Even though you drafted your team with certain hopes and intentions, your weekly lineup decisions shouldn't be determined by the order you picked your players in. You need to check who your players play and make sure you've got the right guys in -- and the wrong guys on the bench. It's too early to be absolutely sure which matchups will be easy and which will be tough, but we can make some educated guesses based on healthy personnel, defensive schemes, track records and key details of offenses.
The things we know can help us minimize the impact of the things we don't know. This should lead to better decision-making. Let's go through every game and highlight the players who aren't obvious starts and sits (because you don't need to be told to start Bijan Robinson).
You should feel more comfortable starting or sitting players based on the information given, and feeling comfortable with your Fantasy lineup before the games start is the best feeling in the world. Dave Richard's Week 1 rankings: Top 150 | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST The Seahawks effectively replaced Kenneth Walker III with first-round rookie Jadarian Price. Walker had an amazing game against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but I wouldn't expect Price in his first NFL game to experience even remotely the same success against a Patriots defense playing its first game of the year, not its 21st.
Recent reports have suggested George Holani will handle the "Zach Charbonnet role" on passing downs and near the goal line. If true, Price's value will be tied to his yardage, which would be limited unless the Seahawks build a nice lead or if he breaks a few runs. I'd be cautious with Price; Holani is worth a stash.
Meanwhile, the Patriots upgraded their receiving corps with the acquisitions of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, both of whom figure to enhance Drake Maye's numbers substantially. I get that the Seahawks' defense is very good, but personnel changes in the secondary could make them susceptible to big completions.
The Seahawks probably won't change their defensive identity much and will stick with their strong pass rush in front of heavy zone coverage (an 80%-plus rate in all but five games last year, including the Super Bowl). That's nothing to fear for Maye, whose offensive line should be much better, not to mention healthier than it was back in February. If there's a concern, it's that Brown saw a lot of zone coverage in Philadelphia, and his efficiency in things like yards per route run and explosive play rate were fine, but nowhere near as good as against man-to-man.
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