NFL Week 1 is finally here! The 2026 season began a couple of days ago but the Sunday slate has a full schedule throughout the day, meaning it’s time to settle in and obsess over fantasy football for hours on end while enjoying the chaos on the gridiron.
Whether you’re a returning reader or a newcomer, welcome to my weekly must-start column. I’ll be here for the next 18 weeks straight plus the playoffs, bringing you a selection of the players you should want in your fantasy football lineups in season-long and/or DFS formats. These guys are screaming starts for one reason or another – it could be an advantageous matchup, a recent hot streak or a value price in DraftKings contests, among others – so we’re looking to find an edge through the lens of actual analysis.
Enough of the background, though, you probably just want to know who’s going to help you win your weeks. Thankfully, I want to help you win, too. Let’s jump into it with some must-start players for fantasy football in Week 1.
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Fantasy Football Week 1 Must-Start Players
QB: Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers vs. Bengals ($5,900)
The contract dispute between Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers nearly boiled over into the regular season, but there’s no more reason to worry. The 31-year-old inked a three-year, $165 million extension with the franchise last week, the largest deal in franchise history. Last year wasn’t particularly pretty for Baker as he averaged just 17.2 DKFP on the year amidst a major regression from a stellar 2024, but there’s context to consider. He was a frequent flier on the injury report, playing through a knee sprain suffered Week 2, a bicep issue that arose in Week 3 and then an AC joint injury he picked up in Week 12. Despite the various bumps and bruises, he appeared in all 17 of Tampa Bay’s contests. Some of his top weapons, including Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving, missed significant time due to various injuries themselves.
Given the knocks he and his teammates dealt with, it’s best to take the 2025 regression with a grain of salt. Now, it’s not likely that Mayfield gets back to the 23.6 DKFP he averaged in his breakout campaign with the Bucs since former offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who unlocked his game, is long gone. Still, he threw for nearly 3,700 yards with 26 touchdown passes, plus close to 400 rushing yards and one more score on the ground. If that’s the floor during a year riddled by injury, a bounce-back season could easily be in the cards for the veteran moving forward.
That starts with an incredible Week 1 matchup at home against the Bengals. This game carries the highest total of the slate at 50.5 combined points on DraftKings Sportsbook, so the outlook for scoring appears ripe. Mayfield has a full suite of weapons available in Emeka Egbuka, the aforementioned Godwin and Irving, plus rookie Ted Hurst and tight end Cade Otton. The one name missing is wideout Jalen McMillan, who is doubtful as of Saturday evening. Of course, they’re facing off against an offense helmed by a healthy Joe Burrow that includes Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown, so of course this could become a shootout. Last season, Cincinnati ranked 25th in passing yards allowed, 29th in passing touchdowns allowed, and 27th in defensive EPA/pass. Granted, the club did shore up its defensive front to a great extent, but the Bucs have a quality offensive line and the back half of Cincy’s defense still appears vulnerable. We’re attacking Mayfield here with a high floor and ceiling as the ninth-priciest quarterback in Week 1.
RB: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers vs. Bears ($5,500)
He’s not a sexy name by any means, but this actually does shape up as a pretty great situation for Chuba Hubbard in Week 1. The Panthers get a date at home against the Bears, pitting a weak NFC South team against one of the most exciting up-and-coming offenses in the NFL. Sounds like a great matchup to play, right?
I promise, I’m actually not being sarcastic here. Hubbard’s role was fluid last year amidst an injury that left him sidelined for a bit and the heater of all heaters from then-teammate Rico Dowdle in the backfield. Hubbard ended the season with an average of just 8.4 DKFP per game, far from encouraging production. His 511 yards on the ground and an average of 3.8 yards per carry weren’t inspiring, but bear in mind that he only scored one touchdown via the ground. He was more successful as a receiving weapon with 30 grabs on 39 targets for 223 yards and three scores. That’s valuable for our purposes here, particularly so given the potential outcomes in this matchup.
Hubbard is reportedly the top option in a backfield tandem that’ll mix in Jonathon Brooks plenty, but Brooks has barely stayed on the field throughout his brief NFL career and doesn’t exactly have a ton of pass-catching upside. Both of them have the advantage of facing what was one of the league’s worst run defenses last season – Chicago fell 27th in rushing yards allowed per game and 26th in defensive EPA/rush. The Bears did little to short up their trenches on that side of the ball and profile as a very poor defense as a whole, which bodes well for a Panthers offense that may need situational matchups to excite fantasy players. Thankfully, this is one of those situations.
