2025 Fantasy Football: Week 1 Sneaky Starts

The moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here! It’s Week 1, your drafts are all done, and your lineups are all locked in…. unless something happened and you already need a quick pivot. Or possibly, you think that last positional player you took might not pan out, and you want to grab a player with more upside.

While having to search the Waiver Wire already isn’t ideal, I get it; it happens. So here are a handful of players that you can likely scoop up, and possibly play if you need to. In the words of one of John Turturro’s most underrated characters, these Week 1 Starts would be, “Very, very sneaky, sir!”

Sneaky Starts for Week 1 of Fantasy Football

Christian Kirk, WR – @ Los Angeles Rams

Last season, everyone was hot and bothered for Nico Collins and Tank Dell, but it was actually Stefon Diggs in the slot who got off to the hot start with six catches on six targets for 33 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, I’m not going so far as to say that Kirk is as good as Diggs, but he has been a fairly productive fantasy player in the past, and there are certainly a lot of vacated targets on the team. With how bad Houston’s offensive line is projected to be, I expect there to be plenty of quick short-yardage throws with Kirk acting as a safety valve for Stroud.

Houston has a pair of Rookie receivers who could push for starting roles later in the season, but Kirk will be a solidified starter for the opener. This is definitely more for those in PPR leagues, but I think you can have a fair amount of confidence using Kirk as a Week 1 Starter.

Hollywood Brown, WR – @ Los Angeles Chargers (In Brazil)

Now that we know that Rashee Rice will serve his six-game suspension to start the season, there should be a bit of a target vacuum for the other pass catchers.

While I expect Travis Kelce to be the biggest beneficiary, I am actually excited to see what the team does with Brown to start the season. If Hollywood gets the short yardage crossing routes that have made Rice a stud in the past, I think he is good enough to be productive with them.

Given his injury history and Rice’s looming return, I don’t think Brown will be a season-long steal, but there is potential that he gets to a hot start, and you can trade him to another manager who expects it to last.

Ollie Gordon, RB – @ Indianapolis Colts

If you already find yourself having to pick up a running back to play in Week 1, Gordon could be the dude you want to sneak onto your roster.

De’von Achane just returned to practice this week and is expected to play in Week 1, but it’s hard to imagine the team feeling comfortable enough to give him a massive workload. Normal backup Jaylen Wright is expected to miss multiple weeks, making Gordon the new #2 in Miami.

Given his size (especially compared to Achane), there’s a good chance Gordon is the goal-line back, and he’s a decent enough receiver to expect a few dump-offs from Tua. I’d grab him now before the waiver wire scramble next week.

Jonnu Smith, TE @ New York Jets

Unless I have one of the top three tight ends, my take on the position is to go for the biggest swing possible. While I do agree that Smith’s TE4 finish last year was a bit of a fluke, he couldn’t have done it without being a quality and athletic receiver.

The real reason for this call, though, is that Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith LOVES him some Jonnu. When they were together in Atlanta, Smith regularly drew up a wide variety of plays for Smith that most tight ends don’t get, including some jet sweeps and rush attempts.

The Steelers put in significant effort this offseason to bring Jonnu aboard, and the reports out of camp are all positive. Outside of DK Metcalf, the team has a real dearth of pass catchers, so don’t be surprised after Week 1 if Smith is one of the top target earners on the team.