RADIO
Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for De'Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Terrance Ferguson, Mike Evans.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like De'Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Terrance Ferguson, and Mike Evans. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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:
Mike Evans, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (groin) is not listed on the team's initial injury report ahead of its season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. Evans dealt with a groin injury during training camp, but the veteran wideout said it wasn't serious, and he appears to be a full-go for the start of the regular season. Evans is entering his age-33 season and missed nine games in 2025 due to hamstring and collarbone injuries.
Even ahead of his first season with the 49ers, Evans has little to prove in training camp practices, so it makes sense that the team would be extra cautious with him over the summer. Evans remained a productive player when healthy last season, recording 30 catches for 368 yards and three touchdowns on 62 targets across eight games. He profiles as a high-end WR3 option for fantasy managers entering 2026.
De'Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling still looks like one of the more interesting rookie breakouts to watch after a strong summer. The shoulder issue that cost him the preseason finale is no longer showing up on the injury report, which removes the biggest short-term concern.
Stribling earned the attention in the first place. He caught 11 of 13 targets for 109 yards across two preseason games and kept making plays in camp, including a pair of red-zone touchdowns during joint practices with the Chargers. Kyle Shanahan also praised how consistently he competed and handled coaching.
The role is not locked in yet. San Francisco's official depth chart lists Mike Evans ahead of Stribling, with Deebo Samuel Sr. starting at the other receiver spot, but Ricky Pearsall is out for the season and there should be room for Stribling in multi-receiver sets. He does not need to be forced into lineups against the Rams. The bigger story is that his breakout path is still very much alive.
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams has been a top-10 fantasy running back in PPR leagues over each of the last three seasons. Consistency has been a key theme for the Notre Dame product, who scored double-digit fantasy points in 14 of his 17 games last year. That higher-end floor should remain in place for 2026, as Williams gets ready to kick off the season against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
The biggest storyline to watch is how the Rams split backfield touches. Williams has shown that he can be a workhorse back in the past, but the Rams made a deliberate effort to limit his workload last year so he could be healthy for a full season. If that happens again this year, Williams will remain an RB1 with touchdown upside, but Blake Corum could get onto the fantasy radar as an RB3/flex, too.
Matchup-wise, the 49ers allowed the 14th-most rushing yards, 14th-most receiving yards, and 13th-most fantasy points.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum ranks as an RB3/flex option against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, despite his projected role as the No. 2 option behind Kyren Williams. Corum routinely carved out standalone value last year, ranking as the overall RB8 in PPR leagues from Weeks 13-16. This year, Corum is expected to take on a larger, more consistent role.
That could start right away in Week 1, despite the fact that Corum has a tougher matchup. The 49ers did allow the 13th-most fantasy points to running backs last year, but a lot of that production came on receptions. Corum isn't a major receiving threat, and the 49ers ranked near the middle of the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns allowed.
There's also a lot of mouths to feed in this offense, which features Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, in addition to Williams. Nevertheless, Corum enters Week 1 as a low-end RB3/flex.
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 - De'Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Terrance Ferguson, Mike Evans. 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 De'Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Terrance Ferguson, Mike Evans:
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!
