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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith, Jake Ferguson, AJ Brown, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Elliott.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith, Jake Ferguson, AJ Brown, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Elliott. 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.
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Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 1:
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is making his big return from injury this Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The veteran signal-caller missed nine games last year, but he's now healthy and possesses significant fantasy upside. Most of the excitement around Prescott stems from concerns about the Cowboys' defense and running back room.
If Dallas' defense struggles as much as expected, the offense will need to play catch-up and score a lot of points. However, without much star power in the backfield, most of Dallas' offensive attack will need to come through the air. Prescott could easily be asked to throw the football 600 times this year, and his career 66.8 percent completion rate, 5.1 percent touchdown rate, and 2.0 percent interception rate are all very appealing. This week, he faces off against a very strong Eagles defense.
This unit allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks last year, and they only got slightly worse during the offseason. As 8.5-point underdogs, Prescott and the Cowboys could have some solid garbage-time stats, but it seems somewhat unlikely the quarterback lights the world on fire against a very tough opponent. Fantasy managers should feel comfortable with Prescott's floor, but refrain from expressing much optimism about his ceiling. He's merely a low-end QB1 this week.
Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams will likely lead the team in rushing attempts against the Philadelphia Eagles. Purely by volume, he warrants consideration as a mid-range RB3/FLEX option in most fantasy leagues. In addition to rushing the football, he could carve out some targets, especially as the Cowboys wait to fully phase in Jaydon Blue.
While Williams' volume and receiving upside are exciting, his matchup is not as glamorous. The Eagles allowed the seventh-fewest rushing yards, second-fewest rushing touchdowns, and the fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2024. While some of last year's Eagles defense have departed, the team also brought in new faces to stop the run, including rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
Not only could Williams' efficiency suffer as a result, but the Cowboys might also fall into an early deficit and feel more pressure to throw the ball downfield. Purely based on volume, Williams is a fringe fantasy starter in 12-team leagues, but the matchup is nothing to get excited about.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert enters the 2025 season after a bumpy road last year. Goedert got just nine full games under his belt while dealing with injuries, racking up 496 yards and two touchdowns on 42 catches. His highlight performance was a 10-catch game for 170 yards in Week 3, but unfortunately for fantasy managers, he didn't see real consistency until the playoffs came around.
Goedert's opponent on Thursday is the Dallas Cowboys, a team that held him to just 25 yards and two catches in the one meeting they had in 2024. Goedert still has fantasy value; he had the third-highest target percentage inside the 10-yard line for the Eagles last season (behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith) and tied for second-highest inside the 20.
Given his looks in the red zone and his strong stretch towards the end of their Super Bowl run, Goedert lands as a high-end TE2 going into the season opener.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (groin) was not listed on Philadelphia's Tuesday injury report and will likely be set to play Week 1. Smith is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he accumulated 68 catches for 833 yards and eight touchdowns in just 13 games, once again cementing himself as one of the top number-two receivers in the league.
Philly opens the season against the Cowboys, a familiar matchup for Smith as he enters his fifth season in the NFC East. He was boom-or-bust against Dallas last year, tallying just 14 yards in his first face-off then following that up with 120 yards and two touchdowns in their second meeting.
With an offense as explosive as Philly's, Smith is always in the running for a good amount of looks going his way. He's a high-end WR2 going into Thursday.
Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson has the potential to be a big-time contributor in fantasy football this season, but Week 1 might not be the week to start him. On one hand, there's merit behind the idea that Ferguson could benefit from the Cowboys throwing the football a lot, assuming they fall behind early.
However, he still faces an uphill battle to produce against an Eagles defense that shut down the tight end position last year. Through 17 games in 2024, Philadelphia's defense allowed the fewest receiving yards, third-fewest catches, and third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends.
Ferguson likely doesn't have the top-tier talent that's required to buck that trend. After all, in his two games against the Eagles last year, he totaled seven catches for a measly 42 yards. Additionally, each of his two fumbles last season came against Philadelphia. He ranks outside the top 12 at his position this week.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus in on specific players - Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith, Jake Ferguson, AJ Brown, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Elliott. 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, 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 that 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 circle), 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith, Jake Ferguson, AJ Brown, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Elliott:
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