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Matt's quarterback (QB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 1 of 2026. His QB lineups advice for Week 1 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
The wait is finally over. After months of draft preparation, training camp reports, preseason hype, and endless debates about Average Draft Position (ADP), fantasy football managers can finally set real lineups for games that count. Week 1 is always one of the most challenging weeks of the season because fantasy managers must balance offseason expectations with actual matchups.
While elite quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Joe Burrow are automatic starts regardless of opponent, the real decisions happen in the middle tiers. Do you trust a breakout candidate in his first game under a new offensive coordinator? Can a young quarterback take advantage of a favorable matchup? Should you avoid a proven veteran facing an elite defense on the road?
For those who cannot wait until Thursday, we've got something special for you: a way-too-early starts-and-sits coming hot off the presses.
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Week 1 - Potential Fantasy Football Booms
Jared Goff - QB, Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints
It feels like the entire fantasy community forgot that Jared Goff just finished the 2025 season as the QB8 in fantasy, putting up more than 300 fantasy points and averaging nearly 18 fantasy points per game.
Jared Goff drops a DIME to St. Brown for the TD!
DETvsBAL on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/TFr2yU3NL5— NFL (@NFL) September 23, 2025
Goff’s 2025 season saw him throw for 4,564 yards and toss 34 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. This was a year after throwing for 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns. Over the last four seasons, Goff is averaging 32.5 passing touchdowns per season.
Goff has unlimited resources with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and Jameson Williams at his disposal in the passing game; there isn’t a team in the league that can match up with that firepower across the board.
The only reservation fantasy managers could have is if this becomes a blowout by halftime; that said, Tyler Shough is a sneaky start this week considering the Lions are without both Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph in the secondary. If Shough can keep this game close, then Goff will be required to keep on slinging the rock.
Jaxson Dart - QB, New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys
No team last season allowed more fantasy production to the quarterback position than the Dallas Cowboys, and it wasn’t particularly close. Last season, Dallas surrendered 23.8 fantasy points per game to opposing signal-callers who not only threw 35 touchdown passes against them (tied for the most), but also added a league-high eight rushing scores.
JAXSON DART FIRST TD PASS IN THE NFL.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey on the other end!
Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/afUQ8Ijt59— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2025
Once Jaxson Dart became the starter last year, he produced at a QB1 level. In 12 games in which Dart attempted a pass, he would go on to throw for 2,272 yards, completing 63.7% of his passing attempts and finishing with a 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
As promising as that is in itself, Dart also possesses the Konami code at the quarterback position, averaging 5.7 rushing yards per attempt on his way to 487 rushing yards in his rookie season.
In the regular-season finale, Dart completed 22 of 32 passes for 230 yards and a pair of touchdown passes against this Cowboys defense while adding 32 additional yards on the ground. Dart accomplished this without Malik Nabers, who should be available this week, albeit on monitored snaps.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Las Vegas Raiders vs Miami Dolphins
There are definitely quarterbacks ranked higher than Kirk Cousins, but if you are in a pinch, this is a favorable matchup for Cousins, who is making his Raiders debut. Last season, the Dolphins surrendered 3,920 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, along with the 10th-most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position (19.0).
Here’s the strongest case for Cousins: it’s Brock Bowers. Cousins loves his tight ends; look back at the fantasy production courtesy of his tight ends. In 2015 and 2016, Jordan Reed saw a combined 220 targets with the pair in Washington.
Then, in Minnesota, Kyle Rudolph finished a season with 83 receptions on 132 targets, 840 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. In 2023, T.J. Hockenson reached 127 targets, hauling in 95 passes for 960 yards and five scores, and then in 2024, Kyle Pitts Sr. received 74 targets courtesy of Cousins.
Bowers is considerably better than that lot of tight ends that were just mentioned, and here’s why Cousins is a sneaky value play this week. Miami’s defense allowed 108 receptions and 10.3 fantasy points per game (fourth-most) to the position last season. Miami made several roster changes this offseason, including the release of linebacker Tyrel Dodson and the trade that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to New York.
As of right now, the Raiders are 3.5-point home favorites, which isn’t likely to happen often this season, so take advantage of it while you can. With the losses on the defensive side of the ball, Miami may not have an answer for Cousins and Bowers.
Start Cousins if you need a safe superflex QB2 or lack a better option. In a normal 1-QB league, I’d generally sit him for a higher-upside quarterback with rushing ability or a stronger offensive matchup.
Week 1 - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Drake Maye - QB, New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks
This is likely the only time Drake Maye lands on the sit-list, but a Super Bowl rematch at Lumen Field on a random Wednesday is not the most ideal situation. New England is a 3.5-point road underdog in Seattle. That creates a difficult combination: a young quarterback, a potentially low-scoring road environment, and less certainty about touchdown production.
Last time Maye faced the Seahawks, Seattle sacked Maye six times and forced a pair of interceptions in that 29-13 defeat. Seattle was the only team in the NFL to average more than 10 fantasy points per game, ranking top 10 in passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and total yards allowed.
The Seahawks defense allowed 17.2 points per game, the fewest a season ago, while forcing the sixth-most turnovers (25), with 18 of those turnovers resulting in interceptions.
Jordan Love - QB, Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
With Josh Jacobs on the Commissioner's Exempt List, the Green Bay Packers offense has become very one-dimensional. Many people out there are adding MarShawn Lloyd, hoping he can handle the workload, but the truth is, if you add up all Lloyd's touches dating back to high school, it’s less than 400 (325 in college plus seven in the NFL).
Last season, Love faced the Vikings once. In that game, Love would complete 14 of 21 passes for 139 yards and fail to find the end zone. Green Bay won the game, but fantasy managers lost. Love wasn’t the only quarterback to be stifled by this Brian Flores defense.
Minnesota allowed a fantasy-low 11.9 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position, while only the Buffalo Bills allowed fewer passing yards than the 3,021 that the Vikings conceded.
Week 1 isn’t a time to get too cute; with the matchup being less than favorable, it’s best to look elsewhere for that fantasy production.
Brock Purdy - QB, San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
Brock Purdy and the 49ers head to Melbourne, Australia, to kick off their 2026 campaign, and while a Thursday night game is usually enough for me to fade a quarterback, when you factor in the international travel, plus the decimated receiver room, plus Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, it becomes a hard no.
More plays like these to come from Aaron Donald in a Rams uniform 🔥@AaronDonald97 | @RamsNFL pic.twitter.com/cqGsEdaqwA
— NFL (@NFL) August 30, 2026
Los Angeles was 14th in points against last season, allowing 16.3 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, but that was without Garrett or Donald in the mix, not to mention the secondary upgrades in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Even without those new additions, the Rams ranked fifth in forced turnovers with 26 and seventh in sacks with 47.
The Rams know Kyle Shanahan’s system well, which can make explosive plays harder to generate. Purdy generally needs passing efficiency and touchdowns to post a big fantasy score; he does not provide the rushing cushion of Allen, Lamar, Hurts, or Jayden Daniels. If the Rams create pressure, Purdy’s fantasy output could settle into a modest yardage total without multiple scores.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Jaxson Dart, Drake Maye, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff. 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, player 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 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 Jaxson Dart, Drake Maye, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff:
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