Due to the pandemic, we didn’t get any NFL preseason games this year. All of our assumptions about playing time and what role a player will play on a team comes from the beat reporters, analysts and coaches. We know from experience that we will be thrown some curveballs in Week 1.

There was a game of musical chairs this offseason and there are a ton of new starting quarterbacks around the league.

Can Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady (that’s still strange to type) start the season off strong against  New Orleans?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of QB Cam Newton of the New England Patriots.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

• QB Cam Newton (New England Patriots) – Newton is a post-hype sleeper this year. I personally didn’t have a huge belief that he deserved a prime starting gig after the last few seasons, but the beat reporters have mentioned that he has looked very good in camp. He beat out two capable quarterbacks and he should have a good game against a mediocre Dolphins team.
• RB Antonio Gibson (Washington Football Team) – Washington head coach Ron Rivera compared Gibson to his former running back in Carolina, fantasy darling Christian McCaffrey. If Gibson is at least half as prolific for Washington as McCaffrey, the rookie is about to have a great fantasy season. Philly should be able to be run on this year and he should start his career on a solid note.
• WR Diontae Johnson (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Pittsburgh just keeps drafting fantastic receivers. Johnson is wide receiver #2 in Pittsburgh, but that spot has been crazy prolific in fantasy in the Big Ben Era. He had a very good rookie season with below average quarterbacks for a large portion of the season. He should improve on last season’s numbers. He has a great match-up in Week 1 against the New York Giants. He should get plenty of targets against a young Giants secondary on Monday night.
• TE Tyler Higbee (Los Angeles Rams) – Higbee doesn’t have the caché of a Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce, but he will increase his stock this season. He starts out the year against the Cowboys, who struggled against tight ends last season. I think he will have a good game Sunday night on NBC.
• Buffalo Bills Defense & Special Teams – The Bills defense was probably one of the first defenses off the board in most leagues. They are young, fast and very talented. They play the Jets this week, a team that I’ve heard nothing but bad things about their backfield from the reporters. Jets RB Le’Veon Bell is apparently their third-best running back in camp (Frank Gore has looked better than Bell). He will clearly get nearly all of the work and he has a tough task ahead of him since the Bills run defense is insane.
• RB Austin Ekeler (Los Angeles Rams) – Ekeler shared carries with Melvin Gordon and was still a fantasy option due to his catching ability. Gordon is now in Denver and he has a new quarterback (Tyrod Taylor) that doesn’t have the best arm. The Chargers will need a short passing game in order to move the ball through the air. I’m high on Ekeler this season and he has a good match-up against the Bengals this week.
• WR Courtland Sutton (Denver Broncos) – I’m pretty high on QB Drew Lock this season. I liked what I saw some him late last season. He will only get better in Year 2 and Sutton will benefit from his improved abilities. He has speed and is a good route runner. He faces the Titans on Monday night and should get a lot of targets.
• TE Hayden Hurst (Atlanta Falcons) – Hurst was a productive TE2 in Baltimore before being traded to Atlanta. He fills the role Austin Hooper had and will be the starter. He has good hands, can block and should be productive in Atlanta’s pass-heavy offense. This is a bit of a sleeper, but I think he should be a top-ten fantasy tight end this week.
• WR Terry McLaurin (Washington Football Team) – I’m not a huge fan of Washington QB Dwayne Haskins right now, but he loves throwing to McLaurin. They played with each other at Ohio State and he looked for him a lot last season. McLaurin should be a solid WR2 this year.
• RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Kansas City Chiefs) – Rookie running backs historically get off to slow starts. I haven’t been bullish on rookies early for that reason, but the Chiefs offense is insane enough that a rookie running back with good hands can do a lot of damage. He’s on the small side, but that hasn’t hurt other shorter guys like McCaffrey or Ekeler in the fantasy department. If Damien Williams didn’t opt-out this season, Edwards-Helaire wouldn’t be on this list, but he’s the clear RB1 option in Kansas City. I expect a big game from him against Houston.
• Detroit Lions Defense & Special Teams – The Lions made some changes in their secondary this offseason, but they face Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky this week. We didn’t have the usual preseason games to see if a struggling QB fixed some issues during the offseason, but I don’t have much faith in Trubisky having a bounce-back season. The Lions are a sleeper DEF/ST for me this season.
• WR Parris Campbell (Indianapolis Colts) – This is another post-hype sleeper pick. He struggled with injuries in his rookie season and only appeared in seven games. He’s a speedy receiver and good hands. New Indy QB Philip Rivers could see him as a Keenan Allen-type target. I know a lot of people are high on rookie WR Michael Pittman Jr. this year, but the rookie is currently listed as WR4 behind T.Y. Hilton, Campbell and Zach Pascal. I expect Campbell to get some deep targets against the Jaguars restructured secondary.
• QB Tom Brady (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – A lot of eyes will be on the Bucs/Saints game. It will be Brady’s first game with his new team. He has a lot of receiver weapons and his fantasy stock intrigues me. Does he have another epic fantasy season left in him? The Saints defense isn’t swiss cheese, so Brady will need to work for his numbers. I would start Brady over quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray. I think he will have a top-six fantasy week.

