Week 1 Fantasy Football Start ’Em Sit ’Em: Rhamondre Stevenson, Mike Evans

WR Start: Mike Evans (WR28)

Starting out, we have Mike Evans, who is the WR1 on the San Francisco 49ers, which looks to be a good offense. Now, the Los Angeles Rams did add Trent McDuffie, but last year they were an above average matchup for fantasy football wide receivers, allowing the 12th most points.

Despite McDuffie now in Los Angeles, Evans offers a ton of upside, scoring 17.2 PPG back in 2024.

WR Sit: Rashee Rice (WR16)

Rashee Rice has never played in more than eight games in either of his last two seasons, and recently he’s coming off knee surgery back in May. The production with Rice is elite, but this is a case where I want to see him healthy before putting him in my lineup.

Now, I might be willing to overlook this if the Denver Broncos hadn’t allowed the 4th least fantasy points to wide receivers in 2025, and I don’t see much changing in 2026.

RB Start: Jaylen Warren (RB24)

After a 13.6 PPG season, Jaylen Warren should be a consistent starter in fantasy football lineups. With the Falcons allowing the 15th most points to running backs last year, there’s no reason for me to worry about the matchup either.

RB Sit: Rhamondre Stevenson (RB20)

Rhamondre Stevenson is going to be a start for many because TreVeyon Henderson is not playing in Week 1. The problem is that when Stevenson has seen a large workload, with over 150 carries in 2023 and 2024, he has been disappointing.

In both seasons, he had less than 4.1 YPC and less than 12.2 PPG. The matchup is also brutal with the Seattle Seahawks, who allowed the second least points against running backs last year.

QB Start: Jaxson Dart (QB12)

I’ve been a fan of Jaxson Dart for fantasy football because he provides rushing upside. Dart had 17.3 PPG as a rookie, and I’m expecting that number to increase in year two.

It’s also worth noting that Dart had at least 19 points in nine of his 14 games, with four games over 25 points. With Dart getting to play the Dallas Cowboys, who allowed the most points to quarterbacks last year, I’m not sure why he’s ranked this low.

QB Sit: Justin Herbert (QB5)

Justin Herbert had 17.9 PPG last year and only five games with over 19 PPG. There is upside with Herbert as he’s very talented, but I’d much rather start a player like Dart in Week 1.

Herbert takes on the Arizona Cardinals, who allowed the 17th most points to quarterbacks last year.

TE Start: Isaiah Likely (TE12)

We have yet another giant on the list, and this is simply because I believe Likely will earn the second most targets on this offense. Due to the fact that it can be tough to come by targets at tight end, I’m not looking to leave Likely on my bench.

The matchup isn’t great going up against the Cowboys, who allowed the 13th least points to tight ends last year, but it’s not that rough either.

TE Sit: Tucker Kraft (TE8)

We saw Tucker Kraft have a huge year in 2025, but he suffered a serious ACL injury last season. This is simply a case where I’m looking for Kraft to prove he’s productive and healthy first, and the Minnesota Vikings also allowed the 7th fewest points to tight ends last year.

D/ST Start: Tennessee Titans (D/ST12)

Looking at defense, I’m trying to play the matchup here, which involves the Tennessee Titans taking on the New York Jets.

The Titans don’t have a great defense themselves, but the Jets allowed the fifth most points to opposing D/ST last year, and they’ve yet to solve the quarterback problem

D/ST Sit: Minnesota Vikings (D/ST10)

Despite the Minnesota Vikings having a talented defense, the Green Bay Packers allowed the third-fewest points against other D/ST’s last year. With this being an offense that could get even better if a true WR1 emerges, I’m not playing the Vikings defense in fantasy football Week 1.