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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Juwan Johnson, Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor, Mike Gesicki.
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, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor, and Mike Gesicki. 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 played a limited role as a receiver in 2025, recording 35 catches for 328 yards and one touchdown on 50 targets across 13 games. However, with Raiders TE1 Brock Bowers (knee) sidelined, Mayer could step into an elevated target share in the Raiders' 2026 season opener against the Miami Dolphins.
Across four games with Bowers inactive in 2025, Mayer recorded 18 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 targets. While his numbers may not leap off the page, Las Vegas should field an improved passing game with new head coach Klint Kubiak calling plays in 2026. The Dolphins also profile as a favorable matchup on paper for Mayer, as Miami allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends last season.
All in all, Mayer projects as a low-end top-12 tight end option for fantasy managers in Week 1.
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid enters Week 1 healthy after making the most of a limited role in 2025. Kincaid caught 39 of 49 targets for 571 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games, averaging an impressive 14.6 yards per reception. The concern is whether the volume grows now that DJ Moore has joined Khalil Shakir in Buffalo's receiving corps, with Dawson Knox still involved at tight end.
Houston was also a difficult matchup for the position last season, allowing 775 receiving yards to tight ends, or 45.6 per game, although eight tight end touchdowns kept some scoring upside available. RotoBaller ranks Kincaid TE15 for Week 1. His efficiency and touchdown potential keep him in the streaming conversation, but he is better viewed as a high-end TE2 than a locked-in starter against the Texans.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews looks to bounce back this season, and his campaign starts in Indianapolis against the Colts in Week 1. Andrews is entering the first year of his three-year, $39.3 million contract extension signed in December and is leading a rebuilt tight end room.
Veteran Durham Smythe joined in the offseason, and rookies Matt Hibner and Josh Cuevas each made strong showings during the preseason. Smythe is expected to handle much of the blocking work, while the younger tight ends will develop over the course of the season.
Andrews is coming off one of his worst career years, in terms of efficiency, but he had a promising camp and looks healthy heading into his ninth season with the Ravens. Last year, Andrews had a career-low 422 total yards, despite playing all 17 games, and averaged just 24.8 receiving yards per game. He also had career lows in several advanced metrics, including yards per reception (8.8), receiving EPA (-9.2), air yards per target (7.8), and yards after catch over expected (-23).
However, the Colts defense was in the bottom 10 against tight ends in 2025, allowing an average of 12.6 points to the position. Andrews should fall right behind wide receiver Zay Flowers in targets on Sunday. Most importantly, the veteran tight end has established trust with quarterback Lamar Jackson, especially in the red zone, which probably makes him a low-end TE1 going into Week 1.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 77 catches for 889 yards and three touchdowns on 102 targets across 17 games. With Saints rookie wideout Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) on Injured Reserve to begin the year, Johnson appears set to open 2026 as the number two option in the New Orleans passing game behind only star wide receiver Chris Olave.
In Week 1, Johnson and the Saints will travel to Detroit to take on the Lions. The Lions fielded a slightly below-average pass defense against tight ends in 2025, allowing the 13th-most fantasy points to the position. However, Detroit will be without starting safeties Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) to begin the year, and the team lost top coverage linebacker Alex Anzalone to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
With a favorable matchup against the Lions, Johnson profiles as a low-end TE1 option for fantasy managers in Week 1.
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers and tight end Tucker Kraft have agreed to a contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. With Kraft's rookie contract set to expire after the 2026 season, the Packers were able to lock him in for four more years, with the contract now running through 2030.
Rapoport reports that Kraft will average $19.66 million over the first three years, and the overall deal is a four-year contract worth $75 million, with a maximum value of $92 million. Kraft will receive a $26.5 million signing bonus. Kraft (knee) suffered a torn ACL last November, but is not on the injury report heading into a Week 1 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
It is unclear if Kraft will be on any kind of pitch count. Kraft ranks as RotoBaller's No. 5 tight end for Week 1.
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, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor, Mike Gesicki. 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, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goedert, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor, Mike Gesicki:
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