Our recommendations for who to have in your lineup and who to keep on the bench for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
The time for drafting is over, and at long last, it’s now time to manage your team to a fantasy football championship.
If you followed the abundance of preseason advice here at Sleeper, then you likely constructed a solid roster that will still require pivotal lineup decisions on a weekly basis. Those decisions will probably make or break your fantasy season. So in order to further assist you, we’ll have our weekly Starts and Sits, where we make the cases for and against players that we feel strongly about, based on stats, matchups, outlooks and expectations.
With all that said, let’s jump into the first Start 'em/Sit 'em of the 2024 NFL season:
START 'EM
WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
at Detroit; Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
The football world should be treated to a shootout on Sunday night when the Rams head to Motown to take on the high-powered Lions. The matchup is solid for Kupp, Sleeper’s projected WR11 (14.7 PPR points).
Last season, the Lions struggled against the pass, allowing the fourth-most passing yards (4,562). Now fully healthy and ready to reclaim his crown as the Rams’ WR1 from breakout sensation Puka Nacua, Kupp is poised to commence his rebound campaign against a vulnerable secondary. Including the postseason, the Lions surrendered an average of 13.7 receptions and 188.6 yards per game to opposing WRs in 2023.
RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
vs. Denver; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
Seattle’s 23-year-old running back has quietly scored 18 touchdowns in just 30 career games. Walker, who is expected to receive bell-cow-level work, finds an extremely favorable matchup when the Seahawks host the Broncos.
Denver struggled stopping the run immensely last season, allowing 118.41 yards per game and 18 total touchdowns to opposing RBs. Walker, who projects as Sleeper’s RB20 (11.9 PPR points), draws a Broncos defense that will offer plenty of opportunity to eclipse that low-end RB2 ranking.
WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
vs. Washington; Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Sleeper’s projected WR29 (12.9 PPR points) draws an extremely favorable matchup against a vulnerable Commanders pass defense. Godwin will face a Washington team that ranked last defending the pass last season, surrendering the most passing yards (4,627) and the most passing touchdowns (39).
Godwin, who hauled in at least five receptions in 11 of 17 games last season, is a must-start against a Washington defense that allowed an average of 13.4 receptions and 186.3 yards to opposing WRs last season.
TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
vs. Miami; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Last season, Engram finished as TE2 in PPR formats, hauling in the most receptions (114) among all tight ends. Despite the massive target volume (143) and production (963 yards, four touchdowns) the veteran was often overlooked in drafts this summer. He’s still Sleeper’s TE8 in PPR ADP (67.6 overall).
In Week 1, he happens to be Sleeper’s projected TE8 (10.9 PPR points) and will face a Dolphins defense that allowed 5.5 receptions and 55.3 yards per game to opposing TEs in 2023. Engram has emerged as one of Trevor Lawrence’s top targets, and he hauled in at least five receptions in 13 of 17 games last season. He’s a player who could post the most production of any player at the position in Week 1 due to the game flow of a potential shootout.
QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
at Indianapolis; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
The 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year draws an AFC South foe in Week 1 and checks in as Sleeper’s projected QB4. In two meetings last season, Stroud found success against the Colts’ defense, throwing for 648 yards and four touchdowns.
To help Stroud out even more, Houston added veteran Stefon Diggs to a dangerous wideout room that already featured the dynamic Nico Collins and Tank Dell. This projects as a high-scoring affair between two clubs that amassed 1,408 total yards of offense in their meetings last season.
SIT 'EM
RBs Chase Brown/Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals
vs. New England; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
While the lean here is that Brown gets the majority of the early work, this backfield as a whole simply cannot be trusted from a fantasy perspective in Week 1. Despite being one of the worst teams in the NFL last season (4-13), New England was quietly stout against the run, holding opposing running backs to just 76.1 rushing yards per game.
While both Brown and Moss are PPR assets due to their pass-catching prowess, this matchup is far from ideal. A deeper dive reveals that the Patriots only allowed two RBs (Kendre Miller, 53; Clyde Edwards-Helaire, 64) to top 50+ receiving yards all last season.
RB Devin Singletary, New York Giants
vs. Minnesota; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Singletary takes over for Saquon Barkley in New York’s backfield in 2024, but this is not a favorable matchup to start the season. The Vikings allowed only four RBs to rush for 60+ yards last season (D’Andre Swift, 175; D’Onta Foreman, 65; Jahmyr Gibbs, 80; Aaron Jones, 120) en route to holding opposing backs to a paltry 3.8 yards per carry.
New York, which scored the third-fewest points (266) last season, is also dealing with a rash of injuries along its offensive line. Sleeper’s projected RB23 is a risky RB2/Flex play in Week 1.
QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
vs. Las Vegas; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
Jim Harbaugh has stressed the Chargers offense will be “ground and pound” in his first season at the helm. Instead of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, Herbert will have to rely upon Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark, Quentin Johnston and rookie Ladd McConkey — a corps that doesn’t exactly strike fear.
Last season, the Raiders allowed just one 300-yard passer (Tua Tagovailoa, 325) while holding opposing QBs to just 212.4 passing yards and 1.2 passing touchdowns per game. Sleeper’s projected QB18 needs to be on your bench in Week 1.
QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
at Cleveland; Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Listing Prescott here might not sit well with fantasy managers, but the data dictates that the Cowboys are in line to struggle in Cleveland. Last season, NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett anchored a ferocious Browns defense that only allowed one QB to eclipse 280 yards passing (Gardner Minshew, 305) while holding opposing QBs to a league-low 164.7 passing yards and 1.4 passing touchdowns per game.
Fantasy managers need to temper expectations for Dak and the ‘Boys against a Browns squad that was 8-1 at home last season.
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
vs. New York Jets; Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Purdy is arguably the most underrated QB in the NFL, but the Monday night showdown against the Jets is less than ideal. Gang Green surrendered the second-fewest passing yards (168.3) per game last season while only allowing 19 passing touchdowns and snagging 17 interceptions.
Despite possessing some of the best collection of offensive weapons in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk (whose effectiveness is uncertain after his lengthy summer holdout), Purdy is best left on the bench against a New York defense that only allowed four opposing QBs to throw multiple touchdowns in a game last season.
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