Fantasy Football Start Sit Week 1: Don't Bench These Players

Who's Attractive, and Who Should Be Inactive?

You just drafted this team. It's probably not perfect, but there's time to learn the strengths and fortify the weak spots.

The best thing you can do for that team this week, however, is not overthink the way you play it. You drafted those early guys because you see them as starters. And even the most enticing of late-round upside picks landed in those late rounds for a reason.

That doesn't mean you should blindly roll with your highest-drafted players at every position in Week 1. There are decisions to make, and we're here to help you make them.

Just don't get too cute.

QB to Start

Beware of overrating the negative matchup.

Jayden Daniels, Commanders

The Eagles pose a tough matchup for QBs, allowing the fewest passing TDs of any defense last year and the eighth-fewest passing yards.

Fortunately, Daniels doesn’t solely rely on his passing ability. He produced at least 5.0 rushing points per game in each of his two seasons to date.

He also has shown he can remain one of the top QB scorers against a good Eagles defense. The last time Daniels played the Eagles, he produced 34.4 fantasy points. That came back in Week 16 of 2024, but Philly also proved vulnerable to running QBs last year.

The Eagles yielded the league’s second-most rushing yards and rushing TDs to the position in 2025. Then Edge Jaelan Phillips left in free agency and newly acquired Edge Jonathan Greenard missed all of camp with a pectoral injury. That adds a challenge for the Philly front.

This may not be the friendliest Week 1 matchup, and you’ll find Daniels lower in our QB rankings than usual. But don’t reach too far for a replacement.

QB to Sit

We still need to see it from this guy.

Bryce Young, Panthers

Young played in 16 games last season but finished as a top-20 QB in just six of those weeks. As he enters his fourth season, there haven't been many reasons to believe a leap is coming.

Young lacks an attractive floor because of his limited rushing, supplying just 2.1 rushing points per game last year. That leaves him production almost fully reliant on passing.

The Bears don’t stand out as a passing defense, but they weren’t overly friendly to QBs last year either. Chicago finished 11th in passing yards allowed. They let starting S Kevin Byard go and then lost replacement Coby Bryant to a left knee injury. But the secondary still sports first-round S Dillon Thieneman and veteran S Xavier Woods, plus a healthy CB Jaylon Johnson.

In a near-neutral matchup, starting Young even as a QB2 is risky.

RBs to Start

Looking for upside in RB3 range?

Kenneth Gainwell, Buccaneers

Gainwell may not be a high-volume rusher. He got just 28% of the Steelers’ rush attempts last season, and we’re expected to carry over to this Bucky Irving-led backfield. Even in a disappointing, injury-interrupted 2025, Irving still ranked 10th in the league in carry share when on the field.

But Gainwell doesn’t score his fantasy points that way. He was one of just five RBs to account for at least a 15% target share last season, joining Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, De’Von Achane, and Jahmyr Gibbs. Then the Bucs paid him $7 million a year in free agency.

Gainwell now gets a Bengals defense that tied for second-most RB receiving yards allowed last year. And his Bucs head to Cincinnati as underdogs in the game with the week’s highest projected point total. If Tampa falls behind, the passing environment would only gain upside.

Gainwell opens the season as a matchup-friendly RB3.

J.K. Dobbins, Broncos

Dobbins has averaged 15.9 PPR points per game in Week 1s across his career, which includes a 22.9 PPR performance last year.

That may not sound relevant, but for a back that’s been often injured, not having any games before opening week is a massive deal.

Dobbins has averaged 1.2 injuries per season, including three separate injuries that cost him at least half a season.

But he's healthy to open the season and still projects for a big rushing workload after posting a 57.0% carry share last season. 

Dobbins’ mere 1.1 receptions per game in 2025 make him a tougher fit for PPR leagues, but he presents upside from RB3 range for half-PPR and especially non-PPR.

RBs to Sit

These backs present upside but require patience.

Jonathon Brooks, Panthers

Brooks managed just nine carries over the two seasons since Carolina drafted him in the second round. He appears on track to play against Chicago but has been limited in practice this week by a groin issue.

Even if he’s ready to go, Brooks will share the backfield with Chuba Hubbard, who’s shown the ability to handle a large rushing workload. Hubbard ranked third in the league by claiming 70.7% of Carolina’s rushing attempts in 2024, before a calf injury and Rico Dowdle combined to limit his 2025 work.

Brooks has to prove he’s healthy, prove he can produce in the NFL, and prove he’ll get enough work to be trustworthy in our fantasy lineups.

Try to make him prove those things before you start the third-year Panther.

Tyjae Spears, Titans

The Titans get an RB-friendly matchup, facing a Jets defense that gave up the fourth-most rushing yards last season. But that matchup looks less friendly for Spears.

He’s produced more PPR points as a receiver than as a rusher in each of his three pro seasons. That included 5.5 receiving points per game vs. 3.1 rushing last year.

Spears is also attached to an offense that ranked bottom-3 in both passing yards and touchdowns in 2025. Those marks aren’t projected to spike, especially after an underwhelming preseason.

The work share with Tony Pollard further complicates the Week 1 picture. We’re expecting a more even distribution under the new coaching staff, and there’s room for Spears to emerge as the most useful Titans RB this season.

But for opening week, you should just try to avoid the Tennessee backfield.

WRs to Start

These big guys face big opportunities.

DK Metcalf, Steelers

Metcalf led the Steelers with a 20.4% target share last season, and QB Aaron Rodgers has said he wants to see the big guy even more involved this year.

