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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Luther Burden III, Terry McLaurin, Jordan Addison, Stefon Diggs, Jonathon Brooks, Brian Thomas Jr., Michael Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Jayden Reed.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Luther Burden III, Terry McLaurin, Jordan Addison, Stefon Diggs, Jonathon Brooks, Brian Thomas Jr., Michael Wilson, Courtland Sutton, and Jayden Reed. However, don't worry, we are here to help you 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.
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2026 Fantasy Football 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:
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed is likely headed for a larger role on offense in 2026. Not only is Reed fully healthy after recovering from last year's injuries, but he also faces slightly less competition for targets after Romeo Doubs departed for New England in free agency. Injuries limited Reed to just 19 catches, 207 yards, and one touchdown last year, but he finished as the WR29 or higher in PPR leagues in both 2023 and 2024.
Even if he doesn't return to his top-30 receiver form, he can still be a WR3/flex in fantasy leagues with 12+ teams. His biggest competition for targets is Matthew Golden, and the good news is that Reed has more experience in the NFL than Golden. Plus, Golden still needs to prove that he's worthy of a larger role after catching just 29 passes with zero touchdowns as a rookie last year, whereas Reed has more of an established track record.
For now, it seems like Reed has the edge over Golden. He currently has an ADP of 117.3, which corresponds to the 10th round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 31st receiver off the board.
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals reached an agreement on Wednesday with standout wide receiver Michael Wilson on a three-year extension that keeps him in Arizona through the 2029 season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Financial terms of the extension were not disclosed by Schefter. Wilson is expected to sign the deal on Thursday. The 26-year-old earned a new deal after setting career highs across the board in his third NFL season in 2025 in catches (78), targets (126), receiving yards (1,006), and touchdowns (seven) in 17 games played for the Cardinals.
The former third-rounder in 2023 from Stanford took advantage of Arizona's pass-happy offense under former coordinator Drew Petzing, and he also benefited from Marvin Harrison Jr. missing time due to various injuries. But Wilson proved last year that he can thrive in a bigger role in the Cardinals' passing attack, and he developed valuable chemistry with veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is still around.
The offense should be more balanced under new head coach Mike LaFleur, but even with some regression baked into his profile, Wilson is an attractive WR4/flex target for fantasy managers in 2026
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison has a much better quarterback setup than he dealt with for most of 2025. Addison finished last season with career lows of 42 catches, 610 yards and three touchdowns on 79 targets while Minnesota cycled through J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer. The Vikings have settled things down this summer, naming Kyler Murray the starter on Aug. 11.
Addison was involved right away. He caught back-to-back corner routes from Murray during his first practice working exclusively with the starters, then moved the chains on an eight-yard catch from him in Minnesota's preseason opener.
That's encouraging for a receiver who scored 19 touchdowns through his first two NFL seasons before dropping to three last year. Justin Jefferson will still dominate targets, and Jauan Jennings and T.J. Hockenson give the offense other proven options, so Addison isn't walking into huge volume. RotoBaller ranks Addison at WR35 in its latest half-PPR rankings. After a down 2025, the steadier quarterback situation gives Addison a real shot to get back into the weekly WR3 mix.
Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (groin) missed a large chunk of training camp after suffering a groin injury in early August. However, the second-year wideout returned to the practice field on Tuesday, and he appears to be trending toward being a full-go for Week 1. Across 15 games (five starts) as a rookie in 2025, Burden III recorded 47 catches for 652 yards and two touchdowns on 60 targets.
His best stretch came at the end of the year, as he recorded 21 catches for 324 yards and a touchdown over his final four games of the regular season. Entering 2026, Burden III appears poised to play an even larger role in the Bears' passing game following the team's offseason trade of veteran wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills. As long as he remains on the field, Burden III could be in line for a breakout season.
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (soreness) continues to deal with general soreness, and after he was seen working with trainers during the media accessible portion of Monday's practice, head coach Dave Canales declined to offer an update on his status. Canales told reporters on Thursday that he was "very optimistic" about Brooks' availability for Week 1, and when asked on Monday if that remained the case, he said he "hopes so."
The Panthers host the Bears to open the 2026 season, and with the first official injury report to be released on Wednesday, Brooks' status will need to be monitored, as he has become a popular breakout candidate in what had looked to be the first fully healthy season of his professional career.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Luther Burden, Terry McLaurin, Jordan Addison, Stefon Diggs, Jonathon Brooks, Brian Thomas, Michael Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Jayden Reed. 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, 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 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for Luther Burden, Terry McLaurin, Jordan Addison, Stefon Diggs, Jonathon Brooks, Brian Thomas, Michael Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Jayden Reed:
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