RADIO
Matt's quarterback (QB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 1 of 2025. His QB lineups advice for Week 1 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
The time for talking is done. The 2025 NFL season is here, as the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles get it all started this Thursday. I hope you have all put in your two-week notices with your significant others as football takes center stage until next February.
With every new NFL season comes new hope, not only for NFL teams looking to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but for fantasy managers looking to avoid a trip to the Waffle House. While you can't win your league in Week 1, you can certainly put your team on the right path for success.
Here, at RotoBaller, we are a little like Jameis Winston. We are all about stacking wins and eating W's. With that in mind, here are your Week 1 starts and sits for the quarterback position.
Week 1 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms
Baker Mayfield - QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
Last season, Mayfield lit up secondaries to the tune of 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passing attempts, including two games against this Falcons team, where he would toss six touchdown passes along with 510 yards.
Truth is, Atlanta was an easy target for fantasy managers when needing a quarterback streaming option, as the Falcons yielded 17.63 fantasy points per game to opposing signal callers, the seventh-most. Only the Carolina Panthers were more generous with passing touchdowns to the position than the Falcons, who allowed 34 last season while forcing just 12 interceptions.
Mayfield will be without Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, but his offensive weapons still consist of Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Emeka Egbuka, and Cade Otton, so don't feel too bad for him. Since joining the Buccaneers, all Mayfield has done is throw for more than 8,500 yards, toss 69 touchdowns (most since the start of 2023), and earn two Pro Bowl invites while being one of the most accurate passers inside the pocket, fielding an accurate throw rate of 58.6% last season, the fourth-best.
Drake Maye - QB, New England Patriots vs Las Vegas Raiders
From Week 6 through Week 17, Maye averaged 16.8 fantasy points per contest and finished that period as the QB14 in fantasy. For the most part, Maye was on an island. His top pass catcher was his tight end, who caught just 66 passes for 675 yards. His running game consisted of Rhamondre Stevenson, who topped off at 801 rushing yards, after 3.9 yards per carry. Maye, while more often than not, running for his life was the Patriots' most effective rusher, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
QB Leaders in Scramble Yards per Game (2024)
1. Jayden Daniels - 36.1
2. Drake Maye - 31.3 🙊
3. Jalen Hurts - 28.1
4. Lamar Jackson - 27.4Those Same QBs by Designed Rushing FPG
Jayden Daniels - 3.6
Drake Maye - 0.1 🤫
Jalen Hurts - 7.4
Lamar Jackson - 4.4@FantasyPtsData pic.twitter.com/giagyKwE9l— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) June 23, 2025
Fast-forward a full year, and Maye now has some options to work with in the passing game, as DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry are joined by Kyle Williams and Stefon Diggs. The backfield has one of the most explosive running backs from this past April's draft in TreVeyon Henderson, and more importantly, the offensive line is much improved with the additions of Will Campbell, Garrett Bradbury, and Morgan Moses.
What makes Maye even more attractive this week is the matchup. The Las Vegas Raiders allowed 18.48 fantasy points per game last season to the quarterback position, which only the Buccaneers and Cowboys managed to top. Las Vegas surrendered 4,233 passing yards and 29 touchdowns while forcing just 10 interceptions themselves. In the final 11 games, Maye rushed for 421 yards, which is essential considering the Raiders ranked in the middle of the pack last season, allowing 309 yards on the ground.
Trevor Lawrence - QB, Jacksonville Jaguars vs Carolina Panthers
Trevor Lawrence has plenty of haters out there. Still, he is entering Week 1 fully healthy with a pair of difference makers in Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter at his disposal, not to mention Brenton Strange, who was impressive when thrust into the spotlight, plus newly signed Dyami Brown, who averaged 16.4 yards per reception and posted 229 receiving yards, the second-most during the postseason.
