Put Me In, Coach! | Starts & Sits for Week 1 in Fantasy Football

by Matty Kiwoom · Featured
starts sits week 1 fantasy football

Football is back, which means one thing: fantasy football is finally back! After a full offseason of mock drafts, depth chart battles, and way too many hot takes, Week 1 is here, and it’s time to set our lineups. With no in-season data to lean on yet, this week’s calls are built on matchups, offseason changes, and gut speculation. Here are my Starts and Sits for Week 1 in fantasy football at every position to help you kick off the 2026 season on the right foot.

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2026 Week 1 Start/Sit

Quarterback

START Justin Herbert, LA Chargers | vs. Arizona

The Chargers open the season at home against the Cardinals, and the matchup sets up nicely for their signal caller. Arizona was a middle-of-the-pack defense against quarterbacks a season ago, and this game carries the highest implied Las Vegas line total on the Week 1 slate at 48.5 points. That kind of environment gives Justin Herbert plenty of opportunity to rack up fantasy points early and often.

Herbert has a track record of coming out hot to open a season. He finished as the QB5 in Week 1 last year, and now he gets to do it with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel calling the shots for the first time. New coordinators tend to want to make a statement in their debut, and Herbert has the weapons and the matchup to make it happen. He sits at QB1 in PlayerProfiler’s Week 1 rankings, and I’m comfortable rolling with him there.

SIT Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars | vs. Cleveland

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars host the Browns to open the year. While Cleveland is no longer working with Myles Garrett off the edge, this remains a tough defense capable of generating pressure and forcing mistakes. Vegas isn’t projecting much scoring in this one either (40pts), which caps Lawrence’s upside before the game even kicks off.

Recent history is also a concern. Lawrence started slow in 2025, finishing outside the top 20 at the position in three of his first four games. Combine that with the low-scoring outlook and a defense that will make him earn every yard, and Lawrence is a fringe streamer at best in Week 1, sitting outside the QB1 range in the PlayerProfiler ranks.

Running Back

START Jaylen Warren & Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers | vs. Atlanta

Pittsburgh’s backfield isn’t loaded with a workhorse, but the matchup makes both Steelers’ running backs usable in Week 1, and the ranks reflect that, given both are sitting inside the top 25.

warren

The Steelers host the Falcons, who were a below-average run defense in 2025, and this game projects to be low-scoring (42.5), which is the kind of script that tends to feature a heavy dose of running back touches on both sides of the ball. Neither Jaylen Warren nor Rico Dowdle is a locked-in workhorse, but the matchup does a lot of heavy lifting here.

SIT Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers | vs. Chicago

The touch distribution in Carolina’s backfield remains murky, with Jonathon Brooks still working to sort out a timeshare with Chuba Hubbard. Add in a difficult opener, and it’s hard to trust Brooks in Week 1 lineups. The Bears weren’t a great matchup for running backs a year ago, and Carolina’s offense may find itself playing from behind against a high-powered Chicago attack. Between the uncertain role and the tough spot, Brooks is a bench candidate in all but the deepest formats.

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Wide Receiver

START Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers | vs. Chicago

Carolina’s tough spot at running back is a good one for Jalen Coker. Chicago’s secondary was swiss cheese against opposing wide receivers in 2025, and Coker enters Week 1 having proven he can handle a real target share. He saw comparable targets and opportunities to Tetairoa McMillan down the stretch last season.

If the Panthers do end up playing catch-up in this one, as the running back matchup suggests, that only means more volume coming Coker’s way through the air. He’s ranked WR25 in PlayerProfiler’s Week 1 rankings.

SIT Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars | vs. Cleveland

Brian Thomas Jr. (BTJ) draws one of the toughest matchups on the board in Week 1. Cleveland was a genuinely difficult matchup for wide receivers in 2025, and with Trevor Lawrence already a fade this week, that concern trickles down to his top downfield weapon. A quarterback who isn’t pushing the ball vertically with confidence isn’t going to feed a big-play receiver like Thomas.

The track record here isn’t encouraging either. Thomas didn’t score double-digit fantasy points in a game until Week 4 last season. Between the slow-starting tendencies, the shaky quarterback situation, and a tough Cleveland defense, Thomas (WR43 in PlayerProfiler’s Week 1 rankings) is a risky start on Sunday.

Tight End

START Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles | vs. Washington

The Eagles tight end gets a plus matchup right out of the gate. Washington was a top-10 matchup for tight ends in 2025, and this NFC East division clash carries the look of a game with plenty of scoring on both sides.

Dallas Goedert projects as the number two pass-catcher in Philadelphia’s offense, giving him a clear path to targets in what should be a competitive, high-scoring affair. He checks in at TE9 in PlayerProfiler’s Week 1 rankings, but the combination of role and matchup gives him a real shot to outplay that number. Start him with confidence in Week 1.

SIT T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings | vs. Green Bay

T.J. Hockenson opens the season in a tough spot on multiple fronts. The Packers were not an easy matchup for tight ends in 2025, and Hockenson’s target competition within his own offense is an even bigger concern. At best, he’s looking like the third read in the passing game, and it’s easy to see him slipping to fourth or fifth on a given down depending on how the game script unfolds.

PlayerProfiler has him at TE16 for Week 1, and between the tough matchup and the crowded target tree, that feels about right. Look elsewhere for a Week 1 streamer at tight end if Hockenson is your guy.

That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading! Feel free to let me know if you agree, disagree, or abhorrently disagree!

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