Fantasy Football Previews - Week 1 - New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans

New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans
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Patriots

Offensive line questions notwithstanding, click Tom Brady into your lineup.

Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker are locks. Brandon Lloyd is still getting his footing with No. 12, so while he's certainly usable, he might underwhelm initially.

With Shane Vereen inactive, Stevan Ridley will carry the load. It'll be less of a typical New England shuffle, and Danny Woodhead's cameos won't be enough to convince you to bench Ridley.

Titans

Most running backs facing the Pats should expect a busy day, if only to keep their offense on the sidelines. Chris Johnson should be in all lineups anyway.

Kenny Britt's suspension opens things up for Nate Washington, Kendall Wright and Jared Cook to test a shaky Patriots secondary. All make fine installations.

The problem: Jake Locker's up-and-down preseason might corrupt the connections with his targets, despite the tasty matchup. He's worth a play if you drafted a QBBC.

Don't forget to check out all of this week's fantasy football rankings, sleepers, news and more through our free fantasy football weekly newsletter!

Patriots fantasy football rankings

Pos Rk	Fan Value	Player
6	1	Tom Brady
17	2	Stevan Ridley
48	Bench	Danny Woodhead
--	OUT	Shane Vereen
11	1 or 2	Wes Welker
45	3 or flex	Brandon Lloyd
--	RELEASED	Deion Branch
3	1	Rob Gronkowski
8	1	Aaron Hernandez

Titans fantasy football rankings

Pos Rk	Fan Value	Player
17	1 or bench	Jake Locker
7	1	Chris Johnson
64	Bench	Javon Ringer
20	2	Nate Washington
27	2 or 3	Kendall Wright
--	SUSP	Kenny Britt
27	Flex or bench	Jared Cook

Access all of this week's fantasy football player rankings and cheat sheets.

Have a starting lineup question? Poll other KFFLians and get the answers you need through our Who do I start? tool.

Patriots latest news and notes

Patriots | Aaron Hernandez directly tied to homicide?

Updating a previous report, a law enforcement source said Wednesday, June 19, that New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez has not been ruled out as a suspect in the totality of the homicide investigation. The source said Hernandez appears to be directly tied to the homicide of a 27-year-old Boston man. Investigators believe the altercation and murder might be drug related, specifically marijuana.

Patriots | More on Aaron Hernandez investigation

Updating this ongoing report, New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez is not believed to be a suspect in the murder of Odin Lloyd, a former Boston Bandits semipro linebacker and the boyfriend of his girlfriend's sister. Hernandez was questioned by police Monday, June 17, and had his house searched for more than two and a half hours Tuesday, June 18, by police investigators. Hernandez has been plagued by off-field issues dating from his days at the University of Florida, including marijuana use and participation in gang activities by some of his friends in Bristol, Conn.

Patriots | Aaron Hernandez will have rental car searched

Investigators in a homicide case plan to search a rental car registered to New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez Wednesday, June 19, two days after a man's body was found near the car roughly a mile from Hernandez's home. The investigation is expected to continue through this week, and Hernandez cooperated with police Tuesday, June 18. Odin Lloyd was shot in the head and his body was discovered not far from where the vehicle Hernandez rented, according to sources.

Patriots | Aaron Hernandez allegedly shot someone in the face

New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez was sued earlier this month for allegedly shooting someone in the face following an incident in Miami. The case was dismissed four days after it was filed, which could indicate the two sides reached a settlement. The victim claims he suffered serious damage including the loss of his right eye and needed surgery on his face and arm.

Patriots | Rob Gronkowski to open camp on PUP

New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (forearm, back) will begin the preseason on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Want more? Access our New England Patriots news, injuries and rumors....

Titans latest news and notes

Titans | Justin Hunter does drills

Tennessee Titans WR Justin Hunter (hamstring) participated in individual drills Wednesday, June 19, the final day of the club's OTAs.

Titans | Bernard Pollard thinks team can win it all

Tennessee Titans SS Bernard Pollard said the believes the Titans have the talent to win the Super Bowl and need to have aggressive attitude on defense. "Our goal is the Super Bowl, and our mission is to kill," Pollard said. And if someone doesn't like it, then who cares? I really couldn't care less. It is not our responsibility to make anyone else happy, to please you, to care about you. Our responsibility is to protect LP Field and our responsibility is to steal wins on the road. And our responsibility is to (beat you up) as a defense, and that's what we're going to do on every single play. You have to have that mentality because nobody cares about the Tennessee Titans. Nobody. So you have to take the respect. That's what we have to do."

