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Who Should I Start for Week 1 Sunday Night Football (SNF)? Fantasy Football outlooks for Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, Javonte Williams, Jaxson Dart, George Pickens, Dak Prescott, Jake Ferguson, CeeDee Lamb, Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 SNF fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, Javonte Williams, Jaxson Dart, George Pickens, Dak Prescott, Jake Ferguson, CeeDee Lamb and Tyrone Tracy Jr. 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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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 for Week 1 SNF:
Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart opens his second NFL season in primetime as the Giants face the Dallas Cowboys. In 12 starts last season, Dart completed 216 of 339 passes for 2,272 yards, with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
He also added 86 carries for 487 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging over 20 fantasy points per game in his starts. While there are question marks surrounding offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Dart's rushing ability, the potential return of Malik Nabers, and improvements across the offense could lead to a breakout season for Dart. He faces a Cowboys defense that allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks last season.
However, Dallas has a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker and has made several additions, including Rashan Gary and rookie Caleb Downs. While this Giants' offense could take time to develop, Dart still offers elite upside in an ideal Week 1 matchup.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was one of the best draft picks to be made in 2QB and superflex leagues with 6-point passing touchdown scoring rules in 2026. He's a highly productive, accurate QB in a very well-designed offense with arguably the best array of pass-catching weapons in the NFL.
Wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens rank among the NFL's elite at the position, and WR Ryan Flournoy emerged as a legitimate option last season. Additionally, tight end Jake Ferguson has been productive at times. The offensive line is missing its starting right guard, Tyler Smith (thumb), for their Week 1 matchup against the New York Giants.
But Dallas' offensive line has played well, so they should be fine. The Giants have a soft secondary that Prescott should be able to exploit in his season debut. He's a must-start in 2QB leagues and a solid mid-end QB1 in 1QB leagues.
Isaiah Likely, TE, New York Giants
New York Giants tight end Isaiah Likely is set to make his debut in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. Likely signed a three-year, $40 million contract with the Giants this offseason, reuniting with former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in New York. During his time in Baltimore, he had 135 receptions for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns in 63 games as the backup tight end behind Mark Andrews.
Likely has been a key part of the Giants' offense throughout training camp, leading the team in receiving with star Malik Nabers (knee) missing most of camp. If Nabers is inactive or has a limited snap count in Week 1, Likely has a legitimate shot to be the team's leading receiver against the Cowboys' defense, which allowed the most passing yards in the NFL last season.
Likely profiles as a low-end TE1 in the season opener and should be a solid starting option.
Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams is the unquestioned workhorse RB for his team. Last season, he handled a large workload, with 252 carries and 35 receptions in 16 games played. The strength of the team's offensive line and his success with breaking tackles aided him to an RB12 overall finish despite missing one game. He doesn't have a ton of pass-catching upside, but perhaps that could change.
The Cowboys released their young RB, Jaydon Blue, earlier in the offseason. And Williams' backup, Malik Davis (hip), requires surgery for an injured hip and will head to the injured reserve list to miss at least four games. RB Emari Demercado will back up Williams now. Demercado has served as a pass-catching back in previous seasons, so Williams could remain mostly in a rushing role, which will keep him as a low-end RB1 for Week 1.
The New York Giants have struggled in run defense for many seasons, and while the Cowboys have injuries to starters on the offensive line, Williams' volume should make him a fine start in fantasy leagues at a position of scarcity.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) is questionable to play in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. Nabers tore his ACL in Week 4 of the 2025 season after starting the season with 271 yards and two touchdowns in the first three games.
He has fully participated in practice this week and has reportedly been cleared by the medical staff, but whether he's ready to play remains up in the air. If he's active, a limited snap count is likely, complicating matters for fantasy managers who roster the third-year receiver. He faces a Cowboys secondary that ranked last in yards, touchdowns, and fantasy points allowed to wide receivers last season.
This secondary has struggled against Nabers, allowing 29 receptions for 351 yards and two touchdowns in only three meetings. Despite the ideal matchup, fantasy managers should lower expectations, as a slow start is possible given the extent of his 2025 injury.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 1 SNF Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, Javonte Williams, Jaxson Dart, George Pickens, Dak Prescott, Jake Ferguson, CeeDee Lamb, Tyrone Tracy Jr. 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 SNF for Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, Javonte Williams, Jaxson Dart, George Pickens, Dak Prescott, Jake Ferguson, CeeDee Lamb, Tyrone Tracy Jr.:
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