Metcalf’s 12.5 PPR points per game last season marked the lowest average since his 2019 rookie campaign, but that was still good enough for 24th among all WRs. A mere repeat of that would present nice value vs. Metcalf’s WR34 ADP.

And it’s reasonable to expect more. Metcalf enters his second year of working with Rodgers, and new HC Mike McCarthy brings a much more pass-friendly history than deposed OC Arthur Smith.

The Steelers open against Falcons defense that ranked 10th-friendliest to WR scoring last year by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Start Metcalf with confidence as your WR3.

Quentin Johnston, Chargers

The Chargers begin their season against a Cardinals defense that ranked among the bottom 10 in passing attempts, yards, and TDs given up last season.

That’s an exciting matchup for Johnston, who led Chargers WRs in scoring last season while ranking 26th at the position in PPR points per game.

Johnston eclipsed 17% in target share each of the past two years but came up short of 20%. We might see that climb further, however, in a Mike McDaniel offense that uses the FB more and will almost certainly play more multiple-TE sets. (The Chargers ranked 31st last year at 15% usage of 2+ TEs.)

More FB and TE snaps would mean fewer WR snaps and more potential opportunities for the wideouts who do stay on the field. The Chargers also open the year with a healthier O-line vs. last year, which should help QB Justin Herbert rebound from leading the league in pressure rate.

Johnston will come up in plenty of start-sit calls this week. Let this matchup plus the potential for offensive and situational improvement push you toward starting him.

WRs to Sit

Eh, that situation makes me uncomfortable.

Courtland Sutton, Broncos

Is Sutton a must-avoid? Of course not. You’ll probably find him just outside the top 36 of our WR rankings for your format. So you could do worse if you’re looking for a flex-level play. But there are some things to dislike.

First, the Broncos told us this offseason that they don’t want to rely on Sutton as much this year. They sent a first-round pick to Miami to secure Jaylen Waddle as the new No. 1. Even before Waddle arrived, Sutton ranked just 33rd among WRs in target share last season. That’ll almost certainly drop in 2026, as it already did last year from his No. 22 ranking in 2024.

Second, there’s the matchup. Kansas City ranked seventh-harshest on WR scoring last year by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Sutton managed just 8 catches among 18 targets across their two meetings, while Bo Nix totaled 1 TD pass between them.

Third, the game gets the fifth-lowest point projection for the week, limiting the expected upside across positions.

Sutton’s OK to start if you don’t have a better option, but there’s more scoring potential to chase elsewhere.

Carnell Tate, Titans

If you drafted Tate, then you probably chose him ahead of plenty of guys who sit in the WR28-to-WR40 range of our Week 1 rankings. And you might be itching to start the rookie right away. But I’d recommend some patience.

QB Cam Ward struggled as a rookie, tying for 33rd in Pro Football Focus’ adjusted completion rate among 38 QBs with at least 200 dropbacks. He also ranked 37th in that group in yards per pass attempt, trailing players such as Justin Fields and Spencer Rattler while beating only Dillon Gabriel.

Training-camp reports on Ward and his preseason performance haven’t built much confidence in a big turnaround, and that adds risk to Tate’s outlook.

That risk profile only gets worse when you factor in Wan’Dale Robinson, the free-agent addition whose short-range game will make him an easier target for a struggling QB, and who spent his first four years playing for new OC Brian Daboll with the Giants.

Tate remains an upside option for the season, but start him out on your bench if you can.

Tight End to Start

Injury to one opens opportunity to another.

Michael Mayer, Raiders

Mayer averaged just 3.8 PPR points per game with Brock Bowers in the lineup last season, but that jumped to 10.9 when Bowers was out.

That production came without much help at QB. The Raiders ranked just 25th in TD passes and 28th in passing yards while finishing 21st in pass attempts.

The new offensive-minded coaching regime led by Klint Kubiak and a renovated QB room should improve things, however. Even if that improvement is only modest, Mayer will make an attractive target for a weak-armed Kirk Cousins alongside a shaky WR group.

Mayer presents a nice target floor for Week 1 and the physical upside of a 25-year-old who entered the league as an early-Round 2 pick.

Tight End to Sit

We like him ... just not this week.

Dalton Kincaid, Bills

You probably saw plenty of Kincaid hype around here for draft season, and we remain high on his 2026 upside. But it would be tough to pick a much worse opening-week matchup.

The Texans tied for the seventh-fewest receiving yards allowed to TEs last season, and they were probably even tougher than that suggests. That total included a huge 12-134-2 receiving line from Trey McBride in a Week 15 blowout win by Houston. That accounted for 17.8% of the total PPR points tight ends scored against the Texans last season. And they were even tougher on WRs.

A healthier Kincaid should present much more production this year than he managed in 2025. But even a fully healthy Kincaid doesn’t rank among the position’s playing-time leaders. His career-high route total as a 2023 rookie tied for 11th at the position, while his route share ranked just 14th.

That won’t matter as much when Buffalo finds more favorable passing conditions and we can lean into Kincaid’s high-level efficiency, but this doesn’t look like the week to make that bet.

Kincaid sits outside the top 14 of our Week 1 TE rankings across formats.

Time to Set YOUR Best Lineup

Don't see any of the players you're considering among that list above?

Unfortunately, we can't know exactly which guys are giving you fits as you set your weekly lineup. But you know who does? Your Team Dashboard.

That valuable page not only has your up-to-date roster, but it carefully considers all your league's settings as well as your opponent to deliver optimized lineup recommendations.

Didn't sync your team(s) yet? It's never too late to get started ... (until you get yourself eliminated from the playoffs).