All the fantasy football intel you need to win Week 1
Fantasy football is all sunshine and what-ifs and optimism in July and August. Everywhere we look, we see upside. Potential league-winners abound, scattered up and down the cheat sheet. This game is never easier than when we aren’t yet playing it.
And then opening week hits, and suddenly Terrance Ferguson is only a part-time player who sees one target (which he didn’t catch), and everything is terrible. Can’t wait to rage-drop that guy. Gotta send a message to the rest of the squad that zeros will not be tolerated.
Welcome back, fantasy football. Missed you!
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Key opening-week injuries
Brock Bowers has been ruled out for Week 1. (Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images)
It is deeply wrong that we have to contend with injuries in opening week. So sorry. A huge flaw in the game. But hey, this week’s news actually isn’t all bad. Let’s begin with the good stuff:
RB Ashton Jeanty (LV) has been a full participant in practices this week, shrugging off the ankle injury that sent everyone into a panic two weeks ago. “I feel really good,” he told reporters. That’s what we like to hear, RB1.
QB Patrick Mahomes (KC) is practicing in full this week, just nine months after tearing his left ACL and LCL. He’s releasing hype videos, too. Fade him at your own peril.
WR Malik Nabers (NYG) is another member of the ACL-repair club who’s practicing fully and appears on track to play. Nabers has hedged just a bit in public comments about his status, which might be deliberate misdirection, but it feels authentic.
RB Jonathon Brooks (CAR, groin) participated in yesterday’s practice and looks good to go according to Joe Person, The Athletic’s Panthers reporter. The exact nature of the workload split between Brooks and Chuba Hubbard remains a mystery.
WR Rome Odunze (CHI, calf) will be listed as questionable this week, but he practiced throughout the week and told reporters on Friday, “I’m feeling like I’m ready to go.”
RB Jeremiyah Love (ARI) opened the week with limited practice sessions, a great sign ahead of tomorrow’s opener against the Chargers. He’s officially a game-time decision. We expect Love to operate in tandem with Tyler Allgeier, but that shouldn’t dim your excitement.
RB Breece Hall (NYJ) has recovered from his minor groin issue and won’t be on a pitch count in the opener at Tennessee, according to OC Frank Reich.
WR Emeka Egbuka (TB) is a “full go” for the Buccaneers against Cincinnati this week, according to coach Todd Bowles. Egbuka has battled a toe injury throughout the preseason, but he’s been active in this week’s practices.
Just in case you somehow missed it: TE Brock Bowers (LV) underwent a meniscus trim Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined one to two weeks. Michael Mayer is a perfectly acceptable replacement option, both for the Raiders and fantasy managers.
QB Tua Tagovailoa (ATL) suffered an oblique injury during throwing drills Thursday and has been ruled out for Atlanta’s matchup with Pittsburgh. Cooper Rush is Plan B. He’s a terrifying Superflex option, but desperate times call for sketchy quarterbacks.
WR A.J. Brown (NE) exited Wednesday night’s opener with a high-ankle sprain that may sideline him four to six weeks. He’s headed to short-term IR. Romeo Doubs was a disaster against Seattle, but he’s likely headed for a spike in opportunities over the next month.
Fantasy toolkit
Jake Ciely’s opening-week ranks: Our resident ranker of things has you covered at all roster positions, except those that dabble in the kicking arts. This week, Jake also took a shot at ranking the best movies of 2026, resulting in a list of mostly animated and/or superhero films which no adult could take seriously, but your 9-year-old will love.
The Fantasy Concierge: When you have sit/start decisions that demand context and support, this is where to go. The Concierge is an AI-powered tool that isn’t doing anything nefarious — we swear. It relies exclusively on The Athletic’s original reporting and fantasy coverage, Jake’s weekly rankings and scoring projections from Rotowire. Input the names under consideration, and you’ll receive a concise answer, just like this:
Full injury report: For the hardcore managers who require comprehensive injury reporting on any name with even modest fantasy relevance, Jess Bryant is here for you. When weather becomes an issue, Jess will have you covered.
Deep value plays: Brad Evans has certainly never been afraid to take big swings on players no one else is starting. He makes the case this week for Kenneth Gainwell, Matthew Golden, Juwan Johnson and various others.
Week 1 waiver wire: If you’re getting the transaction sweats ahead of kickoff on Sunday and simply can’t wait to make a move, this is your opening-week shopping list. Pretty much every name is widely available and approved for stashing.
A fresh look: We’re upgrading our app experience for the 2026 season to better highlight Jake’s weekly waiver tips and rankings. In addition to our latest fantasy analysis, you can also get direct access to the Fantasy Concierge start/sit tool.
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MarShawn Lloyd, RB1?
Fantasy enthusiasm for Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has been exceedingly high throughout the summer, in part because he’s finally healthy after two seasons of recurring injuries.
Lloyd’s average draft position spiked dramatically in recent days, following news that Josh Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. Lloyd is believed to be an explosive playmaker, but that belief is mostly rooted in theory, not on-field evidence. To date, he’s played just 10 snaps in regular-season games, gaining 18 yards on seven touches.