SIT’EM

• RB Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) – Taylor is the other offensive rookie expected to breakout for them this season. He’s currently listed as RB2 for the Colts and is the backup for RB Marlon Mack. Taylor doesn’t have good hands and is viewed as an old school running back. He won’t be in the game on passing downs much and Mack will be the guy in Indy you’d want on your fantasy roster. Taylor may steal some goal-line touchdowns, but he won’t get enough touches every week to be a consistent fantasy starter. Indy’s running back by committee scheme hurts both Mack and Taylor’s fantasy stock.
• QB Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) – There are so many fantasy analysts that have Allen as a top-six fantasy QB option this week against the Jets. I know the Bills adding WR Stefon Diggs does improve his weapons, but his arm is still as accurate as a drunk sailor. The Jets made some downgrades in their secondary this offseason, but I still have to chalk Allen up for a couple interceptions this weekend. Allen will just need to show me more in order for me to start him on any of my fantasy teams. 
• WR D.J. Moore (Carolina Panthers) – New Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater is an upgrade over the group of quarterbacks they started last year. Moore should have a bounce-back year more akin to his rookie year, but he will be fighting wideouts Curtis Samuel and former Jets WR Robby Anderson for targets. The Raiders secondary isn’t great, but I’d probably only consider Moore a possible flex option this week.
• RB Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers) – I was very high on RB AJ Dillon in college and think he will take a lot of work away from Jones. The Packers also have RB Jamaal Williams on the squad that will get some playing time as well. The backfield is just too crowded in Green Bay.
• QB Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – Rodgers is stuck in a run-heavy offense right now. The Packers offensive scheme relies on running the ball. They have three capable running backs that will share the carries. Rodgers hasn’t been a reliable fantasy quaterback in a couple seasons. He faces the Vikings this week, a team that will stymie the Packers output as a whole. I’d rather start Daniel Jones or Jared Goff over Rodgers right now.
• WR Odell Beckham Jr. (Cleveland Browns) – Cleveland has a lot of other weapons on offense and all of their fantasy stocks will be hurt and most likely inconsistent. Browns QB Baker Mayfield has WR Jarvis Landry, TE Austin Hooper and RB Kareem Hunt as other targets on any given down. Unless Mayfield throws for 500 yards per game, it’s nearly impossible that all of these solid fantasy performers can be weekly starts in fantasy. OBJ struggled against the Ravens in both contests last year. Landry is the clear WR1 in Cleveland and OBJ is the second-option there.
• TE Jimmy Graham (Chicago Bears) – Graham is still living off the production he had with the Saints. He keeps moving teams and people think he’s going to ‘go off’ again…but it hasn’t happened. I actually think Bears rookie TE Cole Kmet has more fantasy upside than Graham this season as a whole. As far as this week goes, I’d skip over Graham and would rather start Lions TE T.J. Hockenson or Broncos TE Noah Fant this week.
• New England Patriots Defense & Special Teams – The Patriots defense is always a trendy pick to start nearly every week. They are usually reliable and consistent…but the opt-outs this season really hurt the Patriots defense. They are missing a couple starters and may not be able to defend the middle of the field as well. I would like to see this squad on the field before I would feel comfortable to start them. There are just too many question marks for me.
• RB Todd Gurley (Atlanta Falcons) – I’ve heard Gurley’s name spit around as a sleeper this season. If you saw him carry the ball last season, you would instantly know that isn’t going to happen. He just doesn’t enough touches left in his knees to be a 25+ carry running back anymore. I think Falcons RB Ito Smith may even eat into his workload a few weeks into the season. The Falcons are a pass-heavy team under Dirk Koetter and there just isn’t enough work for Gurley in this offense. It doesn’t help that he faces a solid front-seven against the Seahawks on Sunday.
• RB Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) – This isn’t the first time Henry put up crazy numbers late in the season. Henry is a late-season stud, but has struggled in September and October. He actually averages two yards less per attempt in those two months compared to November. Henry’s expectations is a little too crazy right now and I don’t expect him to meet them early this season. He will probably be a top-twelve fantasy running back this week, but I added him on the list here to tamper down anticipation.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.