Week 1 Warning Signs - Risky Plays and Potential Duds

Scott Engel looks at Week 1 fantasy football options that will either flame out or not meet initial expectations. These players may get off to slow starts to open the 2021 fantasy football season.

If you are faced with some challenging lineup decisions in Week 1, we can help you make them here. Tight lineup calls can be nerve-wracking and lead to a lot of second-guessing, but this is the central location to find out who to potentially sit and feel comfortable with it.

In this article, I will try and warn you about players who may not live up to fantasy expectations in Week 1. Not all of these players, though, can be benched. Some still must be started, yet with more limited expectations. Those types of players could still have possible upside, but the path to a big day is less certain.

We also drop in some weekend waiver nuggets to consider. Good luck in Week 1 RotoBallers!

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Running Backs

Not only will Saquon Barkley likely be in for a limited workload, but it will be a tough draw for the Giants offensive line against Denver’s defensive front. But even if he is less than 100 percent, you likely do not have a better possible upside option to replace Barkley. You will simply have to limit your expectations. The in-house mood around Barkley, though, seems to be positive.

Saquon Barkley. Mood.#NYGiants pic.twitter.com/h0A3Qi7zmK

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) September 10, 2021

Mike Davis’ rushing ceiling is capped because the Atlanta offensive line will be mismatched against the Philadelphia front. You will have to watch for him catching passes out of the backfield to build a quality statistical line. If the game does turn out to be high-scoring, though, he could notch a rushing TD or two. Davis can be considered for benching if your RB or flex options are deep or in more shallow leagues.

D'Andre Swift is going to face the sort of adversity he may have to deal with all year long. He will got a lot of defensive attention, and throwing swing passes to him out of the backfield won’t be the ideal way to catch up when the 49ers move out to a significant lead. You did not draft Swift to bench him, yet you may have to depend on some other of your starters for better stats.

Myles Gaskin may cede goal line carries to Malcolm Brown. He also does not have much upside in what should be a low-scoring game between the Dolphins and Patriots. Take the under in that one, too.

It is not easy to project who will get more meaningful work between Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams. Gordon may get the edge because of experience in the season opener, but it is better to wait and see how the workload is divided in the first game of the season.

James White is being regarded higher now that Mac Jones is the QB for New England, but it won’t be a major upgrade. Mac Jones has the look of a game manager and he will not boost White’s outlook too much just because he is not Cam Newton, You likely are not playing White yet unless it is a deeper league, but if you need to cut someone to make roster room this weekend he should be a candidate.

If you added Latavius Murray, be ready to watch how Ty'Son Williams performs on Monday night against the Raiders. The Ravens seem to regard Williams well internally, and if he performs well, the Murray pickup may not look as good as it did on Thursday. Williams will have his prime chance to seize an opportunity in a very good matchup vs. Las Vegas.

Wide Receivers

The Buffalo secondary can handle the Pittsburgh WRs. It is hard to sit Diontae Johnson, but I am not recommending Chase Claypool for lineups this week and won’t expect more than decent output from JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The Giants secondary is the strength of their defense. Jerry Jeudy should be viewed as more of a fantasy WR3 in Week 1. Courtland Sutton showed signs of life in the preseason after returning from a major knee injury but I would consider siting him in a tight decision with another similarly valued starter.

Marquez Callaway had a great preseason, but I will recommend sitting him in any close lineup decisions this week. He does not have much help around him in the passing game, especially with Tre'Quan Smith now out, and will likely draw Jaire Alexander in coverage against the Packers.

#Patriots @BumpNrunGilm0re, #Browns @denzelward and #Packers @JaireAlexander were the top 3 defenders over the past two seasons in allowing the fewest yards per target as the nearest defenders. pic.twitter.com/ATbemjv85y

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 10, 2021

Kenny Golladay is hard to cover whenever he is fully healthy. His preseason was heavily disrupted by a hamstring injury, though. Golladay does not have any established chemistry with Daniel Jones yet and the Denver pass defense would be a major challenge even if he was coming in with no missed time. Sit Golladay in Week 1.

There was also a lot of buzz on Jakobi Meyers after Mac Jones was named the Patriots’ starter. Miami has an underrated defense that will really limit Jones in his pro debut, and Meyers is no surefire start in Week 1.

DeVante Parker has fared well vs. the New England secondary in the past, and the unit looks more vulnerable without Stephon Gilmore. Overall, though, the New England defense still looks sturdy and you should not expect much statistical upside from Tua Tagovailoa or any of his WRs just yet. Jaylen Waddle could break one big play but may be limited on receptions in his pro debut.

Elijah Moore certainly has a lot of promise and could be ticketed for a larger role in his first NFL game because of injuries. A quad injury did slow him during the preseason, though, and he may not produce as hoped when pressed into an immediately prominent role.

For those of you expecting Dyami Brown to take a big step forward with Curtis Samuel out, proceed with caution. Ryan Fitzpatrick has an established connection with Adam Humphries and seems to be ready to see what he can get out of Cam Sims, too. Before you pat yourself on the back for adding Brown, you may see Sims or Humphries emerge over him this week. Sims has more potential to produce better numbers, while Humphries could be a safer play for catches In PPR formats.

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow should not be started in single QB leagues if you have a viable alternative. We all know the injury he is trying to put behind him, but expectations should obviously be lowered and the Bengals may lean a lot on Joe Mixon vs. Minnesota.

Jameis Winston did his best to win the starting job in the preseason, but he is lacking in playmaking weaponry and as we indicated, his best WR may be locked up in coverage this week.  Winston will be up and down this season and this could be a down week.

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