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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for David Njoku, Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, Sam LaPorta, Jonnu Smith.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like David Njoku, Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts Sr., Sam LaPorta, Jonnu Smith. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Fantasy Football Matchup 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:
David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku will make his 2025 debut against the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 1. With Joe Flacco back under center after a stint with the team in 2023, Njoku is primed to get off to a hot start this season.
Flacco and Njoku showed excellent chemistry together two years ago, combining for 30 receptions, 390 yards, and four touchdowns in five games together. The Bengals were the worst team in the league against tight ends last season as they allowed the most fantasy points per game to the position.
Njoku is ranked as a top-six fantasy tight end heading into Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland ends his preseason, gathering one catch for four yards in the Bears' 29-27 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Loveland had his worst game of the preseason, with his fewest receiving yards in a game yet, and an early false start penalty costing the Bears five yards in their opening drive.
During the first three drives of the game, Loveland was outsnapped by veteran tight end Cole Kmet, 14-12. The 2025 10th-overall pick has been a favorite so far for quarterback Caleb Williams, both in the preseason and in training camp.
Loveland will be a significant contributor to the Bears' success later in the season, but starting him in fantasy leagues early in the season is incredibly risky given his current snap count.
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid endured a sophomore slump last season. After amassing 73 catches for 673 yards and two touchdowns over 16 games as a rookie, the former first-rounder posted 44-448-two in 13 contests in 2024.
A knee injury hampered Kincaid, who is healthy heading into the new season and will face off against a talent-rich Baltimore Ravens defense in the opener this Sunday. Kincaid took on the Ravens twice a year ago and produced mixed results.
He caught five of seven targets for 47 yards in a Week 4 loss and secured one of two targets for 11 yards in a divisional-round victory. While Kincaid is a risky choice for Sunday, the 25-year-old has more upside than he offered last season. There is potential for Kincaid to become a reliable TE1 for fantasy managers in 2025.
Evan Engram, TE, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi called tight end Evan Engram an "elite receiver." The Broncos have been searching for an elite pass-catching tight end for a while now, and Engram could be that guy in 2025 in his first year with the team.
The 30-year-old former first-rounder by the New York Giants in 2017 out of Mississippi played in only nine games due to a shoulder injury last year, but he had a career-high 963 receiving yards on 114 receptions in a career year for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023.
Engram has developed chemistry with second-year quarterback Bo Nix this summer and could be the young signal-caller's No. 2 target behind receiver Courtland Sutton. Not only should Engram see more usage in Denver thi year, but he could also be more of a red-zone target, which has been an issue for his fantasy upside since his rookie season.
Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was the target of a lot of hatred and criticism the last time he took on the Buffalo Bills. His last-minute drop sealed their fate in the playoffs, then he had to hear his name in constant trade rumors.
Despite the playoff miscue and a few goose eggs throughout the regular season, Andrews finished as the TE5 on the year with 55 receptions for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns on 69 targets. While the double-digit touchdown mark will be hard to hit again, Andrews has scored at least six times in five of his seven years.
With Isaiah Likely (foot) ruled out for Week 1, Andrews' value gets a bit of a boost as well. He should be considered a mid-level TE1 for this matchup.
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 - David Njoku, Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, Sam LaPorta, Jonnu Smith. 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, 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 that 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 (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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for David Njoku, Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, Sam LaPorta, Jonnu Smith:
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