Fantasy Football Week 1 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Isiah Pacheco kicks off the 2024 season

Week 1 of the 2024 fantasy football season has finally arrived and all managers should be looking to get off to a strong start. Having a strategy for each position is crucial to weekly success, and as always, certain players should be targeted and others faded. Here is a Week 1 breakdown of the best starts and sits for fantasy lineups.

Fantasy Football Week 1 Start 'Em picks

Week 1 starts

The 2024 fantasy football season kicks off with a prime-time matchup on Thursday night between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Isiah Pacheco is one of the key players to keep an eye on after his productive season last year. While the Ravens have one of the best overall defenses in the NFL, Pacheco still makes for a solid target in all fantasy football formats.

His opposing running back Derrick Henry should be started in all season-long lineups, but is a bit more risky in DFS. He switched teams for the first time during the offseason, so it will be interesting to see how he handles a new situation. Backs with a more defined role and cheaper price tag, such as Rachaad White and James Cook, make for better DFS picks this week.

Some of the best wide receivers to target this week include Chris Olave and Drake London, due to their solidified WR1 status with their NFL teams and favorable Week 1 matchups. The same can be said for top tight ends such as Sam LaPorta and Evan Engram.

Here is a list of the best starts this week in strong situations and best overall values for DFS lineups.

Must Starts

• Josh Allen
• Patrick Mahomes
• Lamar Jackson
• Jalen Hurts
• CJ Stroud
• Joe Burrow
• Christian McCaffrey
• Bijan Robinson
• Breece Hall
• Jonathan Taylor
• Saquon Barkley
• Kyren Williams
• Jahmyr Gibbs
• Isiah Pacheco
• Rachaad White
• Joe Mixon
• James Cook
• Josh Jacobs
• Derrick Henry
• Travis Etienne
• Alvin Kamara
• Tyreek Hill
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• CeeDee Lamb
• Justin Jefferson
• Ja'Marr Chase
• AJ Brown
• Garrett Wilson
• Mike Evans
• Davante Adams
• Drake London
• Chris Olave
• George Pickens
• Sam LaPorta
• Travis Kelce
• Mark Andrews
• Evan Engram
• Dalton Kincaid
• Kyle Pitts
• George Kittle

DFS Picks

• Kyler Murray
• Anthony Richardson
• Joe Burrow
• Rachaad White
• James Cook
• Zamir White
• Devin Singletary
• Josh Jacobs
• Travis Etienne
• Drake London
• Chris Olave
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Ja'Marr Chase
• Davante Adams
• Dalton Kincaid
• Evan Engram
• Kyle Pitts

Fantasy Football Week 1 Sit 'Em picks

Week 1 sits

Deciding who to fade is just as important as determining Who Should I Start in fantasy football each week. The first week of the season is additionally challenging when setting lineups because some players have unclear roles with their teams. This can be due to them switching teams or having new workload competition on their current team.

Raheem Mostert is one of the key players to sit in Week 1, despite him finishing as the overall RB2 in fantasy football last year. De'Von Achane is expected to eat into his workload and the Miami Dolphins also added rookie Jaylen Wright. New Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is another big-name player to fade, as he is now playing in an extremely crowded offense.

The following is a list of players who are better off faded in Week 1 of the 2024 fantasy football season. They either have a risky situation with their NFL team or are in a difficult matchup that should be avoided whenever possible.

Must Sits

• Brock Purdy
• Justin Herbert
• Raheem Mostert
• David Montgomery
• Austin Ekeler
• Javonte Williams
• Brandon Aiyuk
• Terry McLaurin
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Calvin Ridley
• Keenan Allen
• Cole Kmet
• Brock Bowers

DFS Fades

• Dak Prescott
• Deshaun Watson
• Aaron Rodgers
• Derrick Henry
• Najee Harris
• Aaron Jones
• D'Andre Swift
• Ezekiel Elliot
• Puka Nacua
• Nico Collins
• DK Metcalf
• DJ Moore
• Justin Jefferson
• David Njoku
• Dallas Goedert
• Dalton Schultz