Sit/Start Week 1: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, September 10th, 4:25 PM ET

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA

Betting Odds: SEA -5.5, O/U 46 via OddsShark

Network: FOX

Writer: Nick Beaudoin 

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford (Sit)

After finishing as QB5 with a Super Bowl Championship in 2021, Matthew Stafford and the Rams took a tremendous step back last season, finishing 5-12. They hope to rebound this year, however it will be an uphill battle for an aging team that hasn’t had a first-round draft pick since 2016. That said, Coach Sean McVay is still widely regarded as one of the smartest and most innovative play callers in the league, and Stafford remains one of the league’s most experienced and smartest QBs. Stafford enters the season with “no limitations” according to Coach McVay, but his success in Week 1 will suffer without star receiver Cooper Kupp, who has been battling a hamstring injury since August. With Kupp unable to go, it will be tough to rely on Stafford in any capacity, even against a middling Seattle secondary, given the Rams’ expected point total of 14.

Running Backs

Cam Akers (Start, RB2), Kyren Williams (Sit), Zach Evans (Sit)

Cam Akers was seemingly left for dead in 2022. He struggled to start the season, was benched and away from the team for a month, and was nearly traded before the deadline in October. After Akers returned to the team in Week 13, he was fifth in PPG among fantasy RBs, averaging 85 yards and one touchdown/game through the final six weeks. The Rams did very little to help their RB room this offseason, adding rookie Zach Evans in the sixth round. Akers has the most complete skill set in the backfield, and is the heavy favorite to lead this team in touches in 2023. Although the Rams come in as heavy underdogs, Akers’ guaranteed volume makes him a high-floor RB2 against Seattle.

Kyren Williams and Evans will open the season as distant backups to Akers. It’s possible that one secures the backup role and gains more touches over time, but Akers will dominate this backfield in the early season, if not the entire year. Neither is worth consideration this Sunday.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Cooper Kupp (Sit), Van Jefferson (Sit, Flex), Tutu Atwell (Sit), Puka Nacua (Sit), Tyler Higbee (Start, TE1) 

Cooper Kupp is undoubtedly one of the most elite wide receivers in the game. He creates separation at will, wins all over the field, and consistently beats double (sometimes triple) teams. Although he has fully recovered from his season-ending high ankle sprain, Kupp won’t take the field in Week 1 due to a hamstring injury.

Gone are the days where Kupp and Robert Woods created mismatches all over the field. The supporting cast in 2023 will consist of some uninspiring combination of Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, and rookie Puka Nacua. Jefferson and Atwell sit at the top of the depth chart, and are likely to see the field the most after Kupp, but Nacua’s role will be interesting to watch given the plethora of preseason buzz he received. Jefferson will likely lead the WR room in targets, but will be nothing more than an unsafe spot-start solely based on volume.

The biggest beneficiary of Kupp’s injury will be Tyler Higbee, arguably the most undervalued TE in the league. Higbee silently finished as the TE6 last season, and is a favorite target for Matthew Stafford. Touchdowns are always boom-bust with TEs, but Higbee should be peppered with targets in Week 1. He should be in your lineups as a back-end TE1.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterbacks

Geno Smith (Start, QB2)

Geno Smith and Coach Pete Carroll shocked the world in 2022. After trading away “superstar” Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, many ruled the Seahawks out, giving them a season to tank and rebuild. Instead, Wilson embarrassed himself, the Seahawks went to the playoffs, and Smith closed the season as QB5. You can’t make this stuff up. This offseason, the Seahawks locked up Smith on a potential three-year deal (with an out after one), and added even more playmakers around him early in the draft in the form of highly-touted rookies Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet. Smith’s strength last season was his experience and efficiency; outside of Aaron Donald, the Rams have a young, inexperienced defense. With an expected point total of 27 for Seattle, Smith is a high-upside QB2 entering Week 1, with potential for more if the Seahawks don’t commit to the run in the second half.

Running Backs

Kenneth Walker (Start, RB2), Zach Charbonnet (Sit, Flex)

Nobody’s fantasy stock took more of a hit this offseason than Kenneth Walker. After being drafted consistently in the top five of Dynasty leagues, the Seahawks surprised us all by adding the (almost) unanimous RB3 of this draft class, Zach Charbonnet. With that being said, I still like Walker to lead the backfield in touches this season, especially early on. Charbonnet may steal some third-down, pass-catching work, but that could also lead to a more efficient version of Walker. As 5-point home favorites, he is a lock for 12-15 touches with plenty of upside if the Seahawks can build a positive game script.

I’d prefer to take more of a “wait and see” approach with how the Seahawks use Charbonnet entering the season. As fancy as he sounds, and as talented as he is, he is still brand new to this offense and the NFL as a whole. Could he break one big play and make me look silly? Sure. Could he get a goal line touchdown just to shut me up? Of course. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend a rookie RB in a backup role in Week 1 of the NFL season.

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

DK Metcalf (Start, WR1), Tyler Lockett (Start, WR2) Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Sit, Flex), Noah Fant (Sit, TE2)

DK Metcalf is an absolute monster and should be treated as must-start WR1 in all fantasy formats every week. His big games can be hit-or-miss, but he is the sort of talent that you set-and-forget each week. Metcalf steps right back in as the alpha in the Seattle offense against a Rams secondary ranked dead last according to PFF. The only arguments against Metcalf could be that Seattle has historically been a run-first team, and they added the highly-touted Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round of the draft. However none of that should intimidate you. Metcalf has closed out the past three seasons as WR7, WR14 and WR16, and will carry his dominant reign into 2023.

Tyler Lockett has been one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL for years. Many are scared off by his age (31) or the addition of JSN, but Lockett has shown no signs of slowing down and is still creating separation at an elite level. Lockett also has an uncanny knack for avoiding contact, which will surely extend his career another year or two. For the same reasons as Metcalf, Lockett should be in your lineups in Week 1. Despite receiving 24 fewer targets last season, Lockett essentially matched Metcalf in receptions and yards, while scoring three more touchdowns. Lockett and Geno found their stride halfway through last year; expect that to continue into this year. Fire up Lockett as a WR2 with upside.

Smith-Njigba may be the future in Seattle, but it will be difficult for him to command targets early on behind the duo of Metcalf and Lockett. I fully believe in JSN’s talent, elite quickness, and route-running ability. However until we see his usage, it will be hard to trust him as anything more than a flex in this star-studded offense.

Noah Fant is another a player worth keeping an eye on. The 20th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Fant has never fully lived up to his potential, and the Seahawks historically refuse to rely on one starting tight end. It will be hard to ever trust Fant with all of the other mouths to feed in this offense, though he did compile 486 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, finishing as TE17. If defenses commit to stopping the triple-headed WR monster, Fant could become a viable streaming option. For now, he’s a TE2 at best.

– Nick Beaudoin