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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Marshawn Lloyd, Quentin Johnston, Terry McLaurin, Jayden Reed, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Stefon Diggs, Jordan Mason, Makai Lemon, Jordan Addison, DeVonta Smith.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like MarShawn Lloyd, Quentin Johnston, Terry McLaurin, Jayden Reed, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Stefon Diggs, Jordan Mason, Makai Lemon, Jordan Addison, and DeVonta Smith. 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:
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson broke out in 2025, recording 78 catches for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns on 126 targets. His efforts during Marvin Harrison's injury-related absences were recently rewarded with a three-year, $75 million contract extension. Such a substantial investment suggests a potential changing of the guard at the top of the depth chart, but that can't be taken for granted now that Harrison is healthy.
We will get our first look at how the receiving work will be divided in Sunday's season opener against the Chargers. With Jeremiyah Love (ankle) a game-time decision and Arizona a nine-point underdog, it is fair to assume the team will lean into the pass, in which case Wilson should see enough targets to be a viable fantasy option.
Given the uncertainty of his role relative to Harrison, both receivers can be expected to eat into each other's work, making Wilson no more than a WR3 candidate in Week 1.
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason is a possible flex option as his team begins the season by playing host to the rival Green Bay Packers. The Georgia Tech product quietly averaged 4.8 yards per carry and finished as half-PPR RB35 last season, which was impressive considering Minnesota's offense spent most of the year in the doldrums due to poor quarterback play and significant injuries on the offensive line.
Mason drew rave reviews during the summer, and he could be his team's No. 1 rushing option for the first time in his career. His value will be at least partially limited by his lack of receiving ability, especially with backfield mate Aaron Jones Sr. still on the roster for that exact purpose.
But with the Vikings hiring former Miami offensive coordinator Frank Smith to revamp their running game and bringing in Kyler Murray as a quarterback upgrade, Mason has 1,000-yard potential if given good health. As the favorite to also earn goal-line work, he's RotoBaller's No. 33 running back going into Week 1.
Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers wideout Quentin Johnston has an opportunity to start the NFL season with a bang on Sunday at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The 25-year-old was WR4 overall in PPR scoring and averaged 19.9 points per game during the first four games last season.
He eventually cooled off due to injuries to himself and around him that deflated the offense down the stretch. Johnston will get to face off against a Cardinals defense that allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns (31), ninth-most completions (375), and 10th-most passing yards (4,128) last season.
In addition, they gave up the 12th-most passes of 20 or more yards, which benefits a vertical threat like Johnston. He has already displayed his deep-threat ability in Mike McDaniel's offense during the preseason finale, where Justin Herbert connected with him on a 65-yard touchdown. He's RotoBaller's PPR WR39 and is a flex option with upside for fantasy managers in Week 1.
MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd looks to hit the ground running in his first career NFL regular-season start in Week 1 as the Packers square off with the Minnesota Vikings. With Josh Jacobs (commissioner's exempt list) not playing in this contest, Lloyd is the starting running back and is expected to carry the bulk of the load for Green Bay.
Lloyd's lone game action in the NFL consists of exactly one game: Week 2 in 2024, where Lloyd touched the ball seven times (six carries, one reception) and turned that opportunity into 18 yards. Expecting Lloyd to produce with so little real game-time experience takes a leap of faith, but the Packers' brass are behind him.
For fantasy purposes, consider Lloyd more of a flex play in Week 1 against a middle-of-the-road Vikings front that allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs last season.
Stefon Diggs, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders wide receiver Stefon Diggs is set to make his debut in the burgundy and gold in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 32-year-old wideout spent one season in New England, where he recorded 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns on 102 targets, playing only 55% of the snaps.
Now another season removed from the torn ACL, Diggs has proven to be a favorite target for Jayden Daniels throughout training camp and will be a heavily featured piece of Washington's passing attack alongside Terry McLaurin. Diggs and the passing offense will be put to the test in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, who allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the league last season. Diggs comes in as RotoBaller's WR43 in PPR leagues for Week 1.
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 - Marshawn Lloyd, Quentin Johnston, Terry McLaurin, Jayden Reed, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Stefon Diggs, Jordan Mason, Makai Lemon, Jordan Addison, DeVonta 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 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 Marshawn Lloyd, Quentin Johnston, Terry McLaurin, Jayden Reed, Michael Wilson, Jeremiyah Love, Stefon Diggs, Jordan Mason, Makai Lemon, Jordan Addison, DeVonta Smith:
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