Making lineup decisions can be the most frustrating — or most rewarding — part of fantasy football. We’re to help you make those decisions with our fantasy start ’em/sit ’em picks.
Given that it’s Week 1, don’t get too bold with any decisions, but you can still do your best to play matchups.
Let’s take a look at our top Week 1 start/sit plays.
Which Players Should You Start in Week 1?
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
Most likely, Matthew Stafford is not on your radar as a Week 1 starter in a 1QB league, and for the majority of people, rightly so. He was nowhere near the top 12 quarterbacks in draft rankings, and mostly we stick with our main draft picks when making Week 1 decisions. However, this is a fantastic spot for the Los Angeles Rams offense to open the season.
The Detroit Lions’ defense is expected to be better than its 23rd ranking in terms of points allowed last year, but the unit will still struggle at times. That starts this week in a game that the sportsbooks have projected as the highest-scoring game of the week at 51 points.
In 2023, Detroit allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They allowed over 25 points on the scoreboard on eight occasions, and in the playoff game between the two, Stafford threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns to finish with 22.7 fantasy points.
If you are not comfortable with your Week 1 starting option for any reason, then Stafford could be a great option to mix things up this week.
Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos (at SEA)
Javonte Williams has been one of the biggest risers on my draft board from the start of the summer to now. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it — the starting running back on an offense that throws to running backs more than any other team in the league should at least be a floor-based RB2. Yet, Williams was priced as an RB3.
With the Denver Broncos cutting Samaje Perine, this is going to be a two-man backfield featuring Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin. Both guys will get their touches, but Williams is the clear favorite for goal-line work. That bodes well against a Seattle Seahawks run defense that allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to the position in 2023.
The Seahawks also allowed a healthy 19% target share to running backs last season. Meanwhile, the Broncos threw to their running backs 32.1% of the time.
Williams is now another year removed from his knee injury. He’s a starting running back in the NFL, and the Week 1 matchup is favorable. You can trust him as an RB2 this week.
Gus Edwards, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)
The Los Angeles Chargers are intriguing because their likely game plan is to run the ball down their opponent’s throats, especially with Justin Herbert potentially limited to opening Week 1. This week, they got a nice matchup against a Raiders team that allowed an average of 118.5 rushing yards and 0.88 touchdowns per game to their opponents last season.
The Chargers are favored in this game and despite their late-season blowout loss to this very same opponent, we do not expect them to be in a negative game script in Week 1. Therefore, Edwards should be able to feast. J.K. Dobbins will likely be involved, but in his first game back after a major injury, Edwards should see the majority of the work.
Playing for the Baltimore Ravens last year, Edwards had 13 touchdowns, which should make him the favorite for the goal-line carries to open the season. I like him to score this week, which should be enough to put him in RB2 territory.
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WAS)
We don’t want to presume the Washington Commanders will pick up where they left off as being one of the worst pass defenses of all time. It’s also unwise to assume they are suddenly a defense to avoid.
The Commanders were the gift that kept on giving last season. They allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Per TruMedia, they also allowed the third-most points per game to the slot.
After seeing the lowest slot rate of his career last season, Chris Godwin is returning to his primary slot spot this season. He should feast on a suspect Washington secondary in what could be a sneakily high-scoring game.
Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
How much did the Philadelphia Eagles improve their defense? We’re about to find out. Last year, they managed to surpass the Commanders as the worst pass defense in the NFL by the end of the season.
No team allowed more fantasy points per game to the position than the Eagles. Against the slot, they were even worse, allowing a full 2.0 points per game more than the next worst team.
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Jayden Reed was the most talented wide receiver on the Packers last season. He managed to average 13.6 points per game. He also lined up in the slot 67% of the time.
The Packers have four WRs who could pop any given week. There’s no guarantee it will be Reed in Week 1, but based on the matchup and the potential for a lot of points, this is a good spot to gamble on the upside.
Colby Parkinson, TE, Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
There is a clear top 12 at tight end. Odds are, each manager in your fantasy league drafted one of them. You probably don’t need to dig deep this early in the season.
But, if you do, Colby Parkinson has sneaky appeal.
