We are officially less than a week away from the 2025 NFL season. It has been a long offseason of preparing for the upcoming season, and now is where the work comes to fruition. This article will review my starts of the week at each position for Week 1 of the fantasy football season. These picks will not be ranked highly at their respective positions. Specifically, every player that I mention will be ranked outside the top-10 at their position ranking for the week. With that being said, let’s get into it.
Fantasy Football Week 1: Starts of the Week
QB: Michael Penix Jr.
My QB start of the week is going to be Michael Penix Jr. This divisional matchup between the Buccaneers and Falcons is tied for the second-highest over/under of the week at 48.5 points. In the two games they played last year, the Falcons put up 36 and 31 points in those matchups. In those games, Kirk Cousins combined for 785 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns. Penix has the arm talent and the situation to put up a huge fantasy performance, just like Cousins did when these teams matched up last season. Penix is one of my starts of the week in fantasy football for week 1.
RB: James Conner
My RB start of the week is James Conner. The Cardinals play the Saints this week in a game where 5.5 points favor the Cardinals. In the game script that Vegas is predicting, the Cardinals should dominate the time of possession and run the ball a lot. Conner is obviously the primary beneficiary of this game script. Trey Benson could definitely get a lot more work in this game, depending on how much the Cardinals dominate, but Conner should be in line for 20+ carries with a great chance at scoring a touchdown in week 1. This makes him one of my starts of the week for the opening week of fantasy football.
WR: George Pickens
My start of the week for the WR position is George Pickens. The Cowboys and Eagles are in line for a shootout on the opening night of the NFL season. The Eagles are 7-point favorites, meaning the Cowboys will likely have to throw the ball frequently to stay in the game.
On top of this, Dak Prescott has averaged 321.8 yards and 3.3 touchdowns per game in his last four matchups against the Eagles. The Eagles are also likely going to have star corner Quinyon Mitchell on CeeDee Lamb, which should open up more looks for Pickens in this game. Eighty yards and a touchdown wouldn’t be surprising for Pickens’ Cowboy debut, making him one of my starts of the week.
TE: Zach Ertz
For the TE position, the start of the week is Zach Ertz. I don’t feel super strongly about this pick, but Ertz makes the cut. This pick is more based on the situation with the Commanders than anything else. Terry McLaurin sat out most of the offseason looking for a new contract, so I expect some rust out of the gate.
Outside of McLaurin, you have the latest addition of Deebo Samuel, and the running back situation is still up in the air. Ertz is going to be a nice safety blanket for Jayden Daniels, and I think he’s in line for a solid five catches and around fifty yards for this game, making him one of my starts of the week here.
Honorable Mentions and Wrap-Up
To recap, my starts of the week for the opening week of the fantasy football season include Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, James Conner and George Pickens at running back and wide receiver, and Zach Ertz at tight end. Some honorable mentions would be Trevor Lawrence, Alvin Kamara, Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, and Tucker Kraft.
Main Image:
