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Fantasy football starts/sits for WNF, expert advice for all Patriots vs. Seahawks Week 1 matchups on Wednesday Night Football. Our start em, sit em picks for Jadarian Price, Rhamondre Stevenson, Romeo Doubs, and more.
Welcome to our start/sit chart for the season opener of the 2026 NFL season. Below is our start/sit matchups chart for all players in the Wednesday night game between the New England Patriots and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.
In addition to our start/sit recommendation and matchup ratings for each player, you can also read the fantasy football outlooks for key players like Jadarian Price, Cooper Kupp, AJ Barner, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Sam Darnold, Rhamondre Stevenson, Romeo Doubs, A.J. Brown, Hunter Henry, Drake Maye, and more. Which Patriots and Seahawks players should you start or sit in Week 1?
Make sure to set your winning lineups for Week 1, whether you're setting season-long or DFS lineups. We will have our fantasy football start/sit matchup charts available all season long -- focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench -- so be sure to check back. Good luck in Week 1, RotoBallers!
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New England Patriots Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
Pos. |
| A.J. Brown | Start | 113.2 | @ SEA | WR |
| Drake Maye | Start | 112.9 | @ SEA | QB |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | Start | 106.3 | @ SEA | RB |
| Andy Borregales | Risky Start | 103.7 | @ SEA | K |
| Romeo Doubs | Risky Start | 103.4 | @ SEA | WR |
| Hunter Henry | Risky Start | 103.2 | @ SEA | TE |
| Mack Hollins | Sit | 101 | @ SEA | WR |
| Eli Raridon | Sit | 100.2 | @ SEA | TE |
| DeMario Douglas | Sit | 100.2 | @ SEA | WR |
| New England Patriots | Sit | 98.8 | @ SEA | D/ST |
| Kyle Williams | Sit | 97.8 | @ SEA | WR |
Hunter Henry, TE, Patriots
New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry quietly put together a top-10 season at his position in 2025. The Patriots made some offensive upgrades this offseason, but Henry is expected to remain a focal point. Over the offseason, the Pats added wide receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. The assumption is that Henry will take a backseat to them, but that might not be the case.
Henry has finished with 60 or more receptions during his first two seasons with Drake Maye under center. The two of them clearly have good chemistry, which is something you don't mess with. According to Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, Henry is expected to be a key part of the Patriots' offense next season. It's unclear if he'll post another top-10 season, but he should be a viable option.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Patriots
New England Patriots wide receiver Romeo Doubs shouldn't be sitting on many waiver wires heading into Week 1. RotoBaller has him fifth among its pre-Week 1 wide receiver pickups and recommends adding him in leagues with 10 or more teams. The role is there, too.
New England's unofficial depth chart has Doubs with the first-team offense after he came over from Green Bay, where he caught 55 passes for a career-high 724 yards and six touchdowns last season. He followed that with eight catches for 124 yards and another score in the playoffs. A.J. Brown will command plenty of targets, and DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry aren't going away, so Doubs doesn't need to be forced into fantasy lineups immediately.
RotoBaller has him at WR48 for the opener in Seattle. That ranking shouldn't stop managers from adding him, though. Doubs has enough of a role and enough production behind him to be more than a speculative stash, making him a priority pickup in 10-team leagues and deeper.
Seattle Seahawks Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
Pos. |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Start | 118 | vs. NE | WR |
| Jason Myers | Start | 114.4 | vs. NE | K |
| Jadarian Price | Start | 105.7 | vs. NE | RB |
| Seattle Seahawks | Risky Start | 102.7 | vs. NE | D/ST |
| Rashid Shaheed | Risky Start | 102.2 | vs. NE | WR |
| Sam Darnold | Risky Start | 102 | vs. NE | QB |
| Cooper Kupp | Sit | 101.4 | vs. NE | WR |
| Emanuel Wilson | Sit | 101.2 | vs. NE | RB |
| AJ Barner | Sit | 101 | vs. NE | TE |
| Tory Horton | Sit | 100.5 | vs. NE | WR |
| Elijah Arroyo | Sit | 98.5 | vs. NE | TE |
| George Holani | Sit | 94.6 | vs. NE | RB |
AJ Barner, TE, Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks' new-look offense is expected to feature plenty of two-tight-end sets, which will result in a large role for both A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "Barner and Arroyo are going to be major parts of this offense," Fowler said. Seattle's offense is now led by coordinator Brian Fleury, who comes from the San Francisco coaching tree.
Fleury has spent four years as the tight end coach with the Niners, leading an impressive unit headlined by superstar George Kittle. While we don't expect Kittle-caliber production from either Barner or Arroyo, it does sound like one or both tight ends will get on the fantasy radar. The incumbent starter is Barner, who had 52 catches, 519 yards, and six touchdowns last year.
However, managers shouldn't sleep on Arroyo, who comes with high draft capital after being a second-round pick in 2025. As it stands, Barner is RotoBaller's TE25, while Arroyo ranks as the TE47.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed is becoming one of the more interesting players still available in a lot of leagues. He didn't do much through the air after arriving in Seattle last season, catching 15 passes for 188 yards in nine games, but the Seahawks appear ready to give him more this time around. Shaheed had a strong offseason, and the latest expectation is that he'll be used as more of a complete receiver rather than mostly being sent downfield. Seattle also wants to spread the targets around more after leaning so heavily on Jaxon Smith-Njigba last year.
That doesn't make Shaheed an automatic Week 1 starter, and RotoBaller currently has him at WR59 for the opener. The waiver case is stronger. He's sixth among the site's wide receiver pickups and carries an add recommendation for leagues with 10 or more teams. If Shaheed is still available, he's worth grabbing now before the expanded role gets a chance to show up on Sundays.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jadarian Price, Cooper Kupp, AJ Barner, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Sam Darnold, Rhamondre Stevenson, Romeo Doubs, A.J. Brown, Hunter Henry, Drake Maye. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 1.
Week 1 Player Decisions. 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.
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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, 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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 circles), 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 Week 1 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
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