but a flush RB pool also can lead to some tough roster decisions if you went heavy on the position in your draft. As a general rule of thumb, trust your studs if you were fortunate to land one or two of them. As for the rest, hopefully these rankings will help you sort through your options. Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K I Flex Rk Player Team Opp 1 Todd Gurley LAR at OAK (Mon.) 2 David Johnson ARI vs. WAS 3 Alvin Kamara NO vs. TB 4 Melvin Gordon LAC vs. KC 5 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at CAR 6 Christian McCaffrey CAR vs. DAL 7 Leonard Fournette JAC at NYG 8 Kareem Hunt KC at LAC 9 Saquon Barkley NYG vs. JAC 10 Dalvin Cook MIN vs. SF 11 Joe Mixon CIN at IND 12 Alex Collins BAL vs. BUF 13 Jordan Howard CHI at GB 14 Devonta Freeman ATL at PHI (Thurs.) 15 Le'Veon Bell PIT at CLE 16 LeSean McCoy BUF at BAL 17 Kenyan Drake MIA vs. TEN 18 Lamar Miller HOU at NE 19 Derrick Henry TEN at MIA 20 Jay Ajayi PHI vs. ATL (Thurs.) 21 Royce Freeman DEN vs. SEA 22 Jamaal Williams GB vs. CHI 23 Rex Burkhead NE vs. HOU 24 Carlos Hyde CLE vs. PIT 25 Marshawn Lynch OAK vs. LAR (Mon.) 26 Dion Lewis TEN at MIA 27 Peyton Barber TB at NO 28 Tevin Coleman ATL at PHI (Thurs.) 29 Chris Carson SEA at DEN 30 Adrian Peterson WAS at ARI 31 Isaiah Crowell NYJ at DET (Mon.) 32 Duke Johnson CLE vs. PIT 33 Bilal Powell NYJ at DET (Mon.) 34 Kerryon Johnson DET vs. NYJ (Mon.) 35 Chris Thompson WAS at ARI 36 Alfred Morris SF at MIN 37 Tarik Cohen CHI at GB 38 Jordan Wilkins IND vs. CIN 39 Matt Breida SF at MIN 40 James White NE vs. HOU 41 Ty Montgomery GB vs. CHI 42 James Conner PIT at CLE 43 Giovani Bernard CIN at IND 44 Sony Michel NE vs. HOU 45 Marlon Mack IND vs. CIN 46 Devontae Booker DEN vs. SEA 47 Latavius Murray MIN vs. SF 48 C.J. Anderson CAR vs. DAL 49 Rashaad Penny SEA at DEN 50 LeGarrette Blount DET vs. NYJ (Mon.) — Written by Michael Horvath, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Horvath is a Canadian who also happens to be a fantasy football (not to be confused with CFL) and fitness nut. Follow him on Twitter @realmikehorvath.