Fantasy Football Advice For Travis Hunter & More

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MAY 10: Travis Hunter #12 of the Jacksonville Jaguars attempts to catch a pass during Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie Minicamp at Miller Electric Center on May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

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The 2025 fantasy football season is about to kick off, which means there are decisions to make. Now that you’ve drafted your fantasy football team, it’s time to make some tough choices about what players to start or sit.

To provide value and avoid obvious advice, we’ll be setting a few guidelines to make sure these are start or sit decisions that people have.

For the wide receiver position, anyone ranked outside of the top 36 in the Fantasy Pros Week 1 expert consensus ranking is eligible for our top start at the position. Anyone ranked inside the top 36 is eligible for the sit section.

For the running backs, that number drops down to the top 24, and for quarterbacks and tight ends, that number goes all the way down to 12. This way, we’re touching on the players that most managers are on the fence about. These articles will be geared towards a PPR format.

Start This Wide Receiver: Matthew Golden (WR42)

Typically, it’s a good idea to avoid starting rookies in week one. These players take a few weeks to earn more playing time, and you have no real indication of what their usage will look like in the NFL.

Matthew Golden deserves to at least crack the top 36, and he’s a fine flex play this week. The reason is that Golden has already been named a starter, and Jayden Reed didn’t practice on Wednesday.

With a Packers depth chart that’s limited at wide receiver, Golden is likely going to be forced into playing time right away. On top of that, the Over/Under for the Packers game against the Washington Commanders is set at 48.5 (per FanDuel), favoring the offense.

Sit This Receiver: Travis Hunter (WR35)

Even though Golden is a start, that’s largely because of the Reed injury. Not to mention that Golden doesn’t have to deal with the ambiguity of playing on both sides of the ball.

Although Hunter is listed as a starter on offense and backup on defense, there’s too much unknown. While Golden has a good shot to be the team’s WR1 right away, Hunter will be behind Brian Thomas Jr.

Hunter has a ton of upside, but with having to learn two positions during training camp, it wouldn’t shock me if he had a slow start. To be frank, Hunter should be ranked lower than Golden for week one.

Start This Running Back: J.K. Dobbins (RB30)

While this likely won’t be the case for most of the year, J.K. Dobbins is a player who should start while you can. Dobbins is listed as the Denver Broncos’ starting running back ahead of RJ Harvey.

While Harvey is expected to be the primary back later on, in week one, Dobbins is going to have his shot. Dobbins is a talented running back who had 905 rushing yards and 4.6 YPC.

If Dobbins gets the first crack and plays well, it’s unlikely that the Broncos will go away from him. On top of that, the Broncos take on the Tennessee Titans, and they’re favored by 7.5 points. Expect the Broncos to slow the game down once they’re winning, resulting in a lot of touches for Dobbins.

Sit This Running Back: Tony Pollard (RB19)

As we touched on at the end of that segment for Dobbins, Tony Pollard is a player you should sit for that same reason. Expect the Titans to fall behind early, causing them to throw the ball a ton.

Although Tyjae Spears is out, the situation isn’t great for Pollard, who’s not an elite talent either. In a bad game script, avoid having Pollard in your starting lineup if possible.

Start This Quarterback: Dak Prescott (QB15)

Dak Prescott is set up to have a monster first game of the season as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the first game of the NFL season. The Cowboys are 8.5-point underdogs, meaning they’re going to be throwing the ball early and often.

Let’s not forget that the last time Prescott was healthy for a full year was in 2023, when he had 20.2 PPG. With the addition of George Pickens to pair with CeeDee Lamb, Prescott is set up for a top 10 finish this week.

Sit This Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence (QB10)

Trevor Lawrence has never averaged over 18 PPG, yet he’s being ranked above players like Prescott. While Hunter was a great addition to this offense, he may have a slow start to the year.

Not only that, but losing Evan Engram in free agency was a big loss for this receiving room. With the Jacksonville Jaguars favored to win this game at -3.5, there’s a good chance that they won’t be super pass-heavy.

Start This Tight End: Colston Loveland (TE19)

Since the tight end pool is so dry, it’s tough to pick a player outside of the top 12. While I’m not a huge fan of any of these players and mostly rookies, Colston Loveland was just a bit too low.

At tight end, you have to shoot for upside because there’s often not a big difference after the elite level players. Loveland was the Chicago Bears’ 10th overall pick, and if he’s used in the slot, he could be involved right away.

Loveland isn’t a must-start, but if you’re between starting him or picking up someone off the waiver wire, I’d go with Loveland.

Sit This Tight End: Jake Ferguson (TE12)

Even though the Cowboys have a great game script, Jake Ferguson is the third option on this team. Not only that, but people are forgetting that Ferguson just didn’t play well last season.

In 2024, Ferguson only had 494 receiving yards and 7.5 PPG in 14 games. With the Cowboys adding more competition than they had last year, Ferguson is not a player that you should feel good putting in your starting lineup.

While there’s a ton of start or sit decisions out there, the goal of this weekly article is to go against the grain and highlight some of the most polarizing players for each week.