Fantasy Football: 3 Colts Players That Could Surprise in Week 1

This post comes from Justin Becker of FantasyFootballOverdose.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NBAandNFLInfo or on the Fantasy Football Overdose Google+ Page, and for more Fantasy Football Player Rankings visit Fantasy Football Overdose.

The Indianapolis Colts have quite the challenge on their hands in week one, as they head to Colorado to take on the Denver Broncos. The reigning AFC champs put up the best offensive production the league has ever seen through the air in 2013, and nothing suggests anything will be different in 2014.

The Colts do have a feather in their cap after upending the Broncos in Peyton Manning’s dramatic return last year, but that game was still a shootout and it’s unlikely Manning and co. plan on losing meeting number two at home.

Naturally, Andrew Luck and his Colt counterparts are going to have to be just as good as they were a year ago, if not better. That won’t be easy on the road, especially given the fact that Denver has taken extreme measures to get even better on defense. An already fairly solid defense now boasts extra beef in the pass rush via DeMarcus Ware, while Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward solidify a revamped secondary.

On paper, the Colts have their work cut out for them to keep up with the Broncos. Obviously Luck and T.Y. Hilton are pegged as potential fantasy football studs in this matchup, but they’re not the only guys fantasy owners may want to use in this matchup. To help you dig a little bit deeper, let’s pry out three more Colts options that could do well enough in Week 1 to warrant a spot in your fantasy football team’s lineup:

Ahmad Bradshaw (Running Back)

Trent Richardson is the back everyone wants to see succeed, but he’s lately been better at running into the backs of his own linemen than actually producing. Truly, he’s shaping up as a complete waste, and if he doesn’t get it going against a tough Broncos run defense, he could give way to Bradshaw.

The beauty is the Colts know this already, so Bradshaw should be mixed in initially. Considering he’s a better, more complete back than the seemingly plodding T-Rich, he’s a sneaky Flex play that could end up paying off.

Hakeem Nicks (Wide Receiver)

Nicks is an interesting guy that carries the most upside out of the options in this list, as Indy apparently plans on passing the ball more to set up the run. He’s a bit of a forgotten man as Indy’s third wide receiver, too, and could be very active in a likely shootout.

Nicks still has that size/athleticism combo that defenses hate going up against. As a #1 or #2 guy, sure, he has question marks after a down 2013 season with the New York Giants. As a borderline afterthought that stands third in the pecking order? He just might be fantasy football gold. Nicks is obviously a bit of a risk, but he still carries major upside thanks to the matchup and his physical skill-set. He might have a shot at WR3 value if all goes well this week.

Dwayne Allen (Tight End)

Allen might be the sneakiest guy listed here, as he missed 15 games last year due to injury and some may be overlooking him. Part of that has to do with Coby Fleener stepping up last year and the team getting Reggie Wayne back. However, Allen is a more complete tight end when compared to Fleener, and should see the field much more.

Denver has upgraded their defense, but they do still have some issues at linebacker. That could open the door for the tight end position to be featured more than some may think as we get going in week one. While Fleener might jump out as the tight end to use in Indy, it’s actually going to be Allen, who is the true starter and stays on the field more due to his run blocking prowess.