Welcome to Sit & Start & Stash & Quit (Week 1). This is where we highlight a few players at each position that we want to sit or start this week. For the starts, we will avoid the obvious starts, and for the sits, we will avoid the obvious ones. This is a place to deal with the players who make tougher decisions. For our full list of weekly rankings, head to The FFU Weekly Rankings Page or try out our Sit/Start Tool Powered by Fantasy Pros.
Sit ‘Em
Brock Purdy, 49ers vs NYJ (31)
Purdy has been a pleasant surprise since he was drafted as Mr. Irrelevant becoming the ultimate game-manager in the league’s most stacked offense. Unfortunately, he will kick off the 2024 season with a matchup against perhaps the NFL’s most stacked defense. The Jets are an elite defensive unit across the board and if you can afford to sit Purdy for other options you should. If you can’t sit Purdy, you should temper your expectations for this week.
Aaron Rodgers, Jets vs SF (29)
Deshaun Watson, Browns vs DAL (24)
Dak Prescott, Cowboys vs CLE (26)
Austin Ekeler, Commanders vs TB (29)
The years of Ekeler being in contention for the first overall pick in your fantasy drafts are over and for the first time since early in his career, Ekeler appears to be the 1B in a running back by committee. The Buccaneers are among the league’s stingiest run defenses and give up a sizeable amount of production through the air. Look for the Commanders to use the arm and legs of Jayden Daniels rather than giving their running backs a heavy workload in this one. If you are forced to start Ekeler, you will be praying for a heavy dose of receptions on goal-line carries, neither of which are a sure thing at this point.
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs CLE (28)
Zack Moss, Bengals vs NE (7)
Jerome Ford, Browns vs DAL (26)
Zay Flowers, Ravens vs KC (2)
Flowers had a semi-productive rookie year but with the Ravens adding Derrick Henry, they look to be more run-heavy than ever before. Add in a healthy Mark Andrews and targets for Flowers could be hard to come by regularly. The other issue here is a vaunted Chiefs secondary that is still very strong despite losing L’Jarius Snead this offseason. The Ravens are going to run early and often, leaving Flowers out in the cold on the opening night of the season.
Calvin Ridley, Titans vs CHI (23)
Xavier Worthy, Chiefs vs BAL (27)
Diontae Johnson, Panthers vs NO(21)
Cole Kmet, Bears vs TEN (32)
Kmet was once a tight end high up on my target list. Even as recently as last season, he was a frequent sleeper on my board. That all changed this offseason. While I still believe in the talent of Kmet, his situation has changed in such a way that I’m avoiding him at all costs. A rookie quarterback making his NFL debut in an offense now stacked with talent against a Titans defense that is tough to throw on all adds up to a scenario where I want no part of Cole Kmet in Week 1.
Jake Ferguson, Cowboys vs CLE (30)
Tyler Conklin, Jets vs SF (29)
Mike Gesicki, Dolphins vs NE (27)
Start ‘Em
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers vs WSH (1)
Mayfield and the Buccaneer’s offense was a pleasant surprise in 2023 and they will look to get the 2024 season off on the right foot in a prime matchup with the Commanders who were the best matchup for quarterbacks last season. While the Commanders made some improvements to their defense this offseason, they are still full of holes. Look for Mayfield to once again put up a solid start and be on the low-end QB1 range against Washington.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins vs JAC (5)
Matthew Stafford, Rams vs DET (6)
Jayden Daniels, Commanders vs TB (7)
Javonte Williams, Broncos vs SEA (6)
Williams has been a running back many managers have avoided this offseason, but in Week 1 that shouldn’t be the case. The Seahawks were an excellent matchup for opposing running backs last season and project to be more of the same in 2024. While it remains unclear exactly how this backfield will shake out between Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Blake Watson, Williams should get the first crack at the starting role. In Week 1, Williams is worthy of at least a flex-play and should see hiss tock rise quickly after a fast start.
Aaron Jones, Vikings vs NYG (8)
Tony Pollard, Titans vs CHI (9)
Gus Edwards, Chargers vs LV (10)
Jayden Reed, Packers vs PHI (1)
After being a perennial contender and stingy defense for the past five years, the Philadelphia Eagles bottomed out last season and were a mess on the defensive side of the ball. They made some solid additions this offseason to shore up the secondary but many of those additions were rookies who could take time to develop. I expect Jordan Love and the Packers to get into a shootout with the Eagles in Week 1 and Reed should be the beneficiary of that and hit the ground running. Look for Reed to be a WR2 in this one.
Malik Nabers, Giants vs MIN (6)
DJ Moore, Bears vs TEN (8)
Christian Kirk, Jaguars vs MIA (9)
Hunter Henry, Patriots vs CIN (2)
Hunter is perhaps the least sexy start in the history of fantasy football, and should realistically be played in only the most desperate of situations, but if you are without a solid tight end option in Week 1, he could be your guy. He has always had multiple touchdown upside even though it usually came with low reception and yardage totals. The Patriots face off with a Bengals defense that has been historically bad against the tight end position and should give Henry a shot at yet another random blowup game.
