Fantasy Football Start/Sit: Jonathon Brooks, Chuba Hubbard, MarShawn Lloyd

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.

Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice

Here’s Derek Brown’s fantasy football Week 1 outlook for a few players to help with lineup decisions.

Jonathon Brooks (RB – CAR)

Jonathon Brooks is a nice flex with upside in Week 1. He should at least split the work with Chuba Hubbard to open the season, with the upside to be the clear lead runner from the jump. Just to remind everyone about the talent that Brooks has, in 2024 (his final collegiate season), he ranked 21st in yards after contact per attempt, ninth in elusive rating, and 21st in yards per route run (per PFF). The Bears’ run defense struggled to close last season, and they didn’t make any massive additions this offseason to give any hope that they’ll be improved this year. Last season, in Weeks 12-18, Chicago allowed the highest rushing success rate, the sixth-most yards before contact per attempt, and the 11th-highest EPA per rush.

Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)

Chuba Hubbard followed up his big breakout 2024 season with a stinker in 2025. Last year, Chuba Hubbard fell apart as the RB40 in fantasy points per game. Yes, he dealt with a calf injury for part of the season, but he also lost his starting job during the season to Rico Dowdle. Hubbard was arguably the most inefficient running back in the NFL last year. Among 49 qualifying backs, he ranked dead last in missed tackle rate and explosive run rate (zero explosive runs) while also sitting at 47th in yards after contact per attempt. I expect Jonathon Brooks to lead the backfield this season, but Hubbard should still be a sizable portion of the rushing attack to open the season. This gives him flex value with some upside for Week 1. The Bears’ run defense struggled to close last season, and they didn’t make any massive additions this offseason to give any hope that they’ll be improved this year. Last season, in Weeks 12-18, Chicago allowed the highest rushing success rate, the sixth-most yards before contact per attempt, and the 11th-highest EPA per rush.

MarShawn Lloyd (RB – GB)

MarShawn Lloyd looks primed to enter Week 1 as the Packers’ workhorse back with Josh Jacobs on the commissioner-exempt list. Just to remind everyone about Lloyd’s talent. During his final two collegiate seasons, he was 20th and 16th in yards after contact per attempt, third and 18th in breakaway rate, and fourth and 15th in elusive rating (per PFF, minimum 100 carries). Lloyd can take advantage of a run defense that lost some parts but added Caleb Banks, Domonique Orange, and Jake Golday this offseason. Minnesota could field an improved run defense in 2026, but I have to see it to believe it. Last year, Minny ranked 16th in explosive run rate and 15th in yards after contact per attempt while giving up the sixth-highest rushing success rate and the fourth-lowest stuff rate.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.