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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Michael Mayer, Harold Fannin Jr., Travis Kelce, Chig Okonkwo, T.J. Hockenson, Tyler Warren, AJ Barner, Kyle Pitts Sr., Pat Freiermuth, Cade Otton.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Michael Mayer, Harold Fannin Jr., Travis Kelce, Chig Okonkwo, T.J. Hockenson, Tyler Warren, AJ Barner, Kyle Pitts Sr., Pat Freiermuth, and Cade Otton. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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 Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer's pass-catching production has been limited over the past two seasons thanks to the presence of superstar Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee). However, the Raiders announced on Wednesday that Bowers recently had a meniscus trim and is now expected to miss the first one or two games of 2026. As a result, Mayer should operate as the Raiders' TE1 to begin the year.
Across the four games he played in 2025 when Bowers was sidelined by injury, Mayer recorded 18 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 targets.
The Raiders should have a more stable offensive environment in 2026 with Kirk Cousins at quarterback and Klint Kubiak calling plays. Ahead of a relatively favorable matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, Mayer could be a worthy tight end streamer for fantasy managers to target on the waiver wire.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has looked locked in and ready to post another strong season, according to reports from Chiefs' camp. Last year, in a down year by his elite standards, Kelce racked up 76 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns on 108 targets. He has finished with over 100 targets in 11 consecutive seasons, and the Chiefs return most of the same pass-catching options this year.
In great news for Kelce's fantasy outlook, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) looks like he'll be ready for Week 1, so Kelce can continue his elite chemistry, serving as Mahomes' go-to option. He may not have the ceiling that he provided earlier in his career, but it looks like the veteran still has enough in the tank to bring great value at his current ADP. He's being drafted as a low-end TE1 option in most drafts and is RotoBaller's No. 11 TE. In that spot, he brings a high floor and good upside if he bounces back from last year's slightly reduced totals.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson is still sitting on plenty of waiver wires, but that does not make him one of the better Week 1 tight end pickups. He is rostered in only 22% of Yahoo leagues after finishing 2025 with 51 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns on 66 targets in 15 games. Minnesota's offensive-line problems were part of it. Hockenson had to stay in and chip more often, which cut into his routes.
There has been at least one encouraging sign this summer, with Hockenson and new starting quarterback Kyler Murray connecting repeatedly in the red zone during camp. The target tree is still crowded with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings, though, and Hockenson has not been a reliable weekly fantasy starter lately. RotoBaller has him at TE22 for Week 1 and lists him as an add in 14-team leagues.
That is probably where he belongs. In a standard 10- or 12-team league, there are better streaming bets on the wire.
Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Across 17 games as a rookie in 2025, Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren recorded 76 catches for 817 yards and four touchdowns on 112 targets. The 24-year-old got off to a dominant start to the season, but his production tapered off down the stretch. From Week 12 onward, Warren recorded just one touchdown catch and failed to log more than 43 receiving yards in any game.
However, Warren's worst run of the season largely correlated with the health of Colts QB1 Daniel Jones, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 14. Heading into 2026, Jones will be back under center for Indianapolis. The Colts also traded away veteran wideout Michael Pittman Jr. over the offseason, which could put Warren in position to be the team's clear number one target in its passing game. Warren carries high-end TE1 potential for fantasy managers into 2026.
Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders tight end Chig Okonkwo is likely an afterthought for most fantasy managers, but he deserves a serious look this upcoming season. The Commanders signed Okonkwo to a three-year deal this past offseason.
The assumption is that they gave him a long-term deal with the intention of him operating as the top pass-catching tight end. The 27-year-old was recently listed as the starter on the unofficial depth chart. Okonkwo has posted three straight seasons with 50 receptions or more. He'll now be in a better offense led by quarterback Jayden Daniels. If everything goes right, Okonkwo has legitimate top-12 upside with his new organization.
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 - Michael Mayer, Harold Fannin Jr., Travis Kelce, Chig Okonkwo, T.J. Hockenson, Tyler Warren, AJ Barner, Kyle Pitts Sr., Pat Freiermuth, Cade Otton. 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 Michael Mayer, Harold Fannin Jr., Travis Kelce, Chig Okonkwo, T.J. Hockenson, Tyler Warren, AJ Barner, Kyle Pitts Sr., Pat Freiermuth, Cade Otton:
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