With fantasy football so popular, we decided to start our own Outsports team comprised of players who are LGBT supportive.

With no openly gay players in the league, the idea is to form a fantasy team from players who have shown their support for LGBT issues in interviews with us and other media.

It’s a dynamic group with stars at every position, especially quarterback and tight end. We will use traditional scoring based on Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Everyone — starters and bench — is LGBT supportive. Starters are picked on their fantasy potential that week.

Week 2 starters

QB: Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals
Palmer is facing an abysmal Indianapolis Colts defense that allowed Jared Goff to throw for more than 300 yards last week. I can’t imagine what the Colts defense would allow an established veteran like Palmer to do. And with David Johnson out for a while, expect Arizona to throw the ball a little more often than they have been.

RB: DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
Murray got the bulk of the carries over second-year back Derrick Henry last week against Oakland. Expect him to be a huge focal point in the offense again on Sunday as Tennessee faces division rival Jacksonville.

RB: Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
People may be down on Howard because of the breakout performance of his rookie backup Tarik Cohen, but Howard was still the second-best running back last season in terms of yards and is still worthy of a starting spot on our fantasy team this week.

WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
Hopkins was the most targeted receiver in the league last week with 16 targets. He hauled in seven of those targets and most of the non-catches were interference calls he drew. He is clearly the top option for the Texans and no matter who he has at quarterback, he always finds a way to produce.

WR: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
Hilton is in the same boat as Hopkins. He is head and shoulders above everyone in terms of skill player talent. Even with Scott Tolzien at quarterback, he still had 57 receiving yards. It’s questionable as to whether we will see Tolzien or newly acquired Jacoby Brissett at quarterback this week, but Hilton still has fantasy value.

Flex: Eric Decker, Tennessee Titans
As the second Titan in the mix, I like what Decker can create this season fantasy-wise. He might even be a free agent in some leagues given he is overlooked. But if you are a gay football fan and you overlook Decker, SHAME ON YOU! Despite only three catches for 10 yards last week, I like Decker’s chances of bouncing back this week with Jacksonville’s cornerbacks focused on Rishard Matthews and Corey Davis.

TE: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Gronk had a clunker last week against Kansas City. However, he is facing a much lighter defense in Week 2 in the Saints. New Orleans defense allowed touchdown to Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph last week, and I expect the Saints to allow another tight end touchdown to Gronkowski this week.

D/ST: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers defense looked strong last week against a subpar San Francisco squad, and they land another favorable matchup in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo did not have much luck on offense last week outside of LeSean McCoy, and if they can contain him at home, the Panthers will be a solid fantasy option. Linebacker Thomas Davis is an LGBT-friendly starter on this team.

K: Matt Prater, Detroit Lions
Prater nailed a 58-yarder last week against the Cardinals. Granted, it was indoors, and he will not have that luxury this week at the Meadowlands under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, but the dude’s got a leg.

Week 2 Bench

QB
Cam Newton (Panthers)
Andrew Luck (Colts)
Aaron Rodgers (Packers)

RB
Mike Tolbert (Bills)
Gio Bernard (Bengals)
Frank Gore (Colts)
WR
Marquis Goodwin (49ers)
Robert Woods (Rams)

TE
Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
Greg Olsen (Panthers)
Martellus Bennett (Packers)
Coby Fleener (Saints)
Delanie Walker (Titans)

K
Brandon McManus (Broncos)

LGBT focus
Matt Prater, K, Detroit Lions

“Everybody should be equal and treated the same. We would treat any [gay] player with open arms. We are all family in the locker room. I don’t think it would be a big deal or anybody would care too much. Especially if they are good ball players, we welcome them all. We just want to win football and try to win games.”

Read more on these players’ LGBT views:

Jeremy Brener is a student at the University of Central Florida who writes for Outsports. He can be reached via email ([email protected]) and followed on Twitter.

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