Fantasy Football: 7 Quarterbacks With Favorable Early-Season Schedules

Kirk Cousins, Washington

Sticking with the NFC East, last year's late-season darling in Kirk Cousins may not stop wrecking defenses just yet. Things set up well for him to continue to shine in 2016.

Cousins and company start the season off with a relatively tough task against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were ninth last year in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play. However, the over/under of 50.5 for that game is tied for the highest in Week 1, meaning we should still see a good number of points. Then the schedule eases up a bit.

Cousins goes on to face the Cowboys in Week 2, a team that ranked 19th against the pass last year. They (thankfully) allowed Greg Hardy to walk after the season, and both Randy Gregory and Rolando McClain will miss the game with a suspension. This is all before the season even starts, so it's hard to have a ton of optimism in the team's defense.

In drafting Cousins, you have the bonus advantage of potentially snagging a quality passer you can use the whole season. When DeSean Jackson was healthy last year, Cousins averaged 22.83 fantasy points per game, and the team added wide receiver Josh Doctson in the first round of the draft. Washington has the weapons to excel through the air, and without a competent rushing game to lean on, they should have plenty of volume, as well.