As promised, let’s pay our respects to the kickers and defense/special teams units that help us decide our fantasy fates each and every season…once again, these are 15-game projections.

Let’s revisit the color-coding system before we start:

Red – A very difficult matchup. For lower-level players, a red matchup means they should not be used in fantasy that week. For a second- or third-tier player, drop your expectations for them at least one grade that week (i.e. from WR2 to WR3). For elite players, expect them to perform one level lower than their usual status (i.e. RB1 performs like a RB2).

Yellow – Keep expectations fairly low in this matchup. For lower-level players, a yellow matchup is a borderline start at best. For a second- or third-tier player, they can probably overcome the matchup if things fall right. For the elite players, expect slightly better than average production.

White – Basically, this matchup is one that could go either way. In some cases, I just don’t feel like I have a good feel yet for this defense. Generally speaking, these matchups are winnable matchups for all levels of players.

Green – It doesn’t get much better than this. For non-elite players, the stage is basically set for said player to exploit the matchup. For the elite player, this matchup should produce special numbers..

Instead of waiting until the end of the preseason to search for the next Victor Cruz (like I did here last season), I’m going to provide a list of under-the-radar players who impressed me in the previous week of preseason action). Since I don’t make it a habit to watch all 16 exhibition games in the final week of the preseason, I will start with Week 1’s “standouts” this week and continue on over the next two weeks. The main difference between what I did last year and what I will do this year, however, is simply identify players who I believe made their case to move up the depth chart. And this isn’t so much about who performed well in the box score, but more about skill-position players who did their job well. If nothing else, don’t hesitate to queue these players on your dynasty watch list (in no particular order):

Week 1: Armanti Edwards, WR Carolina; Brice Butler, WR Oakland; Jaron Brown, WR Arizona; C.J. Anderson, RB Denver (out 4-6 weeks); Rex Burkhead, RB Cincinnati; Jermaine Kearse, WR Seattle; Travaris Cadet, RB New Orleans, Ace Sanders, WR Jacksonville; Marquess Wilson, WR Chicago; Michael Cox, RB NY Giants

Next: PPR Big Board

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