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Who should I start for Week 1? Fantasy football outlooks for RJ Harvey, Dylan Sampson, and Jaydon Blue. Our expert fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks.
The NFL regular season is upon us. At this point, you’ve likely had your fantasy draft or have it scheduled in the coming days. That means it is time to shift our focus from building a winning team to making lineup decisions that will help us win our weekly matchup.
Throughout the season, remember to consult with RotoBaller’s tools and resources, like the Who Should I Start tool, to get more clarity on your lineup decisions.
In this edition, we will be breaking down which rookie (RJ Harvey, Dylan Sampson, or Jaydon Blue) is worth starting in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.
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RJ Harvey Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
The hype for Harvey has been non-stop since the rookie was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Head coach Sean Payton has made a career out of getting elite production out of running backs for fantasy.
Based on the preseason, Harvey will have at least a share of the backfield with veteran free agent J.K. Dobbins. However, we didn’t see Dobbins at all in the preseason, so the exact split to begin the season is very uncertain.
RJ Harvey turned that corner FAST.
My goodness he’s going to be good in this system pic.twitter.com/EQp1AGdkcx— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) August 10, 2025
The Broncos have a strong matchup in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee was a bottom 12 team in rushing yards allowed (2,277, 20th), rushing touchdowns allowed (21, 26th), and yards before contact (2.4, 29th). The Broncos are also favored by a touchdown in this game (-7.5), which suggests a positive game script. That could offset the ambiguity of the backfield situation.
Dylan Sampson Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
There hasn’t been any resolution to the Quinshon Judkins contract situation, which means Cleveland is likely heading into their first game with rookie Sampson and veteran Jerome Ford atop its depth chart.
Like Denver, we don’t exactly know how the Cleveland backfield will be split throughout the regular season. Both Sampson (four carries for nine yards and one reception for 14 yards) and Ford (two carries for 14 yards and two receptions for five yards) played limited roles in Cleveland’s offense this preseason.
Ford has experience on his side and a familiarity with the team (308 carries for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns with 81 receptions for 544 yards and five touchdowns over the last two seasons), but Sampson led the SEC in rushing in 2024 (258 carries for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns) and offers more explosiveness as a runner.
Conventional wisdom suggests that Sampson will have more of an impact on early downs, while Ford sees more work as a pass-catching back. In that case, it may be hard to trust Sampson with a Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on the horizon. He will have a role, but it may be reduced in a game where the Browns will likely need to throw to keep up.
Jaydon Blue Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Blue’s career didn’t start off on the highest note after there were questions about his work ethic after OTAs. However, he seemingly turned it around during training camp and was emerging as a player to watch in Dallas’s muddled backfield.
The rookie suffered an ankle injury in Dallas’s final preseason game against Atlanta that seemed to put the start of his season in doubt. Since then, Blue has returned to practice and looks set to make his debut in Week 1. Unfortunately, that matchup is against the Eagles' defense.
Dallas doesn’t have a good offensive line (and the Eagles have arguably the best defensive front in the league), so on the surface, this is not a great matchup for a rookie who is potentially in a three-way committee backfield. However, the upside case for Blue is the fact that he is explosive and expected to be the Cowboys’ best pass-catching back.
A matchup against the Eagles would likely mean a negative game script, which would only benefit the rookie if he has locked down the third-down/pass-catching role in Dallas.
Final Verdict
Of the three running backs listed above, there is one who has a clear pathway to touches and a matchup that should play to their role: Denver’s Harvey.
We have a better grasp of how he will be utilized in Denver behind a good offensive line, and the team has a matchup that should lead to Harvey having a dependable role.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the 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 RJ Harvey, Dylan Sampson, 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 - RJ Harvey, Dylan Sampson, 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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 RJ Harvey, Dylan Sampson, Jaydon Blue compared to others:
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