Week 1 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for 49ers vs Bears

A pair of NFC teams meet head-to-head in Week 1 as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Chicago Bears. FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds have the 49ers tabbed as 6.5-point road favorites in a game that is full of playmakers on both sides of the football.

If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's our start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 1 showdown.

Trey Lance Fantasy

Start Trey Lance, QB, San Francisco 49ers: Chicago ran out a middle-of-the-pack defense last year, one that ranked 13th in overall defensive DVOA and allowed just the 13th-most points to opposing QBs. While that doesn't exactly scream appetizing, I love Trey Lance in this Week 1 matchup. He ranks as QB12 on The Duel's Week 1 rankings, but the upside is sky-high. This is a QB that averaged 60 rushing yards in his two starts last year and 220.5 yards through the air. That's a pretty good floor for a 20+ fantasy point outing. The Bears only faced two true dual-threat quarterbacks last year in Tyler Huntley and Kyler Murray. The pair averaged 49.5 rushing yards while Murray found the end zone twice on the ground. Murray's performance was QB1-worthy that week, and that's the sort of upside we're looking at with Lance here.

Darnell Mooney Fantasy

Start Darnell Mooney, WR, Chicago Bears: There's not a ton to like about this Bears offense, but that means it could end up being a very one-sided affair between Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney. Chicago lost 167 targets to offseason departures, fresh off a season in which Mooney racked up 140 himself. This is simply a volume play, but facing a team that ranked second in rush-defense DVOA a year ago and with a lengthy 6.5-point spread, the Bears will have to air it out before this one is said and done.

Brandon Aiyuk Fantasy

Sit Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Don't get confused here. Lance is a must-start because of his legs, not because I expect him to zip up and down the field through the air. He's an unproven rookie and has too many question marks for my liking. San Francisco ran the ball at the fourth-highest clip a year ago, and not much should change in that offensive makeup. This is a methodical approach from Kyle Shanahan, and as 6.5-point favorites, there's no reason for Lance to put up 40-50 passing attempts. Deebo Samuel is a safer option, but it's hard to trust a No. 2 wideout who saw only 84 targets while playing in all 17 games last year.

David Montgomery Fantasy

Sit David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears: This one is simple. It was never a good idea to start mid-tier running backs against San Francisco's defense last year, and that rings true heading into Week 1. The 49ers ranked second in Football Outsiders' rush-defense DVOA metric last year by allowing just 103.5 rushing yards per game and less than 26 attempts per game. Keeping the spread in mind, the Bears will be playing catch-up and not milking the clock on a late lead. Montgomery is worthy of RB2/FLEX consideration, but don't expect a monster week here.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.