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Should I start Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs for Week 1? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2026 NFL season.
The first game of the 2026 season will repeat last season's Super Bowl, with the Seattle Seahawks once again facing the New England Patriots. Each team has quarterbacks and receivers that will be fantasy-relevant this season.
Sam Darnold and Rashid Shaheed, who are the starting quarterback and wide receiver for the Seahawks, and first-year New England Patriots receiver Romeo Doubs are three such players. Each should be a key part of their respective offenses.
But does that mean you should start them in fantasy football for Week 1? Let's dive in.
Should I Start Sam Darnold for Fantasy Football?
The QB13 in fantasy football in 2025 is once again the Seahawks' starting QB. Darnold had a few good games, but his season, at least in fantasy, was marred by a few awful, week-losing performances. He had seven games with fewer than double-digit PPR fantasy points last year.
That doesn't inspire confidence about his week-to-week upside. My analysis is that he should regress this season, now that former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Kubiak is a brilliant offensive mind who was a huge part of Seattle winning the Super Bowl.
Four Rams INTs ‼️
SEAvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/mtCIU9Aeck
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
The Seahawks will have the next player in this article on their offense with another year in the system, and he should be more involved, which helps Darnold. But No. 14 doesn't have much rushing upside. He's a low-ceiling player that relies on a high volume of passing touchdowns to have a great week in fantasy.
The potential for awful games is also far too high. Darnold was likely not drafted in most 12-team leagues (non-superflex) and is better off left on the bench for now, as there are simply so many better options for him in fantasy right now.
Should I Start Rashid Shaheed for Fantasy Football?
Shaheed is an interesting player to look at. After joining the Seahawks last season, he didn't do much at all fantasy-wise. Instead, he was relegated to playing on special teams with very little involvement in the passing offense. He wasn't fantasy viable after leaving the New Orleans Saints.
Still, the organization has signaled its confidence in him and indicated that he'll have a more substantial role in the offense for 2026. Thus, I had him pegged as one of the best draft values in the very late rounds of 2026 fantasy drafts.
I know Emmanuel Forbes was having nightmares about Rashid Shaheed after this game last year. pic.twitter.com/42qiMEgGco
— Josh Stecklein🍏 (@JmoneysteckNFL) September 5, 2026
Shaheed played well with the Saints, though, and receivers traded mid-season to another team typically don't produce well in fantasy. It's too much of a learning curve to get used to a new offense without an offseason to work with, and the coaches haven't fully game-planned how to get them involved.
In deeper leagues, Shaheed is worth a start at flex or a deeper WR position. He doesn't crack WR2 territory yet. We need to see how involved he truly is, or whether Seattle still wants to run basically their full passing offense through WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Should I Start Romeo Doubs for Fantasy Football?
Doubs was a huge fantasy riser after signing with the Patriots, at least until the team also brought in WR A.J. Brown. Doubs is still the second-best WR on this team, and should get plenty of work in the passing game. Whether that work is consistent remains to be seen.
In Week 1, we could see the Seahawks slide more coverage toward Brown. This should give Doubs easier coverage looks, and subsequently lead Pats quarterback Drake Maye to send at least eight targets his way.
People really hating on Romeo Doubs' hands? pic.twitter.com/tg7BlH631P
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) January 13, 2023
He's been an underrated receiver for some time. Fantasy-wise, he languished a bit on the Packers offense, which was focused on spreading the ball around heavily during the time he was there. But he's a good route-runner and solid separator with strong hands and a surprisingly good red zone game.
Doubs checks in as a solid flex option, though the Brown signing certainly dropped his ADP to the point he'll be on benches in most leagues for Week 1.
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 Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs. 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 2026 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 - Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs. 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, 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 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 (2026)? 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 Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs compared to others:
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