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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shough, Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shough, Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, and Kirk Cousins. 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:
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud could be headed for a high passing volume and plenty of scoring opportunities in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. Stroud was consistently drafted in fantasy leagues with 14+ teams, leaving him available on the waiver wire in eight-team and 10-team formats, as well as some 12-team leagues.
The former No. 2 overall pick is looking to shake off a frustrating 2025 season in which he threw for a modest 3,041 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His production continued to go downhill in the playoffs.
Stroud has now seen his fantasy ranking decline every year since being drafted, but he could trend back up in a revamped offense this year. He also stands to benefit in a big way from the Texans' Week 1 matchup against the Bills. Although Buffalo allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks last year, Texans-Bills projects as a potential shootout, leaving plenty of touchdown upside for Stroud.
Managers who are already looking for some quarterback help in Week 1 should look to add Stroud off the waiver wire. He'll continue to get some favorable situations after the Bills game, as he runs into a stretch of matchups against the Bengals, Colts, Cowboys, and Titans.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers 27-year-old quarterback Jordan Love is poised for a stellar season in 2026. With star running back Josh Jacobs facing a potential suspension and currently on the NFL's Commissioner's Exempt List, the Packers will need to rely on Love to carry this offense, and he should see his passing volume climb.
Back in 2023, Love finished as the QB5 in fantasy points per game (19.4), and star receiver Christian Watson is healthy coming into the season to go along with Tucker Kraft (knee), who appears to be on track to return in Week 1.
Although Love has struggled the past two seasons from a fantasy standpoint (QB16 and QB18 finishes), it's mostly due to his lack of volume. In 2025, he ranked 19th in pass attempts and 28th in team pass plays per game. Even with that, he was highly efficient, ranking seventh in true passer rating, second in QBR, and seventh in explosive rating and EPA.
Love is a must-add on the waiver wire heading into Week 1, as he is being treated like a QB2 but has a clear path to QB1 upside.
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has been going undrafted in many leagues with 12 or fewer teams, leaving him on the waiver wire in many formats. It's a bit surprising to see Jones remain available after fantasy drafts wrap up. Although he is coming off an Achilles injury, he was phenomenal through the first stretch of the 2025 season.
In fact, he ranked as the QB7 in total fantasy points through 12 games before getting injured last year. Jones no longer has Michael Pittman Jr. at his disposal, but he still gets to throw the ball to a very talented group of players, including Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Tyler Warren, and Jonathan Taylor. Indianapolis also signed veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen to bolster its receiver room this offseason.
With numerous weapons at his disposal and plenty of rushing upside, Jones should be viewed as a fringe top-15 fantasy quarterback with top-10 upside this year. As a result, he's an appealing waiver wire option, especially since he opens the season against the Baltimore Ravens, who allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last year.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is worth considering if you're already looking for a Week 1 streamer. He settled in once New Orleans gave him the job last season, throwing for 2,256 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions across nine starts while adding another 174 yards and three scores on the ground. That little bit of rushing helps here.
Shough will go into 2026 as the starter, with Chris Olave still leading the receiver room, although rookie Jordyn Tyson will miss the beginning of the season on injured reserve. The matchup sends him to Detroit on Sunday, and the current Week 1 rankings have Shough at QB16 despite being rostered in only 43% of Yahoo leagues.
He still makes the most sense in 14-team leagues or for managers who don't love their current starter, but this isn't just a desperation QB2. Shough can actually be used right away.
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 - Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shough, Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins. 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 Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shough, Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins:
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