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Who should I start for Week 1? Fantasy football outlooks for Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue. Our expert fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks.
The NFL season kicks off on Thursday night, as the Dallas Cowboys head on the road to face the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The NFC East contest will be one of the most anticipated games of the season, as fantasy managers get their first look at the new faces joining their rosters. Potentially the most interesting storyline from the game will be the usage of the Cowboys running backs.
The Cowboys enter the season with one of the most intriguing running back rooms in the league following the departure of Rico Dowdle. Dallas added three new running backs to the team, with all of them bringing something different to the table.
Here are the outlooks for the three Cowboys running backs for their Week 1 game against the Eagles.
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Should I Start Javonte Williams in Fantasy Football?
Former Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams signed a one-year contract with the Cowboys this offseason with the expectation of being the starter. Williams had the least productive year of his career with the Broncos in 2024, averaging his fewest attempts, yards, and touchdowns.
Despite his struggles last season, Williams had been taking the majority of the first-team reps in Cowboys training camp and is expected to be the Week 1 starter, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Javonte Williams is expected to be the Cowboys' Week 1 starter at RB, per @jonmachota. pic.twitter.com/WdnOFMTzxt
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) August 23, 2025
Williams opens up his season against an Eagles defense that was the best against fantasy running backs in 2024. The Eagles gave up an average of 14.2 half-PPR fantasy points per game to running backs last season and are expected to be one of the best again.
The Cowboys come in as eight-point underdogs on the road against a great defense. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for success for Williams.
Williams is ranked as the RB36 on RotoBaller’s Week 1 rankings, which puts him as a FLEX play in deeper leagues at best. He’s expected to lead the Cowboys in carries, but with the difficult matchup and expected negative game script, Williams should be on your bench for Week 1.
Should I Start Miles Sanders in Fantasy Football?
Former Eagles and Panthers running back Miles Sanders is set to make his Cowboys debut in Week 1. After a disappointing 2024 campaign in Carolina, where he lost the starting job and finished with just 55 carries, Sanders is looking for a fresh start in Dallas.
Before his stint with the Panthers, Sanders spent four productive years with the Eagles, averaging over 50 rushing yards per game and more than five yards per carry in every season. Week 1 will mark his first matchup against his former team since leaving Philadelphia in 2023.
In Cowboys camp, Sanders has been splitting first-team reps with Williams, though Williams is expected to open the season as the starter. For Sanders to become fantasy-relevant, he would need to overtake Williams for the lead role.
On their first depth chart of the season, the Cowboys list their running backs like this:
🏈RB1 Javonte Williams
🏈RB2 Miles Sanders
🏈RB3 Jaydon Blue pic.twitter.com/LKU4QF1TfQ— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 29, 2025
Sanders is ranked as the RB65 and is facing one of the league’s toughest run defenses. Fantasy managers should leave him on their bench this week.
Should I Start Jaydon Blue in Fantasy Football?
The Cowboys’ fifth-round selection, Jaydon Blue, begins his NFL career on Thursday night. Blue played college ball with Texas, where he had 1,098 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns in 15 games in his final season.
Blue is expected to slide behind veteran running backs Williams and Sanders to begin the season, but could bring some upside in the receiving game. Blue had 42 catches for 368 yards and six touchdowns in 2024 with the Longhorns. While Williams and Sanders have solid receiving stats throughout their careers, Blue has more speed and explosiveness than the other two backs.
With the Eagles projected as big favorites (-8) going into Thursday night’s contest, the Cowboys' expected third-down back may be used more frequently. While it’s best to avoid starting Blue for the early portion of the season, it will be intriguing to see how he fits into the offense.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 1. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start ... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -- Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 1.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, half-PPR scoring, or standard (non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 1 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 1 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 1 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 1 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue compared to others:
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