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Who Should I Start for Week 1? Fantasy Football outlooks for Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty, Devaughn Vele, Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Woody Marks, Kenny Gainwell.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty, Devaughn Vele, Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Woody Marks, and Kenny Gainwell. 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:
Breece Hall, New York Jets
New York Jets running back Breece Hall (groin) was a full participant during Wednesday's practice session. As expected, Hall is a full-go to begin the week ahead of Sunday's Week 1 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. Hall suffered a groin injury late in camp, but the 25-year-old has been making good progress lately. Barring any setbacks, Hall should be active and ready to go for the season opener.
He projects to be a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside, assuming the Jets can put together a half-decent offensive line. Fantasy managers should check back ahead of Sunday's game, but it sounds like Hall should be ready to play in the season opener.
Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devaughn Vele has a real early-season opening with rookie Jordyn Tyson on injured reserve. Vele is listed with the first-team offense, and there is at least some evidence he can make use of the extra work. After Rashid Shaheed was traded last season, Vele caught 20 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown on 29 targets over his final five games before a shoulder injury ended his year.
That stretch matters more than the full-season line of 25 catches for 293 yards. Chris Olave is still the clear top receiver, while Barion Brown and Juwan Johnson will compete for targets too, so calling Vele the automatic No. 2 option would go too far. The opportunity is there, though. Tyson must miss at least four games, and Vele already showed late last season that his production can climb when the Saints give him more to do. He has a chance to turn this early window into a much steadier fantasy role.
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (ankle) was listed as a full participant in the team's first official practice report of the year, according to Anthony Galaviz of The Fresno Bee. Jeanty suffered an ankle injury on Aug. 23 in training camp and was up in the air to suit up for the Week 1 regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins.
However, his return to a full practice on Wednesday should ensure that he will be active to kick off the 2026 season this weekend against Miami, so fantasy managers should leave him in their starting lineups everywhere.
The Boise State product could be a little more boom/bust for fantasy managers if his snaps are limited coming off his ankle injury, especially since the Raiders have been talking up rookie Mike Washington Jr. as a backfield complement after his impressive training camp. At worst, though, Jeanty should be considered an RB2 this weekend against the Dolphins after he had over 1,000 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns as a rookie for a bad Raiders offense in 2025.
Kenny Gainwell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
FOX Sports' Greg Auman believes that Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell could feature prominently in red-zone and goal-to-go situations under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson in 2026. Gainwell is essentially replacing pass-catching RB Rachaad White in a new offense this year, but unlike White, the 27-year-old could be featured more in the red zone, which is bad news for fantasy managers who are hoping for a bounce-back year from Bucky Irving.
Gainwell, a former fifth-rounder by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 from Memphis, broke out last year in his lone season with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a receiver, catching 73 of 85 targets for 486 yards and three touchdowns in 17 regular-season games. He added a career-high 114 carries for 537 yards and another four scores on the ground.
Gainwell is expected to be used often alongside Irving in his first year in Tampa, giving him weekly RB3/flex upside, especially in point-per-reception leagues. He could come out of the gate strong in a Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, in which the Bucs may be forced to throw early and often.
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 - Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty, Devaughn Vele, Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Woody Marks, Kenny Gainwell. 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 Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty, Devaughn Vele, Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Woody Marks, Kenny Gainwell:
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