Yes, Carolina could get blasted and fall behind by a wide margin against an offense of this caliber, but that would likely mean more passing-downs work for Hubbard and some easy layups on checkdowns. The real outcome we’re rooting for is that the Panthers play things conservatively with a run-heavy script to keep Caleb Williams and Co. off the field, in which case Hubbard also benefits greatly. Either way, I like him as a potential value on Sunday at this salary.
WR: Chris Olave, Saints at Lions ($6,700)
How sweet it is that Chris Olave finally lived up to his pedigree as an Ohio State wide receiver last season. All it took for him to get there and emerge as a real WR1 for fantasy football purposes was a second-round quarterback and one of the best offensive minds in football coming to the Saints as the franchise’s head coach. That wasn’t too much to ask for, right?
Olave was pretty sweet last year, averaging a cool 17.4 DKFP in his 16 games while fully breaking out of his shell. He saw elite target volume with 156 looks, hauling in 100 of those for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which marked new career highs for the 26-year-old. This was the player who was promised when New Orleans drafted him in the first round back in 2022 – it just took a little time for him to get there. It’s even more impressive given that the first half of his 2025 campaign wasn’t anything too crazy while working with Spencer Rattler at quarterback. While he saw double-digit targets in six of his eight games with Rattler, Olave reached 15+ DKFP just three times over that stretch – only once did he eclipse 20 fantasy points in this span.
Once Tyler Shough stepped in at quarterback, though, Olave was money. From Week 9 onward, he posted a whopping 19.88 DKFP per game with four outings of 20+, including performances of 39.8 and 28.9 DKFP to end his season in Week 16 and Week 17. That was some league-winning upside from the Saints’ top wideout, who displayed a clear chemistry with his rookie quarterback. Now, they’ve had a full offseason together with Shough entrenched as the starter. The quarterback should be more comfortable, as should head coach Kellen Moore as he enters year two as well. To top it off, the Saints signed Travis Etienne and should have a much-improved attack on the ground, opening up a little bit of space in the passing game.
In Week 1, the matchup is a very tough one as this team heads to Detroit. It’s probably not a game New Orleans will win, but it does have shootout written all over it against an incredible offense and a defense with some obvious holes. The Lions were 21st in passing yards allowed and 15th in defensive EPA/pass last season, but enter this matchup without safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Plus, star cornerback Terrion Arnold was released due to off-field allegations. This secondary is going to be one of the NFL’s worst, so the Saints should attack through the air as they try to keep pace with an elite offensive unit on the road.
TE: Charlie Kolar, Chargers vs. Cardinals ($2,500)
Last year, this was a list of three players that frequently saw tight ends omitted outright. That was partially due to the nature of the position in the past, but the crop of talent is better than ever and I’m expanding the column to one name at each offensive position. In Week 1, I have what may be the most unpredictable risk-reward play of the slate. If you’re averse to risk, please stop reading now. Otherwise, we’re looking at perhaps the best budget tight end in DFS formats.
Charlie Kolar carries a salary of just $2,500 in the Milly, which means you have to scroll way down the lineup builder to find him. If you’re asking who that even is, he spent the first four seasons of his career with the Ravens primarily as a blocking tight end. He has only 30 career receptions for 409 yards and four touchdowns. Yes, I realize this sounds like a terrible decision that may completely sink your entry if you slot him into a starting spot. Just hear me out, though.
The Chargers signed Kolar to a three-year, $24.3 million contract this offseason. That’s a sizable deal for a guy who’s primarily known for his blocking above all else, but there’s more to the story here. He was just listed as the team’s top tight end on the depth chart ahead of fellow signing David Njoku and former sleeper Oronde Gadsden, who appears to have been relegated down a couple rungs due to his own lack of blocking ability. Could Njoku lead the position group in snaps this week against the Cardinals? He very well could, and likely will if the depth chart was honest.
You don’t get points for blocking in fantasy, but you do get points for offensive production. Despite his reputation, Kolar isn’t a stranger to it. Over his final three years in college at Iowa State, he hauled in 95 receptions for 1,288 yards and 14 touchdowns in 24 games. He posted at least 44 catches, 591 yards and six touchdowns in all three of those seasons – it’s been a while, but he does know how to catch the football. Now, he’s tied to Justin Herbert with a sizable snap share in an offense that’s called by Mike McDaniel. Is there risk? There’s a ton. Is there reward if he’s being paid to be more than just a blocker? You betcha, and the DFS salary may never be cheaper if that’s the case.
