Week 1 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Advice on Top Fantasy Football Stars in Opening Games

For all the preparation that goes into a fantasy football draft, it's still the easiest part of the process.

Assembling a roster is one thing. Managing said roster on a week-to-week basis is a different kind of beast altogether.

Because stars can go cold and off-the-radar types can heat up, you need to be on the right side of these temperature fluctuations as often as possible. It might be an educated guessing game at the end of the day, but that still means you need to educate yourself about reasons to feel bullish or bearish about a player's potential production.

Let's start the education process, then, with a few start 'em or sit 'em recommendations at the quarterback position for Week 1.

Start: Cam Newton, New England Patriots (vs. Miami Dolphins)

If Newton stays healthy, this might be the first and last time he's on the start-or-sit bubble.

In 2018, his last (mostly) healthy campaign, he averaged the eighth-most fantasy points at the position. The year before that, he was fifth in average scoring and second in total points. If he plays, he produces—usually in monstrous fashion.

An offseason move to New England could be all Newton needed to return to fantasy's elite ranks. With McDaniels' creativity and Newton's talent, the opportunity for big numbers is clear.

And it should get started as soon as Week 1. The Miami Dolphins surrendered the second-most points to fantasy quarterbacks last season, per Yahoo Sports, and they especially had trouble containing mobile quarterbacks. Newton could have a field day throwing and running against this team.

Sit: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (vs. Green Bay Packers)

The Vikings' formula for 2019's 10-win season included Cousins passing for his fewest yards per game (240.2) and second-fewest touchdowns (26) since becoming a full-time starter.

The adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is part of the motivation to sit Cousins. As long as Dalvin Cook is healthy, Minnesota should lean heavily on its star back, especially if rookie wideout Justin Jefferson has trouble replacing all the production lost when the Vikes traded away Stefon Diggs in March.

That's reason enough to consider Cousins a fringe starter, and a matchup with Green Bay isn't the time to use him, as SI.com's Michael Fabiano noted:

"Cousins will be a matchup-based starter this season, and a game against the Packers isn't favorable. Green Bay was tough on enemy quarterbacks a season ago, allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points (13.3 PPG) to the position. What's more, their defense held Cousins to fewer than nine fantasy points in both of their 2019 matchups."

There will be weeks where Cousins needs to start for most fantasy teams, but this isn't one.

Start: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

San Francisco's rise to NFC champions in 2019 didn't often position Garoppolo as a fantasy juggernaut. The team's success starts with its defense and rushing attack, and while Jimmy G is more than a game manager (game managers don't throw for 3,978 yards and 27 scores), he'll produce like one in tough matchups.

A young Cardinals defense does not fit that description. They surrendered the second-most passing yards per game (281.9) and the second-most passing touchdowns (38) last season.

Garoppolo helped inflate both numbers. Two of his best statistical performances came against the Cards. In Week 9, he ripped them for 317 passing yards and four touchdowns. Two weeks later, he put up 424 passing yards and another four scores. In both contests, he completed better than 75 percent of his throws, something he only did in two other games.

"Kyle Shanahan targeted his opponent's weakness in a pair of high-scoring victories, so expect the tepid game manager from last year's postseason to make way for a more aggressive Garoppolo in Week 1's NFC West clash," Andrew Gould wrote for FantasyPros.

Assuming Garoppolo doesn't look rusty without the typical fine-tuning done in the preseason, a 300-yard, three-touchdown performance is well within his range of potential outcomes. As juicy as this matchup looks on paper, that's probably even underselling the damage he could do.