Brock Bowers, Raiders vs LAC (7)
Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs ATL (9)
Luke Musgrave, Packers vs NE (27)
Stash ‘Em
Will Levis, Titans
Levis is the ultimate boom-or-bust quarterback. One week he puts up 40 fantasy points and then he follows that up with six points and a handful of interceptions. While he is not Josh Allen, he does have a similar path to relevance for fantasy. if he can make a similar improvement in accuracy between Year 1 and Year 2 he could prove to be a consistent fantasy producer due to a solid rushing upside. There are still many things that need to happen for Levis to avoid bust territory, but the talent is there if he can find a way to harness it and limit unnecessary risks and turnovers.
Justin Fields, Steelers
Bryce Young, Panthers
Bo Nix, Broncos
Blake Corum, Rams
The stashes at running back all have one thing in common, they are rookies. That’s who you should be stashing before Week 1, rookies. The four running backs here fall into two categories. Corum and Benson are the most talented but also have the most competition to overcome to be the starter. While Vidal and Tracy Jr are not nearly as talented but could both see opportunities shortly. If you need an immediate option, Vidal and Tracy Jr are the way to go. If you can afford to be a bit more patient and play the long-term game with more upside, aim for Corum or Benson.
Kimani Vidal, Chargers
Tyrone Tracy Jr, Giants
Trey Benson, Cardinals
Hollywood Brown, Chiefs
Much like with running backs, the preseason targets to stash should be all rookies at this point, making Keon Coleman, Jalen McMillan, and Troy Franklin solid stashes in case they take on a larger role than expected. The truly intriguing one here is Hollywood Brown who is going to miss the first month of the season but should return to be the WR1 in the Chief’s offense. Brown has been ignored by fantasy managers since the news of his injury and is a great high-upside stash if you can afford to be patient.
Keon Coleman, Bills
Jalen McMillan, Buccaneers
Troy Franklin, Broncos
TJ Hockenson, Vikings
Again, if you need to stash a player before Week 1, rookies, rookies, rookies. In this case, Sinnott, Sanders, and Johnson are all talented and have the opportunity to produce but the tight end I’m most looking to stash is TJ Hockenson. He has been hit and miss for me this offseason as I fully intended to draft and stash him for the second-half of the season, but his draft cost was far too high. So, let’s get this straight, if you can add Hockenson at the cost of a double-digit round pick, then do so and save him for a playoff push. Any cost higher than that is not worth it for the limited amount of time he will be on the field this season.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Panthers
Ben Sinnott, Commanders
Theo Johnson, Giants
Quit ‘Em
Derek Carr, Raiders
Carr was borderline usable as a Raider with a solid cast of weapons, he is now in New Orleans and his weapons consist of what’s left of Alvin Kamara and the youngster Chris Olave. In the best of seasons for Carr, he was a mid to low-end QB2, in this scenario he is closer to 32 for me than he is to 24. Carr is a low-ceiling and low-floor option and there is no scenario in which he is my starting quarterback of choice outside of the current Raiders quarterbacks. I’d rather take a chance on the high-variance rookies and hope they surprise me. Even if Carr isn’t a total bust, his stud scenario isn’t all that studly.
Russell Wilson, Steelers
Sam Darnold, Vikings
Bryce Young, Panthers
Dalvin Cook, Cowboys
If you’re a running back with a lengthy history of serious injuries or are approaching 30 years old, I’m just out. This is another case where the likely scenario is a total dud season and even if the unlikely scenario comes true and they are somehow fantasy-relevant, the ceiling just isn’t there. Dalvin Cook is part of a three-headed Dallas backfield, and truthfully I want none of them. I am also out on Nick Chubb and JK Dobbins as injuries have put an end to their fantasy relevance and Alexander Mattison proved he was better suited as a backup running back. I have no interest in rostering any of these four running backs.
Nick Chubb, Browns
JK Dobbins, Chargers
Alexander Mattison, Raiders
Mike Williams, Jets
The same theory applies to the receivers as it did to the running backs. I’m done with old and injury-prone. Mike Williams is hurt, again and will likely fight injuries all season if he gets on the field. Tim Patrick is now on the Detroit Lions practice squad after two years of brutal injury luck, and Brandin Cooks is finally old enough to be well past relevance for fantasy. Kadarius Toney is the youngster of the group but has dealt with more injuries in his brief career than most NFL teams deal with in a season. Toney is rarely healthy, and when he is healthy he is as unreliable as they come. He may have one more blowup game in his career, but I’m not keeping him on my roster waiting for it.
Brandin Cooks, Cowboys
Kadarius Toney, Chiefs
Tim Patrick, Lions
Michael Mayer, Raiders
This one is painful as I thought Mayer was the most well-rounded tight end in the 2023 rookie class. Unfortunately for him, the Raiders drafted perhaps the best tight-end prospect we’ve ever seen. Add in a lackluster Raiders offense that likely can’t support more than one fantasy option and I’m out on Mayer for the 2024 redraft season. We also have a few more aging tight ends who seem to have hit the end of the road for their fantasy relevance. Gerald Everett, Robert Tonyan, and Albert Okwuegbunam are all on new squads with better players ahead of them and I’m out on all of them.
Gerald Everett, Bears
Robert Tonyan, Vikings
Albert Okwuegbunam, Eagles
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