Still, Lloyd is widely considered the next man up behind Jacobs in Green Bay’s backfield. Anyone drafting him at his September average draft position (ADP) is expecting to see him in a featured role. On Tuesday, however, Green Bay offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich announced, “It’s gonna be running back by committee for a little while.” Stenavich went on to say nice things about Lloyd, but, understandably, declined to commit to a specific role for an untested back.
Anyone who had big fantasy plans for Lloyd is now facing a heightened level of uncertainty. Jake Ciely slotted him at RB31 in his opening-week rankings, slightly behind industry consensus.
Jake’s take
💬 “We know … well, nothing. Yes, we assume Lloyd can be the talent we saw at USC, but we don’t know that for certain. We do know Lloyd has a whopping seven touches in the NFL. We also know Chris Brooks will be involved. Therefore, we do know that Lloyd can be the preferred play with a decently high ceiling, but, similar to what we saw with Jadarian Price in Seattle, a timeshare should be expected.
“Lloyd may look so good early in the game that he’s ‘unleashed’ the rest of the way, but the more likely outcome is a high-risk/high-reward RB3/Flex. Which means everyone will hate the outcome no matter if you benched or started him, because … hey, that’s fantasy football.”
Last-minute moves
Ranking outliers for opening week
Jake is one of the most accurate rankers in the business, and he’s also willing to veer away from the herd. This week, Jake is out of sync with industry consensus on the following fantasy assets:
J.K. Dobbins (DEN), RB26: OK, this rank may not seem wildly bullish, but Jake is actually five spots above consensus on Dobbins. There’s been great excitement over rookie Jonah Coleman recently, just as there was great excitement over then-rookie R.J. Harvey last summer, but Dobbins is a bankable veteran who does everything well. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season, not that anyone noticed.
Michael Pittman Jr. (IND), WR30: On Jake’s board, Pittman is one spot ahead of his conspiratorialist teammate D.K. Metcalf. Pittman’s skill set should pair perfectly with the current low-average-depth-of-target (aDOT) version of Aaron Rodgers.
Drake London (ATL), WR19: It’s possible the rest of the industry will catch up to Ciely on this one, after everyone has an opportunity to process the Cooper Rush news. London remains a playable option, certainly, but this is not an offense that could afford even a small downgrade to an already bleak QB situation.
Matchups to embrace and avoid
Each week at The Athletic, KC Joyner delivers an extensive list of the week’s best and worst individual matchups to help you maximize your squad’s scoring potential. Here are just a few of his opening week must-plays and uh-ohs:
😤 Start with confidence: QBs Jalen Hurts (vs. WAS), Daniel Jones (vs. BAL), Tyler Shough (at DET); RBs Chuba Hubbard (vs. CHI), Tony Pollard (vs. NYJ); WRs Ladd McConkey (vs. ARI), Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks (vs. WAS)
🛑 Trouble ahead: QB Patrick Mahomes (vs. DEN); RB Quinshon Judkins (at JAX); WRs Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs (at PHI); TEs Mark Andrews (at IND) and Darren Waller (vs. CHI)
Sleeper of the week
We should all have a hype man like Sean Payton in our lives. Denver’s coach has so consistently and vociferously gassed up second-year receiver Pat Bryant this summer that, eventually, it began to feel like a bit. But it wasn’t just Payton driving the Bryant bandwagon. Broncos defensive players were saying the same things throughout camp. It’s clear that Bryant, 23, has leapfrogged all other contenders for the third receiver role in Denver’s high-volume passing attack.
You may not have an immediate need to start an as-yet-unproven talent like Bryant in a week without byes, but don’t leave him hanging out there in your league’s free-agent pool. The offseason drumbeat has simply been too loud to ignore. If he makes a splash play or two against the Chiefs on Monday night, no one should be surprised.
From the Discord
If you didn’t join The Athletic’s fantasy football Discord last season, then you missed the opportunity to engage in regular Q&As with our collection of analysts. Jump in! The advice is free and worth every penny. Here’s a recent question from a fantasy newcomer:
10 team. PPR league. I am very new to fantasy football. Ended up with three players from the same team: CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson. Who, if any, do I trade? — G-Mommy:
The good news, G-Mom, is you happen to have invested in one of the league’s elite passing offenses. Dallas ranked second in the NFL in total offense last season and seventh in scoring. If you don’t trade away any of these guys, you’re fine. There’s no urgency to make a deal — which is great, because desperation leads to fleecing.
That said, it’s understandable to not want three players from a single NFL team on your fantasy roster at any given time. It would certainly leave you in a bind if, say, Dak Prescott were to miss time for any reason. You are also gonna struggle in any week in which the Dallas offense fails to detonate.
The goal in any fantasy trade is to deal from areas of surplus to address weaknesses. If your squad needs a boost at running back, let the league know you might be open to dealing either Lamb or Pickens. (Reminder: You are under no obligation to do so. We’re just exploring possibilities, that’s all.) Each of those players is valuable enough to fetch almost any RB in a one-for-one deal.
Ferguson certainly won’t generate the same level of excitement as Lamb or Pickens, but it might be worth reaching out to the person who just lost Brock Bowers, just to see if they happen to be panicking. The most effective fantasy managers never miss an opportunity to take advantage of other people’s bad news.