Lawrence has some weapons and a new offensive coordinator in Liam Coen, who was partially responsible for Mayfield's fantasy resurrection. Before Coen arrived in Tampa Bay, Mayfield averaged 0.52 fantasy points per dropback. Last season, Lawrence averaged 0.53 fantasy points per dropback. Lawrence may not be the next resurrected fantasy quarterback, but some similarities shouldn't be discredited.
For example, this week's matchup against a Carolina Panthers team that allowed 4,012 passing yards, 35 touchdown passes, 394 quarterback rushing yards, and five rushing touchdowns by opposing quarterbacks. Add all that up, and you get 18.42 fantasy points per game, against which would undoubtedly have Lawrence looking at a top 10 fantasy finish to start the season.
Week 1 Sits - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Justin Fields - QB, New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Fields is the best pure running quarterback the league has to offer, but this week, he may be doing it more than he wants to against his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Over the last three seasons, Fields has averaged 31.3 scramble yards per game and 0.26 scramble touchdowns per game, which is important to remember if we are forced to start Fields this week.
Last season, the Steelers surrendered 13.77 fantasy points per game, the fifth-fewest. More importantly, they only allowed quarterbacks two rushing scores and 229 yards, the fifth-fewest. From what we have seen in training camp and preseason, if Fields is to be productive in fantasy, he will need to create with his legs, and this is not an ideal matchup for doing so. You can only run from T.J. Watt for so long.
Now, what about the passing game? For the Jets, it's been nonexistent thus far, but against the Steelers last season, teams did manage to throw for 4,151 yards. However, Pittsburgh identified its secondary as a weakness in the offseason and added a pair of veterans, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, to the mix, along with one of the best cover corners in the game today, Joey Porter Jr.
Caleb Williams - QB, Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings
I know the Chicago Bears had their issues along the offensive line last season, but when looking at catchable passes inside a clean pocket while receivers who had gained a step in separation, Fantasy Points Data charted Williams's rookie season as one of the worst ever.
Worst QB seasons in @FantasyPtsData history measured by catchable throw rate when operating from a clean pocket *and* targeting a receiver with at least a step of separation
102. Aaron Rodgers, 2024
103. CALEB WILLIAMS, 2024
104. Justin Fields, 2022
105. Lamar Jackson, 2022
106.… pic.twitter.com/YdUR1L9ARK— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) July 22, 2025
Plenty has changed in Chicago, and while Keenan Allen is no longer, the Bears added a pair of rookie pass catchers, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, in an attempt to expedite Williams's learning curve. That is both positive and negative as we head into Week 1, with all parties involved trying to familiarize themselves with Ben Johnson's offensive scheme.
To further complicate things, Minnesota held quarterbacks to the fourth-fewest fantasy production last season, allowing just 13.44 fantasy points per contest. A major reason for that number being as low as it was was that Minnesota forced a league-high 24 interceptions. The Vikings also sacked the opposing quarterback on 49 occasions, the fifth-most, including getting to Williams five times in their two meetings last season.
Jared Goff - QB, Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Goff has proven to be a great quarterback throughout his tenure in Detroit. He has also shown that for fantasy managers, he is more effective at home than on the road. Looking at the last two seasons, Goff has thrown 13 more touchdown passes in the 17 home contests than he has in the 17 games away from Ford Field.
This week, Goff and the Lions face a familiar foe in the Green Bay Packers, who allowed 23 passing touchdowns (eighth-fewest), 3,559 passing yards, and 14.07 fantasy points per game (sixth-fewest). The Packers also finished inside the top eight defensively in both interceptions (17) and sacks (45). In the two contests that Goff faced the Packers last season, Goff averaged just 214 passing yards per game.
If Goff wasn't already facing an uphill battle on the road, the Packers just pulled off one of the biggest deals in recent memory when they added Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys for Kenny Clark and a pair of first-round draft picks. The addition of Parsons legitimizes the Packers as Super Bowl contenders, and those 52.5 career sacks in four seasons become dangerous to Goff's health opposite Rashan Gary, who has 16.5 over the last two seasons.
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
