Fantasy: Week 1 Start 'em Sit 'em

Story by Yinzer Crazy Fantasy Football Expert Luke Ranalli

This week's start 'em sit 'em is gonna be a quick run through of who I think may be looked over in week one, and who may seem like a lock, but could run into trouble. Let's get into week one with a quick look at who you should be considering to start, and who to sit.

Quarterback



Start

Trey Lance - I'm guessing if you have Trey Lance, he is poised to sit on your bench this week. I don't blame you, but depending on who you drafted as your starter, you might want to consider throwing Lance in week one. San Francisco is set to start against the Bears who had a pretty abysmal year against opposing offenses last year. Chicago ranked 6th last season in points allowed and didn't exactly rebuild their defense. If Lance wants to prove he's a starter in this league, this week one matchup should prove lucrative for him to hit the ground running, literally. Expect Lance to show up with his arm and legs this Sunday at Soldier Field.

Sit

Tua Tagovailoa - I think with the weapons that Tua has this year there is no reason he shouldn't be one of the top QB's in fantasy production and have a breakout season. That being said I don't see it coming in week one against the Patriots. The Patriots are always a powerhouse on defense and I see no reason to think the Dolphins are going to run up a score on them week one. The Dolphins do have a tendency to have good games against New England so it wouldn't shock me if he played well, but if you are debating another QB over Tua, I'd go with whoever else you have in mind this week.

Running Back

Start

Dameon Pierce - I know a lot of people are questioning this team, and for good reason, it was a disaster last year and there haven't been many indications that it will be better this season. Not to mention the fact that the Colts defense was a brick wall for running backs last year and looks to be the same coming into this season. With all that considered I think a lot of you may be thinking Pierce should be flex at best, but is probably on your bench for week one, but I think you should reconsider. Pierce is a ground and pound threat that has the potential to get a high volume of reps based on this teams lack of potential through the air. Pierce is also a great pass catching back giving him potential to bail out Davis Mills in what is sure to be a routing early by the Colts. Normally you wouldn't expect a RB to get touches when a team is down early but I think Pierce will be an exception to this rule. 

Sit

Saquon Barkley - This may be low hanging fruit, but I have no faith that Barkley will ever be back to form. Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for Barkley, he was fun to watch at Penn State and I would love to see him run like he used to, but I have yet to see anything that indicates it's possible. The Titans defense ranks 20th right now and should be tempting to throw Barkley in a top slot to start the season, I just don't see it though. This shouldn't be news to you, but air on the side of caution when it comes to the return of Barkley. 

Wide Receivers

Start

Marquez Valdes-Scantling - This year I feel like there was no shortage for wide receivers, giving the opportunity to draft late and focus on running backs and high end tight ends. With that in mind I wanted to dig deep and look for a solid flex potential and I think I have that with Scantling. Marquez isn't coming off of any spectacular season in Green Bay, in fact he was largely overshadowed there. What Scantling has in KC is a new QB, a WR depth chart that tops out with Juju Smith-Schuster, and a $15 mil dollar guarantee from the Chiefs that he needs to step up. Without Tyreek Hill to play with Patrick Mahomes will be looking for his new go to and that very well could be Scantling. This is a high risk with a potential high reward situation. 

Sit

Treylon Burks - This was a hard choice as well, but if you're considering starting Burks week one, I'd reconsider. Burks had a bit of a wrist injury during the preseason game against the Cardinals but was able to come back and score a TD shortly after. Burks seemed to be fine and I don't imagine the Titans putting him back in if he wasn't but that could be a small factor. The other factor for me is the offense, yes AJ Brown is gone, but consider the reload this offense did in the off season. Robert Woods now joins the receiving core, Austin Hooper will be the starting tight end, and lets not forget the Titans run heavy Derrick Henry play scheme. Don't get me wrong I think Burks will be incredible in no time, but with Ryan Tannehill still running this offense I don't see Burks sprinting out of the gate. I am very curious to see if Malik Willis gets a start this season though and what may transpire then.

Tight Ends

Start

Pat Freiermuth - I feel like I saw Pat go pretty late in all my drafts, and it's not that I'm sitting here saying he's a top 5 by any means this season, but I don't think he's getting the credit he deserves. The matchup isn't going to be easy against the Bengals on Sunday, but I don't think that's going to hurt Pat. The only thing the questionable QB situation should concern you with right now is the production of the receivers. Najee Harris and Pat should in theory benefit the most from this situation, and if they do, week one could be one of the best opportunities for the pair. Depending on the scoring in the first half, this should be a dink and dunk game for Matt Canada's offense and Pat should be a big recipient of that. 

Sit

Cole Kmet - Kmet is a really weird case to me, on one hand he gets a lot of snaps and looks, on the other he has a hard time finding the end zone. This Bears offense is in for a change and I think this season is the one Justin Fields finds himself in the NFL. I think Kmet stands to benefit from this but I also see Fields being more like Lamar Jackson this season which may hurt Kmet's production. On the other hand, the bears don't have much in the way of receiver this year either. I would definitely keep an eye on Cole this season and his production could put him in the top 10, but I want to see this offense in action first before committing to Kmet.