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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Kaleb Johnson, Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty, Woody Marks, Kyle Williams, Ollie Gordon, Elic Ayomanor, Dont'e Thornton, Luther Burden, Kyle Monangai.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Kaleb Johnson, Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty, Woody Marks, Kyle Williams, Ollie Gordon II, Elic Ayomanor, Dont'e Thornton Jr., Luther Burden III, Kyle Monangai. 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:
Kaleb Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson will make his regular-season NFL debut against the New York Jets in Week 1. A third-round pick in April's draft, Johnson has plenty of potential, especially in a Steelers offense that has ranked top-10 in rush attempts in each of the past three seasons.
That said, it's unclear just how much of a role Johnson will have early on. Head coach Mike Tomlin recently labeled Jaylen Warren the team's "featured runner", and veteran Kenneth Gainwell currently sits ahead of Johnson on the depth chart.
With Sunday's contest expected to be low-scoring, there is no reason to force Johnson into starting lineups. He should remain rostered in all formats, but fantasy managers would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with Johnson.
Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots
New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams (head/undisclosed) was "sidelined by injury just as it seemed he was grasping the offense," according to Chad Graff of The Athletic. Williams was forced out of New England's second preseason game after getting hit in the head, and missed the team's third preseason game as a result.
However, he returned to the practice field on Sunday and appears to be tracking towards being ready for Week 1. Williams is likely to open the season behind veteran Mack Hollins in the battle for the Patriots' WR3 role alongside Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas.
The 22-year-old is a dynamic deep-ball threat with obvious upside, but he reportedly struggled with inconsistency throughout training camp. If Graff's feeling that Williams was starting to catch on before getting injured is correct, the rookie could be ready to make an impact sooner rather than later.
Ollie Gordon, RB, Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II is set to be the primary backup for the team when they open the season on Sunday afternoon against the Colts. Gordon had a strong preseason with 126 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with three catches for 48 receiving yards over his three preseason games.
Gordon was a sixth-round pick of the Dolphins out of Oklahoma State, and he was the biggest running back in the draft class. He showed off his power running style this preseason and could grow into a nice complement and change-of-pace option behind De'Von Achane. Jaylen Wright (knee) has been ruled out for Week 1, leaving Gordon as the primary backup behind Achane.
Gordon is the RB41 in RotoBaller's rankings for Week 1, making him one of the best backups on the board, but a long-shot starter in most standard formats. He's definitely an exciting rookie to watch in Week 1, but his role isn't big enough to start him as a FLEX play quite yet.
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor is set to make his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon. The rookie out of Stanford projects to operate as the team's No. 3 receiver behind Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett.
On one hand, Ayomanor could see a bump in opportunities if Ridley is smothered by Patrick Surtain II and simply becomes a non-factor in the passing attack. On the other hand, though, many of those targets will be funneled to Lockett, and the Broncos' generally strong defense could rattle Ward enough to the point where he's ineffective passing to all of his receivers.
Ayomanor is a fine fantasy stash, but he should be left on your bench until we have a clearer understanding of his exact role and usage in the Titans' offense.
Dont'e Thornton, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. enters Week 1 as one of the more intriguing sleepers of the 2025 draft class. The 6'5" playmaker earned a starting role ahead of Amari Cooper's retirement and will face a Patriots secondary that could be without cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Thornton's size and downfield ability have made him a favorite target for quarterback Geno Smith throughout camp, flashing legitimate big-play upside. While his early-season role carries promise, the Raiders are still expected to lean on their running game, limiting his immediate fantasy ceiling.
Thornton should be stashed on benches with the potential to develop into a key contributor.
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 - Kaleb Johnson, Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty, Woody Marks, Kyle Williams, Ollie Gordon, Elic Ayomanor, Dont'e Thornton, Luther Burden, Kyle Monangai. 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 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 (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 Kaleb Johnson, Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty, Woody Marks, Kyle Williams, Ollie Gordon, Elic Ayomanor, Dont'e Thornton, Luther Burden, Kyle Monangai:
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