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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Terrance Ferguson.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, and Terrance Ferguson. 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.
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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:
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) was seen participating in practice on Monday. 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak says Kittle looks good for the season opener, but his workload is still to be determined, Cam Inman reports.
Kittle still needs to get through a few more practices, but is trending towards playing on Thursday versus the Los Angeles Rams. The 32-year-old made an incredibly quick recovery from a torn right Achilles that he suffered during a playoff game in January. When healthy, Kittle is a top-tier tight end, but fantasy managers might need to be patient with him for a game or two.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum saw his workload increase over the back half of the 2025 season, and there was a case to be made that he was a more explosive runner than veteran Kyren Williams. With both backs again healthy heading into the 2026 season, there is an expectation that they could share something closer to a 50/50 workload split, and while ESPN's Dan Graziano acknowledges that Williams is likely to begin the year in a nominal lead back role, he believes that if Corum can improve as a pass protector, he could emerge as the Rams' 1A to William's 1B by year end.
Both players performed as top 17 fantasy running backs over the final six weeks of the regular season, so there is obvious room for both to succeed, but with Corum going nearly six rounds later in 2026 drafts, he would prove to be a league-winner should Graziano's prediction bear out.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was a very strong fantasy option when healthy last year, and he is expected to raise his ceiling even higher in 2026. First of all, Purdy reportedly has increased mobility this year. It was previously reported that he's going to run more, building on his last year's average of 16.3 rushing yards per game.
We're not expecting this major transformation into a run-first quarterback, but any sort of increased mobility should help his fantasy stock. Second, Purdy continues to play in a 49ers offense full of talent. Even after losing Jauan Jennings to free agency and Ricky Pearsall (knee) to injury, San Francisco's receiver room still features Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr., and De'Zhaun Stribling.
Plus, he has one of the league's best tight ends in George Kittle and one of the best running backs in Christian McCaffrey. Purdy has so many talented options to target on any given play, giving him a high ceiling in fantasy football. The 26-year-old ranks as the QB11 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings. He has an ADP of 110.4, which corresponds to the 10th round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 13th quarterback off the board.
Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson might have gone undrafted in many single-year fantasy football formats, but that does not mean that he will not be a factor in 2026. The second-round pick from Oregon finds himself in a crowded Rams tight end room again in 2026 alongside Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Davis Allen, and rookie Max Klare, but he arguably has the most pass-catching upside among the group.
And when we are talking about upside players in an already explosive Rams offense, you should pay attention.
Ferguson had only 11 receptions on 25 targets for 231 yards and three touchdowns in his first 14 NFL games in 2025, but he came alive late and scored two of his three touchdowns in his final two regular-season contests. It would not be a big surprise to see Ferguson emerge as quarterback Matthew Stafford's third option by the end of the 2026 campaign behind receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. And if Nacua faces any kind of NFL suspension this year, Ferguson could quickly become a must-start TE.
The 23-year-old is only rostered in 24% of Yahoo leagues right now and is worth a pickup if you need extra depth at the position.
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 - Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Terrance Ferguson. 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 Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Blake Corum, Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Terrance Ferguson:
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