Titans | Blidi Wreh-Wilson agrees to terms

The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with third-round draft choice CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson on a four-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Titans | Barry Richardson agrees to terms

The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with free-agent OT Barry Richardson (Rams). Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Titans | Jake Locker progressing

Tennessee Titans QB Jake Locker hasn't missed a practice so far during his ahead-of-schedule recovery from January surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. He's keeping up with the new playbook from offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and has cut down on his mistakes in drills.

Want more? Access our Tennessee Titans news, injuries and rumors....

Patriots - Week 1 injury report

PROBABLE	SS Patrick Chung (shoulder)
QUESTIONABLE	CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring), TE Daniel Fells (shin), OG Nick McDonald (shoulder), OT Sebastian Vollmer (back), CB Sterling Moore (knee)
OUT	RB Shane Vereen (foot)
PUP	DL Myron Pryor (undisclosed), TE Jake Ballard (knee)
INJURED RESERVE	OG Jamey Richard (concussion), TE Visanthe Shiancoe (hamstring), TE Brad Herman (leg), LB Dane Fletcher (knee), RB Jeff Demps (leg), FB Spencer Larsen (undisclosed), CB Will D. Allen (undisclosed), FS Josh Barrett (undisclosed)

Titans - Week 1 injury report

QUESTIONABLE	DL Scott Solomon (knee), DL Jurrell Casey (elbow), LB Zac Diles (hamstring)
DOUBTFUL	DL Sen'Derrick Marks (knee)
OUT	OT Mike Otto (finger/knee)
PUP	FS Markelle Martin (knee)
INJURED RESERVE	OG Ryan Durand (leg), DL Leger Douzable (shoulder), C Eugene Amano (triceps), LB Kevin Malast (leg), LB Alex Watkins (ankle), DL Dave Ball (concussion), LB Gerald McRath (knee), WR Marc Mariani (leg)

Patriots fantasy football leaders and statistics

Player Name	Pos	Fan Pts	PaYd	PaTD	Run	RuYd	RuTD	Rec	ReYd	ReTD
Brady, Tom	QB	423.00	5491	38	26	36	4	0	0	0
Ridley, Stevan	RB	217.00	0	0	323	1415	13	7	64	0
Welker, Wes	WR	195.00	0	0	2	20	0	134	1602	7
Gronkowski, Rob	TE	141.00	0	0	0	0	0	55	790	11
Lloyd, Brandon	WR	124.00	0	0	0	0	0	86	1013	5
Woodhead, Danny	RB	104.00	0	0	80	312	4	41	458	3
Vereen, Shane	RB	92.00	0	0	73	308	4	15	254	3
Hernandez, Aaron	TE	90.00	0	0	2	11	0	66	651	5
Edelman, Julian	WR	41.00	0	0	4	45	0	21	235	3
Bolden, Brandon	RB	37.00	0	0	56	274	2	2	11	0
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Titans fantasy football leaders and statistics

Player Name	Pos	Fan Pts	PaYd	PaTD	Run	RuYd	RuTD	Rec	ReYd	ReTD
Locker, Jake	QB	155.00	2176	10	41	291	1	0	0	0
Washington, Nate	WR	90.00	0	0	0	0	0	46	746	4
Hasselbeck, Matt	QB	88.00	1367	7	13	38	0	0	0	0
Britt, Kenny	WR	80.00	0	0	0	0	0	45	589	4
Wright, Kendall	WR	79.00	0	0	1	4	0	64	626	4
Johnson, Chris	RB	71.00	0	0	149	527	2	21	139	0
Cook, Jared	TE	70.00	0	0	0	0	0	44	523	4
Williams, Damian	WR	26.00	0	0	0	0	0	30	324	0
Stevens, Craig	TE	21.00	0	0	0	0	0	20	215	1
Harper, Jamie	RB	19.00	0	0	19	30	3	1	8	0
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Patriots depth chart

QB	RB	FB	WR (Left)	WR (Right)	TE	PK

Titans depth chart

WR (Left)

WR (Right)