Fantasy Football Start/Sit: WRs to Start and Sit in Week 1, Including Tucker, Tate, and More

We have one more fantasy football start/sit article to go, and we'll be looking at wide receivers.

Here are our start/sit articles on quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends. You can see my top-30 fantasy WR rankings here on FantasySP as well!

Weekly projections for wide receivers can be found on FantasySP all season! Use the start/sit tool for your own fantasy lineup decisions!

Start

Malik Nabers - New York Giants

We'll start with the biggest name of the bunch, Nabers. The Giants' wideout is coming off a major injury in 2025, but looks poised to return in Week 1 - keep watching his status in case he's a late inactive.

Nabers takes on the Cowboys, who were the most favorable fantasy matchup a wideout could have in 2025. I get the fear in trying Nabers fresh off his injury, but this matchup is simply too good to pass on.

If Nabers is active in Week 1 and it doesn't come out that he's going to have his plays limited, I think he's a must-start wideout in just about all leagues.

Rashee Rice - Kansas City Chiefs

Rice is on the injury report with a knee injury, but he practiced in full on Thursday, so he's trending toward playing on Monday night against the Broncos.

Denver is a brutal matchup from a season ago, but Rice is also the Chiefs' WR1, so it's hard not to play him when he's active. 

So again, unless there's a late report that Rice is going to only play a handful of plays, I think you need to start him in Week 1. Trust the talented wideout to deliver enough fantasy points by the end of a tough matchup.

Tre Tucker - Las Vegas Raiders

The final four wideouts we are discussing didn't appear in my top-30 rankings, but I'd still label Tucker as a start for Week 1.

He has a matchup against the Dolphins. That's a slightly below-average matchup based on last year's numbers, but Tucker's situation heading into Week 1 has improved a bunch since the start of the week.

Tight end Brock Bowers is going to miss this week's game, so Tucker and the other pass catchers on the Las Vegas roster are going to have to pick up the slack. Tucker might have already been headed to a breakout season, and with Bowers out, the likelihood that he shines this week is even higher, so he's a sneaky-good fantasy starting option, and that goes for all leagues.

Sit

Carnell Tate - Tennessee Titans

Tate lands on the sit list for his first NFL game. He'll be taking on the Jets in Week 1.

New York was a slightly above-average fantasy test for wideouts last season, but I need to see something from Tate before I feel comfortable trying him in all fantasy leagues.

I think he's a better deep-league starting option for Week 1. He can be considered for flex spots in standard leagues, but I'd do my best to avoid him.

Marvin Harrison - Arizona Cardinals

Harrison gets his season rolling against the Chargers. That was a pretty tough matchup based on last year's numbers.

Harrison hasn't taken off like many expected him to since being drafted at pick No. 4 by Arizona back in 2024. Some of that is due to the team around him, while some is on Harrison. Whatever you believe, it makes Harrison tough to trust as the regular season gets rolling.

Heading into a tough matchup and with other pass catchers around in Trey McBride and Michael Wilson, plus a revamped running back room, I don't love Harrison's outlook in Week 1. So he too is a better deep-league starting option, while being someone I'd try to avoid in most standard leagues.

Malik Washington - Miami Dolphins

Washington gets a matchup against the Raiders to kick off his season. That was an above-average fantasy test for wideouts last season, but I'm skeptical of Washington here in Week 1.

He's yet to take off in the NFL after being a sixth-round pick in 2024. This could be his year, as he's projected to be one of the team's starting wideouts, at least at the start of the season.

There's a lot of new faces in Miami, and there's younger pass catchers around that the Dolphins are likely to go through before Washington. He's definitely a player to keep tabs on, and he could deliver in a decent matchup this week, but I'd prefer him only in deeper leagues, saving any standard league utilization for down the road if he consistently can deliver.