This projects to be the highest-scoring game of the first week. With Tyler Higbee still recovering from his torn ACL, Parkinson has been operating as the clear TE1. He may very well be a near-every-down player.
Last season, the Lions allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. We’ve seen Higbee be a TE1 in the past. Parkinson hasn’t done much to this point in his career, but he’s in the right spot to be a surprise TE1 this season. Or, at the very least, this week.
Which Players Should You Sit in Week 1?
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
Brock Purdy is one of the more fascinating fantasy options on a weekly basis. You rarely walk away from watching one of his games feeling wowed by his performance, but over the course of a season, he is a reliable fantasy option. Last year, he averaged 18.5 fantasy points per game, only scoring below 10 fantasy points twice all year.
However, starting Purdy this week is a tough sell because as bad as the New York Jets were last year, their defense was not the problem.
Despite getting very little help from their offense, the Jets allowed 13.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last year. They just were not a team you wanted to play your QB against, unless you had no choice.
Purdy’s two failures last year came against the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, who were among the best defenses in the league last year. He played well against some other good defenses, but the Jets were in that range of the Browns and 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers are going to be just fine, but it’s possible they start off the season a bit slow, having been without Christian McCaffrey or Brandon Aiyuk for pretty much the entirety of training camp. Leave Purdy on the bench in Week 1 if you can.
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers (at ATL)
It’s fascinating how the fantasy community reacts differently to similar things. Jaylen Warren’s hamstring injury is not considered serious, and he already said he is playing Week 1. Yet, it depressed his ADP and raised that of Najee Harris.
I do think Harris is being a bit undervalued this season, as he fits perfectly into what Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coornidator Arthur Smith wants to do. However, Week 1 does not project favorably for the Steelers second-best running back.
Last season, the Atlanta Falcons were strong against the RB position, allowing the fourth-fewest points per game to running backs. While it’s a new year, this is also a new and improved Falcons team. Their massive upgrades offensively might pose a huge problem for Harris’ Week 1 workload.
The Falcons are only field-goal home favorites over the Steelers. However, there’s real blowout potential here. If the Falcons’ offense is as good as Drake London drafters believe it will be, they could, for lack of a better term, “come out blasting.”
If the Falcons go up, that means the Steelers can’t just pound the ball with Harris. We would see more pass plays and, thus, more Warren. Harris likely needs to fall into the end zone to return fantasy value this week.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers (at NO)
With Jonathon Brooks out for at least the first four weeks of the season, Chuba Hubbard projects for a pretty nice role early on. He will definitely have usable weeks. Unfortunately, this may not be one of them.
The New Orleans Saints were one of the best defenses against running backs last season, allowing the sixth-fewest points per game to the position.
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Although we may see a new-look Carolina Panthers offense featuring better weapons and an improved Bryce Young, they may struggle to move the ball on the ground if the Saints are as good as they were last year. Do not force Hubbard into lineups this week.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
Brandon Aiyuk is going to be a bit of a headache for fantasy managers this week. Realistically, it does not make sense to bench a top-20 WR option, but there are some mitigating factors here.
We already discussed the Jets’ defense and their ability against the pass. Sauce Gardner is as close to an elite CB as it gets right now, and he is likely to have plenty of coverage assignments against Aiyuk. Even if Gardner does travel with Aiyuk, D.J. Reed is a good secondary corner, so things will not get significantly easier.
Additionally, Aiyuk has not been practicing with the team this summer due to his contract dispute. He now has a new contract, but that came on Thursday last week. That means Aiyuk will have had just a handful of days of practice before stepping on the field in Week 1.
Aiyuk is a very good receiver, and he knows this system, but without any practice, there is a risk he is not in game shape. That could mean he is either used as a decoy or has to miss snaps during the game.
The Jets were the best pass defense against WRs last year, so this was already a mixed matchup for a full-go Aiyuk. The 49ers have plenty of other offensive weapons, including Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel Sr., and George Kittle. We already expect the overall pie for the 49ers to be less than normal this week, and Aiyuk could be the fourth option in that offense.
He is a risky play in Week 1, but benching him will require you to be brave and have other good options available to you.