Start em or sit em? Fantasy football start or sit decisions can be excruciating. While it feels great to make the right call and cruise to fantasy glory, it hurts just as much when you have someone erupt while on your bench. You can use our Who Should I Start? tool to gauge advice from fantasy football experts as you make your lineup decisions. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings and analysis.
Let’s take a look at a few polarizing players and what fantasy football expert Derek Brown advises. And you can find all of DBro’s fantasy football outlook in this week’s fantasy football primer.
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Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice
Well…Tank Bigsby is gone, and Travis Etienne crushed in Week 1. This isn’t how I saw this backfield unfolding, but kudos to everyone who drafted Etienne. In Week 1, he finished as the RB6 for the week, playing 61% of the snaps and finishing with 19 touches and 156 total yards. He had a 19% missed tackle rate and 5.31 yards after contact per attempt (both strong marks). He should continue his hot start this week against a Bengals run defense that, in Week 1, allowed the tenth-highest missed tackle rate and the 12th-highest rushing success rate.
I’m just as flummoxed as everyone else by Kenneth Walker’s Week 1 usage. Yes, there were reports that he was dealing with a foot issue in camp, but those dissipated near the end of camp with him practicing and the team preaching a plan for his usage. I took the team and coaching staff at their word, and I guess shame on me, but I share everyone’s frustration with how this situation unfolded in Week 1. Walker played 40% of the snaps with a 45.4% rushing share. He had a 32% route share and 13% target share. His per-rush metrics weren’t Walker-esque at all as he forced zero missed tackles and had only 2.10 yards after contact per attempt (Charbonnet 1.67). The Seattle backfield could remain a committee while Walker gets up to 100% or this could be the ugliness that we are forced to stare at this season. With only one game under the belt, no one truly knows. Walker had two red zone carries in Week 1 (Charbonnet had four). Maybe Walker gets on track this week…I don’t know, but the matchup is a good one for him to do so. Last week, Pittsburgh allowed the fourth-highest missed tackle rate, the sixth-most yards before contact per attempt, and they had the tenth-lowest stuff rate. Walker is a risky flex play.
TreVeyon Henderson was the RB25 in PPR scoring in Week 1. He played 33.8% of the snaps, finishing with 11 touches and 51 total yards. His passing game role fueled his week with a 32.1% route share but a 13% target share (six targets). He had only 38.4% of the running back rushing attempts (five). He posted a 20% missed tackle rate but only 0.40 yards after contact per attempt. It was an incredibly small sample, so take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully, his role grows in Week 2 against a middling run defense. In Week 1, Miami ranked 17th in stuff rate and 16th in yards before contact per attempt while giving up the eighth-most yards after contact per attempt.
Javonte Williams looks like Dallas’s new workhorse running back. He played 80.4% of the snaps in Week 1 with a 68.2% rushing share and a 71.4% route share. He finished with 20.4 PPR points, much of that due to his two-score day, but he also had 17 touches and 64 total yards. We didn’t see much in the name of efficiency as he had zero explosive runs, zero missed tackles forced, and only 2.13 yards after contact per attempt. Williams was constantly slammed into the A gaps in Week 1, so I hope there are better days ahead for his efficiency running behind an offensive line that ranked second-best in yards before contact per attempt. Williams could also be aided by what looks like another year of the Giants fielding a pitiful run defense. Last week, which lined up with their rough 2024 metrics, the Giants allowed the sixth-highest explosive run rate, the fourth-highest yards after contact per attempt, and they had the second-lowest stuff rate.
Well, Week 1 was wild, and the Seattle backfield was a shocker. Zach Charbonnet led the way with a 58% snap rate, 12 touches, and 47 total yards. He had 54.5% of the rushing attempts, a 36% route share, and led the team with four red zone rushing attempts (Walker had two). Charbonnet wasn’t impressive on a per-touch basis with an 8% missed tackle rate and only 1.67 yards after contact per attempt. We’ll see if Charbonnet still leads the backfield this week or if Kenneth Walker takes more of the work. The matchup is good this week for someone from this backfield to show some life. Last week, Pittsburgh allowed the fourth-highest missed tackle rate, the sixth-most yards before contact per attempt, and they had the tenth-lowest stuff rate. Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker are both risky flex plays this week.
Tony Pollard was the workhorse we thought he’d be to open the season, but the fantasy results didn’t follow. Pollard played 90% of the snaps, finishing with 19 touches and 89 total yards. He only had an 11% missed tackle rate, but his yards after contact per attempt was solid with 2.61. Pollard should find more running room this week against a Rams run defense that, in Week 1, allowed the 13th-most rushing yards while giving up the third-highest missed tackle rate and sitting at 16th in stuff rate. Pollard is a strong volume play again this week, and with a better matchup, he should pay off this week.
