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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Juwan Johnson, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Jake Ferguson, Michael Mayer.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Juwan Johnson, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Jake Ferguson, and Michael Mayer. 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:
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer's pass-catching production has been limited over the past two seasons thanks to the presence of superstar Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee). However, the Raiders announced on Wednesday that Bowers recently had a meniscus trim and is now expected to miss the first one or two games of 2026. As a result, Mayer should operate as the Raiders' TE1 to begin the year.
Across the four games he played in 2025 when Bowers was sidelined by injury, Mayer recorded 18 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 targets. The Raiders should have a more stable offensive environment in 2026 with Kirk Cousins at quarterback and Klint Kubiak calling plays. Ahead of a relatively favorable matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, Mayer could be a worthy tight end streamer for fantasy managers to target on the waiver wire.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson put together the most productive season of his career in 2025, recording 77 catches for 889 yards and three touchdowns on 102 targets across 17 games. Alongside star Saints wideout Chris Olave, Johnson spent much of the year as the clear second option in the New Orleans passing game.
With Saints rookie first-round wideout Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) on Injured Reserve to begin the year, Johnson appears to be in a similar situation in New Orleans to open 2026. Across his final 11 games of 2025, Johnson topped double-digit PPR fantasy points seven times. For as long as Tyson remains sidelined, Johnson carries top-12 fantasy tight end upside and should likely be rostered across most league formats. He is a solid mid-end TE1 in Week 1 facing the Lions.
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid might finally get the playing time fantasy managers have been waiting for. Kincaid caught 39 passes for 571 yards and five touchdowns in only 12 games last season despite spending much of the year in a part-time role. His efficiency was among the best at the position whenever he actually ran routes.
Now there is belief around Buffalo that Kincaid could push into the 60% to 65% snap range after going through his healthiest training camp in years. He looked the part this summer too, repeatedly finding the end zone with Josh Allen and earning praise for both his receiving work and improvement as a blocker. Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes are still involved, so the increased workload isn't guaranteed.
That's really the only thing holding this back. Kincaid has already shown what he can do with limited opportunities. If Buffalo finally keeps him on the field consistently, he has the kind of ceiling that can swing fantasy leagues at tight end.
His projection is to be a low-end TE1 with upside in their Week 1 title against the Houston Texans.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert looks poised to continue to be his team's top option at tight end and play a major role this season. With A.J. Brown departing to the Patriots, more targets will be available for the rest of the Eagles' pass-catchers. Last year, Goedert had a career-high 60 catches for 591 yards and an impressive total of 11 touchdowns.
There was concern for Goedert's playing time after the Eagles drafted Eli Stowers, but Stowers struggled in training camp and the preseason and appears to need more development time. Stowers is an elite athlete but is still new to the position, which should leave Goedert as a major contributor in the Eagles' offense, especially early in the season.
He should be a reliable low-end TE1 with higher upside if he keeps finding the end zone so regularly in 2026. He has a favorable matchup to begin the season against the Washington Commanders.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has looked locked in and ready to post another strong season, according to reports from Chiefs' camp. Last year, in a down year by his elite standards, Kelce racked up 76 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns on 108 targets. He has finished with over 100 targets in 11 consecutive seasons, and the Chiefs return most of the same pass-catching options this year.
In great news for Kelce's fantasy outlook, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) looks like he'll be ready for Week 1, so Kelce can continue his elite chemistry, serving as Mahomes' go-to option. He may not have the ceiling that he provided earlier in his career, but it looks like the veteran still has enough in the tank to bring great value in standard leagues. Kelce holds low-end TE1 value with a safe floor despite facing a tough Denver defense on Monday night.
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 - Juwan Johnson, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Jake Ferguson, Michael Mayer. 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 Juwan Johnson, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Jake Ferguson, Michael Mayer:
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