Week 1 Fantasy Football Starts and Sits: QBs and RBs

Fantasy football is back, so give yourself a pat on the back for making it 213 days without any football. But just before you get too comfortable, you need to make sure you know who you need to start and sit. Lucky for you, I have detailed out my quarterbacks’ and RBs’ starts and sits for Week 1.

Week 1 Quarterback Starts and Sits

Starts

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (At New York Giants)

This is a no-brainer start. Dak Prescott is a fantasy quarterback demon, and it is likely you got him in the final rounds of your draft. Prescott was the QB5 last season, finishing with 4,552 receiving yards, 30 passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns. In Week 2 of last season, Prescott dropped 361 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. This game should be a fantasy shootout as both offenses have star-powered players.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

This one isn’t much of a hot take, but it needs to be on the list of must-starts. Justin Herbert is in line to have a huge year. Mike McDaniel takes over as the offensive coordinator, and we all saw what he had Tua Tagovailoa doing a few years ago. Aside from that, the Cardinals are going to be terrible this year. The only thing that might hurt Herbert this week is the Chargers getting a big lead and starting to manage the clock for the rest of the game.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Washington Commanders)

Jalen Hurts gets a lot of heat for not throwing the ball, but his numbers weren’t terrible last season. His yards were low at 3,224, but he still threw for 25 touchdowns and ran for eight. His passing might go down a bit with A.J. Brown leaving, but I do believe in DeVonta Smith. Eagles have a great matchup against the Commanders, who gave up 20.4 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Sits

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (At Los Angeles Rams)

The 49ers could have an advantage with the neutral location, but the Rams defense looks unstoppable this year. On top of that, the 49ers don’t look entirely healthy on offense. Mike Evans is said to be healthy, but he is 33 and coming off an injury-ridden season. Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall are both hurt, and George Kittle is questionable. That leaves Deebo Samuel Sr. and Christian McCaffrey to hold the offense together.

Patrick Mahomes II, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Denver Broncos)

The Chiefs are favored and at home this week, but I see this game go in the Broncos’ favor. Mahomes is coming off an ACL injury, and I am surprised he is ready to start the season. However, I see the Chiefs going run-heavy this week with the addition of Kenneth Walker III. The Broncos also have a top-2 defense in the league. Mahomes also had one of his worst games last year against the Broncos in Week 11.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!

Week 1 RB Starts and Sits

Starts

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

As I stated before, this is the fantasy matchup of the day. Omarion Hampton should get a ton of work, as I expect the Chargers to get the run game going quickly. The other good thing with Hampton is he is also an elite pass catcher. Not much to say about this game besides the Chargers offense going off this week.

Breece Hall, New York Jets (At Tennessee Titans)

I know it is risky to say to start a New York Jet, but Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson will dominate this year given they stay healthy. People forget about Hall’s talent because he is on the Jets. But last season he still ended up with 1,065 yards and five total touchdowns. I know Geno Smith had a terrible season with the Raiders, but I think the 13-year veteran will get this offense going.

Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys (At New York Giants)

I know I’m bringing the Cowboys up again, but Javonte Williams is one of those sneaky starting RBs for every week. He had his breakout season last year with 11 rushing touchdowns and 1,201 rushing yards. The Giants do have some studs on the defensive line with Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. But in Week 2, Williams dropped 22 fantasy points against the Giants. I expect him to do the same this week.

Sits

Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Denver Broncos)

This could go either way, as the Chiefs might lean on the run game. But I’m just not the biggest fan of this matchup or Walker in this system. The last Chiefs RB to rush for more than 1,000 rushing yards was Kareem Hunt in 2017. This is also a terrible matchup against the Broncos defense who only gave up 16.1 fantasy points per game to RBs last season.

Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals (At Los Angeles Chargers)

I can understand the hype in wanting to start Jeremiyah Love. But for one, Tyler Allgeier is listed as the RB1 for Week 1. This is terrible news for a rookie that has a lot of hype around him. Another thing that is tough is Love is truly going to have to beat out this RB room with Allgeier and James Conner. Love is also a bit banged up with his ankle injury from pre-season. All these signs point to him not getting a ton of work in this game. Also, this is a game they will be playing from behind.