Last week, David Montgomery finished with 15 touches and only 43 total yards. He had 55% of the running back rushing attempts while seeing a 32.6% route share and 10.3% target share. Jahmyr Gibbs had two red zone carries while Montgomery got one. Overall, he played only 37% of the snaps. The once vaunted Detroit offensive line generated the 12th-fewest yards before contact per attempt on the ground. Montgomery didn’t look explosive with only a 9% missed tackle rate and 2.0 yards after contact per attempt. We’ll see if he can get going this week against the Bears, who in Week 1 allowed the 12th-highest yards after contact per attempt, the 13th-highest missed tackle rate, and the eighth-most yards before contact per attempt.
J.K. Dobbins played 53% of the snaps in Week 1 and had all three of the team’s red zone carries. He finished with 18 touches and 68 total yards. Dobbins posted solid tackle-breaking numbers with a 19% missed tackle rate and 2.63 yards after contact per attempt. He only had an 18.6% route share, which I kinda expected. He will be the back who contributes on early downs and in pass protection. Dobbins should have a strong day on the ground this week against Indy. In Week 1, Indy allowed the highest yards after contact per attempt and the sixth-highest rushing success rate while also having the 11th-lowest stuff rate.
Jordan Mason began the 2025 season with the role we thought he’d have all offseason. Mason was the goal line and early down hammer for Minny. He finished with a 57% snap rate, 16 touches, 75 total yards, 65.2% of the running back rushing work, and all of the red zone carries (three). He had only a 25% route share and 5% target share, as Aaron Jones is the primary receiving back. Mason’s per carry efficiency wasn’t great with zero missed tackles forced and only 2.0 yards after contact per attempt, but it’s a small sample size, so don’t panic yet. He has a brutal matchup on the ground this week, though, and will need a score to pay off this week. In Week 1, the Falcons had the eighth-highest stuff rate and allowed the sixth-lowest missed tackle rate and only 1.09 yards before contact per attempt.
Isiah Pacheco‘s Week 1 usage and stat line were nightmare fuel if you invested in him in draft season. He played only 51% of the snaps, finishing with seven touches and 28 total yards. He had 50% of the running back rushing workload, a 29.8% route share, and a 7.7% target share. Pacheco did get the only red zone carry for the backs and was effective with his tiny workload, with a 20% missed tackle rate and 3.20 yards after contact per attempt. Kansas City should lean on him this week, but we’ll see if that happens. Andy Reid didn’t do so last week and abandoned the running game. The matchup is there for Reid to come to his senses this week and give Pacheco more work. Last week, Philly had the sixth-lowest stuff rate, gave up the seventh-highest yards after contact per attempt, and allowed the second-most yards before contact per attempt.
Nick Chubb did lead the Houston backfield, but he wasn’t the “bell cow” that was reported prior to Week 1. He played 49% of the snaps while seeing 48% of the rushing share and logging a 20.6% route share. The backfield was split up into four parts in Week 1, with Chubb, Dare Ogunbowale, Dameon Pierce, and Woody Marks all seeing at least seven snaps. Chubb was encouraging with his volume. While he didn’t have any explosive runs and only had 2.08 yards after contact per attempt, he did have a 31% missed tackle rate. If this offensive line can open some holes for him, he could surprise this season if that continues. Sadly, I don’t think that starts this week. Tampa Bay picked up right where they left off last year as a top-shelf run defense in Week 1. They allowed the seventh-fewest rushing yards and yards after contact per attempt, zero explosive runs, and the 11th-lowest missed tackle rate. Chubb needs a touchdown to save his fantasy outing in Week 2.
I’ll start this off with the usage for R.J. Harvey wasn’t what I hoped for, but I think better days are ahead for Harvey. Sean Payton utilized a three-headed committee in Week 1, and I don’t see that lasting. Tyler Badie had a 25.6% route share (the same as Harvey). I think Badie will fade into the background. The only question is how long it will take for that to happen. It could come as soon as this week. In Week 1, Harvey played 31% of the snaps with only one target (2.5% target share) as he finished with seven touches and 69 total yards. Harvey was money when he did touch the ball, though, racking up a 33% missed tackle rate and 2.50 yards after contact per attempt. J.K. Dobbins handled all of the red zone rushing work (all three attempts), so that’s also something to watch. Please, Sean Payton, unleash Harvey in Week 2. Indy is a good matchup to do so. In Week 1, Indy allowed the highest yards after contact per attempt and the sixth-highest rushing success rate while also having the 11th-lowest stuff rate.
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