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Should you start Jaylin Noel, Isaac TeSlaa, Pat Bryant in fantasy football Week 1? John's fantasy outlooks for these rookie wide receivers in 2025.
Rookie wide receivers often have slow starts to their careers, especially if they were selected outside the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. As the saying goes, if you were drafted late, you have to prove that you can play, but if you were drafted early, you have to prove that you can't play.
Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel, Detroit Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa, and Denver Broncos wideout Pat Bryant were all chosen by their teams in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, so to some degree, they'll have to slowly earn more playing time as the season goes on.
But due to injuries, being in deeper leagues, and other factors, you might be considering starting some of these wideouts, and there's nothing wrong with that. So let's dive into our start/sit recommendations for these three rookie WRs in fantasy football for Week 1 of the 2025 season!
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Should I Start Jaylin Noel in Week 1?
Noel is in an interesting spot. He was drafted to a very crowded wide receiver room, unfortunately. He'll share the field with elite WR1 Nico Collins, fellow rookie Jayden Higgins, slot WR Christian Kirk (hamstring), and others. He's at least surpassed WR Xavier Hutchinson for third on the depth chart.
But Kirk is now sidelined with a hamstring injury that could keep him out of action for two weeks or more, meaning Noel could get more playing time early than expected. Noel operated in the slot often in training camp and practices, and that's likely where he'll play, given his smaller size for a WR.
This is so filthy from Jaylin Noel.
-Upright body and slow foot pace to trick defender
-Stays jogging before the catch to keep his options open after the catch
-Stops on a dime, twists fast, plants foot and rotates, puts defender in the dirt
-Re-acceleration
Elite film. pic.twitter.com/gBZ7SS3LGH— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 20, 2025
Noel is incredibly talented, and though splitting time with Kirk won't be fun, you don't have to worry about that in Week 1. In deeper leagues, he's worth a flex start, though it's risky, of course, to start a rookie on a new offense. You're betting on his talent, though, and there's plenty of it.
Should I Start Isaac TeSlaa in Week 1?
The main barrier to TeSlaa getting off to a hot start in his career is the competition around him. Early on, he'll have to battle with wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta for playing time, routes, and targets. And those three pass-catchers are among the league's best.
TeSlaa is oozing with talent, but Williams is coming off the best season of his career, St. Brown is a target hog, and LaPorta occupies a role that's likely pretty safe for now. There might not be a ton of work for TeSlaa on what could be a run-heavy offense yet again.
Isaac TeSlaa now has as many touchdown receptions (3) in four NFL preseason games as he did in 13 games at Arkansas last season. #ProHogs pic.twitter.com/wRcItgClqM
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) August 23, 2025
TeSlaa has a clear size advantage over both St. Brown and Williams, and could become the team's second red zone passing option after LaPorta, which gives him solid weekly upside, so he's worth starting in deeper leagues, as is Noel.
Should I Start Pat Bryant in Week 1?
Bryant, unlike the other WRs on this list, might not be featured as one of his team's top-3 wideouts this week. Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., and Troy Franklin all sit ahead of Bryant on the depth chart, and the rookie hasn't done much in the preseason to prove that he deserves a higher spot.
Much of the news out of Broncos camp about wideouts has been praise for Mims and Franklin, and there's genuine excitement that Franklin could take a big step forward this season. It's hard to imagine Bryant getting a significant target share if these reports are to be believed.
Pat Bryant as the big slot in Sean Payton’s offense is legitimately a smash. Was always going to happen in year 1 and now timeline is sped up. Buy. https://t.co/Xyj0HeX0Q2
— Ben Cummins (@BenCumminsFF) August 20, 2025
I imagine we'll need to see a bit more about how this offensive hierarchy shakes out. A slot role could be valuable, but it's up in the air as to how the team's WRs will split the slot snaps. Bryant is probably best left on the bench for Week 1.
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jaylin Noel, Isaac TeSlaa, Pat Bryant. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 1. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 1 of the 2025 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.
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jaylin Noel, Isaac TeSlaa, Pat Bryant. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, 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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 circles), 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 (2025)? 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 Week 1 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Jaylin Noel, Isaac TeSlaa, Pat Bryant compared to others:
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