Alfred Blue, RB HOU – Arian Foster’s absence presents a unique opportunity for Alfred Blue. The Texans finished with the most rushing attempts in the NFL last season, and that probably won’t change much in 2015. With question marks at quarterback and a lack of experience at receiver, relying on the running game will be a top priority for Houston.

The one caveat may be the threat of a RBBC with Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk, and the eventual return of Foster. We should certainly expect shared responsibility in the Texans background to some degree, but Blue will be the lead dog. Head coach Bill O’Brien’s history reveals he’s more reliant on a primary back, dating back to his offensive coordinator days in New England in 2011. Blue is the superior player between Grimes and Polk, which makes him the odds-on favorite to win the starting spot. I wouldn’t expect Foster-type numbers from Blue, but with the opportunities he’s sure to get, his production could yield low-end RB2 numbers.

Rookie Ameer Abdullah's shows flashes of big-play ability more than any other Lions running back.

Ameer Abdullah, RB DET – Ameer Abdullah has received a ton of love from fantasy pundits this offseason, and from the looks of his preseason exploits so far, that affection is warranted. He’s a quick, one-cut runner who gives the Lions offense the kind of explosion it’s missed since Jahvid Best several years ago. Many in Detroit initially viewed him as a change-of-pace runner—a really nice complement to last year’s starter Joique Bell. But rave reviews from those witnessing Lions practice everyday, coupled with his production in preseason games have catapulted his value.

Bell (Achilles, knee) continues to recover from offseason surgery, which is giving Abdullah all the opportunity he may need to never relinquish the starting spot. Perhaps the one thing that can derail Abdullah’s skyrocketing appeal is Detroit deciding to utilize versatile RB Theo Riddick and Bell when he returns. But even with Riddick and Bell cutting into Abdullah’s production, his dynamic playmaking ability will more than make up for it. While his value continues to increase, be sure not to overpay for him. At the right price, though, Abdullah could be one of the steals of the draft.

Jeremy Maclin, WR KC – Maclin’s arrival in Kansas City immediately makes him the team’s best outside weapon, by far. He joins a squad that last year was unable to throw a touchdown to a wide receiver. That fact may be remedied by halftime of the season opener. While playing in Philly, Maclin returned last year after blowing out his knee in training camp in 2013, and all he did was put up the best numbers of his career (85/1318/10).

The Chiefs did not have a player with more than 100 targets in 2014. That, I believe, was due to the dearth of talent at the position. Maclin’s presence will allow head coach Andy Reid to open up the playbook in a way that he was unable to last season. And Maclin’s experience will be counted on, too. Other than ten-year veteran Jason Avant, no other receiver on the roster has more than three years of experience. Consequently, Maclin will be fed the ball early and often.

Sam Bradford, QB PHI – Call me crazy, but I’m a huge believer in Sam Bradford this season. While it helps that he now plays in a QB-friendly system, truth be told, I was high on him before his trade to the Eagles. When last we saw Bradford, it was 2013 and he was in the midst of putting together a solid season. In the seven games in which he played before blowing out his knee, he averaged 241 passing yards and two TDs per game—and his four interceptions through those seven games proved he could take care of the ball.

And now he’s in Chip Kelly’s fantasy-friendly offense. Kelly handpicked Bradford to lead his fast break attack, and that spells great things as far as I’m concerned. Discussions about Bradford, of course, inevitably come back to his proneness to injury. I usually don’t put much stock in a quarterbacks’s fragility when gauging their prospects, since the league does everything it can to protect the signal callers. Once Bradford is healthy and able to put it all together for a full 16-game season, look out.

Ronnie Hillman / Montee Ball, RB DEN – All the C.J. Anderson love being tossed about is allowing Montee Ball’s draft stock to plummet. Amazing what a simple injury can do to a player’s (especially a RB) outlook. Bell went into 2014 as one of the top RB2’s in fantasy football. Anderson, to his credit, took advantage of Ball’s (and Hillman’s) injury and rode many a fantasy owner into championship contention single-handedly. The bottom-half of the first round is where Anderson is going in drafts. That’s way too expensive for my liking for a player with fewer than a half-dozen productive games. Therefore, selecting Ronnie Hillman or Ball along with their high 12th-round ADP is a sound investment—certainly much more than high risk/high reward of selecting Anderson.

Martellus Bennett, TE CHI – Bennett surprised many by putting up career-best numbers (90-916-6) in terms of receptions, yards and TD catches, and that production came as the fourth option in Chicago’s passing game behind Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte. Now with Marshall with the Jets and rookie Kevin White sidelined presumably for the entire season, Bennett could conceivably become Chicago’s second option behind Jeffery. It’s unclear how much Forte will be involved in the passing game this season, but rest assured, Bennett’s role has become more prominent with the absence of others. If all goes well, Bennett could battle Jimmy Graham for fantasy’s No.2 TE by the conclusion of 2015 campaign.