Start 'Em Sit 'Em NFL Week 1 by Position

Week 1 is never an easy time to set fantasy football lineups.

Thanks to the rapid flurry of news that closes out every offseason, it's rarely as simple as starting the players you spent the highest draft picks on — especially once you start to factor in defensive matchups.

Some positions are relatively easy to start the year. You likely only drafted one kicker and one defense, and can consider streaming options at either position. The same holds true at tight end.

For the rest of the positions, here are start 'em and sit 'em picks for Week 1.

Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 1 Quarterbacks

Start Lamar Jackson (BAL @ MIA): Lamar Jackson didn't have an average draft position (ADP) among the top 12 QBs this summer, but he cracks the top 10 in our Week 1 fantasy football rankings. His legs make him a great fantasy asset, and he topped 15 fantasy points in each of his seven starts in the 2018 regular season, averaging 18.6 per game. He opens 2019 with a great matchup against a Miami Dolphins defense that allowed top-10 fantasy numbers to QBs in 2018.

Sit Tom Brady (NE vs PIT): The New England Patriots were one of only seven teams to call run plays on at least 45.0 percent of their snaps in 2018, and there are no signs of an impending change in Tom Brady's age-42 season. As six-point favorites, per FanDuel Sportsbook, this could be a particularly run-heavy game if New England finds itself playing with a lead late in the second half. The Pittsburgh Steelers also did a great job at pressuring the QB in 2018, finishing with 52 sacks, which was tied for the best total in the NFL.

Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 1 Running Backs

Start Jordan Howard (PHI vs WAS): Miles Sanders is certainly a threat to Jordan Howard's fantasy value, but it will likely take some time for the rookie to establish himself, especially on running downs. Howard's 778 career carries are the third-most in the NFL since he was drafted, and we know he can shoulder a significant workload on the ground. The Eagles are favored by 10 points (the largest spread of the week), and there should be no shortage of rushing volume to go around in Philly.

Sit Darrell Henderson (LAR @ CAR): Until we see how Todd Gurley's workload shakes out after an offseason of concern around his knee health, Darrell Henderson's floor for fantasy production is basically zero points. He does carry some upside, but your team should be deep enough in Week 1 that you don't need to roll the dice on a potential goose egg from the rookie.

Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 1 Wide Receivers

Start Larry Fitzgerald (DET @ ARI): Larry Fitzgerald has been something of a forgotten man amidst the hype surrounding the Arizona Cardinals offense. He has never seen fewer than 100 targets in an NFL season though, and in 2018 he had 44 more than any other Cardinals wideout. Arizona gets a plus matchup to open the season, taking on a Detroit Lions defense that allowed the league's seventh-most yards per pass attempt in 2018. Until we see evidence to the contrary, we can assume Fitzgerald will be the top option in the Cardinals' passing game.

Sit James Washington (PIT @ NE): The departure of Antonio Brown opens up plenty of volume in the Steelers' passing attack, but James Washington is too low in the pecking order to offer much value in Week 1. Donte Moncrief is the team's No. 2 wideout behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner is set to be heavily involved after averaging 5.5 targets per game in 2018, and tight end Vance McDonald saw at least four targets in 12 of his 15 games (averaging 4.8 per contest).

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.