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Fantasy Football Week 1: Start'em, Sit'em

- Updated: Saturday, September 8th

Ultimately, the decision of which player to start is largely determined by the composition of your roster (as well as your league's settings).

As an example, Andrew Luck is listed below as a "start" for Week 1. And I'd feel comfortable going into Week 1 with him as my starting quarterback.

That said, he may be a sit for your team.

In other words, if you owned both Aaron Rodgers and Luck (even though owning both wouldn't make sense), you should start Rodgers (every week) -- and in turn, bench Luck.

So while you won't find absolute start-sit recommendations below (use my Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings for that instead), the goal here is to highlight some players that I like (and would feel comfortable starting) as well as some players that I dislike for this week (and would prefer to keep on my bench).

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Week 1 Fantasy Football Start'em

QB - Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (vs. NYJ)

Opening the season at home against the Jets, Stafford & Co. are projected to score the seventh-most points (25.75) based on implied totals from Week 1 NFL odds. One of four teams to allow at least 30 passing touchdowns in 2017, the Jets also allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Stafford has a favorable home-road split as the veteran signal-caller threw 17 touchdowns to only three interceptions in eight home games last season (compared to a 12-to-seven ratio on the road). Stafford is a top-five fantasy quarterback for me in Week 1.

QB - Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (vs. CIN)

More than 600 days in between regular-season starts, perhaps it's wise(r) to take a wait-and-see approach with Luck. Even though it's possible that he gets off to a slow start, Luck has finished as a top-four fantasy quarterback in each of his past three full seasons -- QB4 (2013), QB2 (2014) and QB4 (2016). In those three full seasons, Luck has averaged 4,274 yards and 31 TDs (passing) as well as 330 yards and three TDs (rushing). Based on Vegas odds, the Colts are projected to be a top-eight scoring offense on the week and Luck will likely have a strong perforance if that implied total turns out to be accurate.

QB - Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (at OAK)

In a rare worst-to-first transformation in scoring offense, the new coaching regime revitalized an offense that ended 2016 on life support. In the process, Goff vastly exceeded expectations in his second season and finished as a top-12 quarterback on the year. While I don't necessarily expect an improvement or even a repeat top-12 performance from Goff, he has better weapons (Brandin Cooks > Sammy Watkins) than he had in his first two seasons and he opens the year with a favorable matchup.

As bad as Oakland's defense was in 2017, Gruden has made it decidedly worse by trading away their best defensive player to the Bears as Khalil Mack was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year just two seasons ago. The Rams are nearly five-point road favorites and projected to score the fourth-most points on this week's slate.

- Continue reading our Week 1 Fantasy Football Start'em, Sit'em

Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings

Not sure who to start in Week 1? Check out our latest weekly fantasy football rankings:

The rankings above are from EDSFootball.com owner Kevin Hanson.

Want a second or third opinion? Check out our Week 1 Fantasy Football Staff Rankings.

2018 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

Our fantasy football strength of schedule helps fantasy owners determine which teams and players have favorable (or unfavorable) schedules for the 2018 season.

Based on each team's scheduled opponents through Week 16, which is the championship round in most fantasy leagues, we have tallied the average fantasy points allowed by each of their opponents to the position.

While strength of schedule should not be the sole factor in determining who to draft/add, it could help potentially break a tie between two players that you may view as comparable.

Fantasy Football QB Strength of Schedule (SOS)

The top-five fantasy strength of schedules for quarterbacks are below:

Rank	Team	Player	Average PPG	Fantasy Playoffs
1	Jacksonville Jaguars	Blake Bortles	16.36	47.94
1	Washington Redskins	Alex Smith	16.36	45.14
3	Houston Texans	Deshaun Watson	15.96	50.01
4	Chicago Bears	Mitchell Trubisky	15.86	47.89
5	Denver Broncos	Case Keenum	15.8	52.99
2018 Fantasy Football QB Strength of Schedule

- Note: Average PPG are based on Weeks 1 to 16; Fantasy playoffs based on Weeks 14 to 16.

More Fantasy Football Strength of Schedules (SOS):