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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Khalil Shakir, Michael Pittman Jr., Rashid Shaheed, Jayden Higgins, Marvin Mims Jr., Romeo Doubs, Luther Burden III, Kyle Williams, Deebo Samuel Sr.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Khalil Shakir, Michael Pittman Jr., Rashid Shaheed, Jayden Higgins, Marvin Mims Jr., Romeo Doubs, Luther Burden III, Kyle Williams, Deebo Samuel Sr. 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:
Deebo Samuel Sr., WR, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. will make his team debut on Sunday against the Giants after spending six seasons in San Francisco. Samuel pairs up with Terry McLaurin as the team's wide receiver tandem, both players drafted on day two of the 2019 NFL Draft. Samuel is coming off a much-discussed down last season with the 49ers, catching 51 balls for 670 yards while adding 136 yards on 42 carries and scoring four total touchdowns.
He wasn't quite as dominant after the catch as he had used to be and had easily his worst production as a runner. But it's also important to remember that he was diagnosed with pneumonia during Week 6 of the season. Before that, Samuel was still very productive lined up outside and from the slot. Now paired with a rising star at quarterback in Jayden Daniels and perhaps the next best offensive mind to utilize his strengths in Kliff Kingsbury, Samuel could be primed for a dynamic bounce-back season.
His connection with Daniels has been on display all camp, and he could be relied on more if McLaurin takes a bit to get ramped up. Samuel should be viewed as a WR3 with upside for Week 1 against the Giants.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. will open the 2025 season with a home matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Pittman draws a matchup against a Miami defense that was tough on opposing receivers last season, as they allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.
That being said, secondary is a weakness for Miami this year, which will benefit the Indy pass-catchers. Pittman played through a back injury in 2024, which limited his production, but he is fully healthy heading into 2025.
That being said, he will have to fight for targets alongside Josh Downs, Adonai Mitchell, Alec Pierce, and first-round rookie Tyler Warren. It still remains to be seen how the targets shake out with new quarterback Daniel Jones under center. For now, Pittman can be used as a middling flex option heading into Week 1.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed is starting his first regular-season game since a season-ending meniscus tear in October 2024. Over his first three seasons, he's averaged 16.6 yards per reception but only 47.2 yards per game with a 62.7% catch rate.
With second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler under center, Shaheed remains volatile, though he's always one explosive play away from taking the top off a defense.
Against the stingy Cardinals, he profiles as a boom-or-bust WR4 worth a flier in deeper leagues thanks to his 4.3 speed, but he's unreliable as a week-to-week starter.
Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans
Houston Texans rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins could be called upon as the team's second receiver in his NFL debut since Christian Kirk (hamstring) has been ruled out. Higgins was listed on the team's unofficial depth chart as starting next to Kirk and Nico Collins, but with Kirk out, he could draw even more targets against a tough Rams defense.
Higgins was impressive in training camp and finished with five catches on seven targets for 40 yards in the preseason. The No. 34 overall pick in this year's draft is viewed as a carbon copy of Collins' skill set, and he could be very involved right away. He's the WR58 in RotoBaller's Week 1 rankings, so he's still a long-shot starter, but he could be a flex flier worth considering in deep leagues.
He's definitely an important fantasy football rookie to watch in Week 1 to evaluate how ready he is to contribute moving forward.
Marvin Mims Jr., WR, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. enters his third season when the Broncos host the Tennessee Titans. Mims showed real growth in 2024, posting 545 yards and six touchdowns, both were sizable jumps from his rookie campaign. Part of the reason why Mims' numbers were too low for fantasy was due to his low snap count, playing just 27% of the offensive snaps in 2024.
However, the Broncos gave him a full run with the first-team offense in their preseason finale against the Saints and then traded away last year's WR2, De'Vaughn Vele. The role is there for Mims, but fantasy managers shouldn't rush him into Week 1 lineups.
Tennessee allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers last year, making this a brutal opening matchup. For now, Mims belongs on the bench, but his snap share and usage this week will be critical indicators of whether he can become a breakout flex option moving forward.
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 - Khalil Shakir, Michael Pittman Jr., Rashid Shaheed, Jayden Higgins, Marvin Mims Jr., Romeo Doubs, Luther Burden III, Kyle Williams, Deebo Samuel Sr. 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 Khalil Shakir, Michael Pittman Jr., Rashid Shaheed, Jayden Higgins, Marvin Mims Jr., Romeo Doubs, Luther Burden III, Kyle Williams, Deebo Samuel Sr.:
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