Week 1 Fantasy Rankings: Best Fantasy QB, RB, WR and TEs This Week

The 2025 NFL season has arrived, and fantasy football teams have been drafted ahead of the regular season opener in the first week of September. With rosters set, it’s time to put together fantasy football rankings for Week 1.

As always with Week 1 fantasy rankings, there’s no data to base decisions on for the 2025 NFL season. So, a lot of this is based on the state of rosters and how we believe teams will perform this year. As the season unfolds, our weekly fantasy rankings will be based more and more on data.

Related: NFL Defense Rankings Week 1, Evaluating All 32 Defenses

From Monday, Sept. 1, through Wednesday, Sept. 3, we’ll release analysis on the top-20 players at each position in our Week 1 fantasy rankings.

Week 1 Fantasy QB Rankings: Best Fantasy QBs This Week, Stats

Notes and Stats for our Week 1 fantasy QB rankings

• In 2024, per Pro Football Reference, Jalen Hurts posted a 115.0 QB rating with a 70 percent completion rate and 4 total touchdowns (2 rushing) against the Dallas Cowboys defense.
• Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is facing a Tennessee Titans defense that allowed a 98.5 QB rating and 1.8 passing touchdowns per game with a 69.6 percent completion rate to opposing quarterbacks in the final 12 regular-season games in 2024. Tennessee did little to improve its defense this spring.
• In four career regular-season starts against the Baltimore Ravens defense, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has a 66.3 QB rating with a 48.74 percent completion rate and 3 total touchdowns
• Across two starts against the Atlanta Falcons defense in 2024, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quartebrack Baker Mayfield recorded a 109.6 QB rating with a 6-2 TD-INT ratio and 75.7% completion rate while averaging 255 passing yards per game.

Related: Week 1 Fantasy QB Rankings, Analyzing Matchups and Stats for Top 16 QBs

Week 1 Fantasy RB Rankings: Top Running Backs This Week

Notes and Stats for our Week 1 fantasy RB rankings

• In its final eight regular-season games last season, Baltimore held opponents to just 85 rushing yards per game with a 3.7 yards-per-carry average. Bills running back James Cook, who is facing Baltimore, had eight games last season with under 55 rushing yards.
• As the Los Angeles Chargers head coach (2021-23), Brandon Staley’s run defenses allowed the highest Rush Success Rate (44.2 percent) to opponents, and they ranked 30th in Rush EPA (-0.016). Now as the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, Staley’s defense faces Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner, who had eight games with 80-plus rushing yards in 2024.
• Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley averaged 5.2 yards per carry against the Cowboys’ defense last season and scored, but he didn’t find the end zone. Dallas allowed 139.9 rush yards per game and a 4.8 yards-per-carry average from Weeks 2 through 18.
• Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who will be running behind an offensive line without tackle Kaleb McGary, draws a Week 1 matchup against a Buccaneers defense that allowed just 60.8 rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry from Weeks 10-18. No team rushed for more than 91 yards during that eight-game stretch.

Related: Week 1 Fantasy RB Rankings, Analyzing Matchups and Stats for Top 20 Running Backs

Week 1 Fantasy WR Rankings: Best Fantasy Receivers This Week

Notes and Stats for our Week 1 fantasy RB rankings

• Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba draws a Week 1 matchup against a San Francisco 49ers defense that surrendered 14 passing touchdowns and a 111.2 QB rating in its final seven games last season.
• Making his debut for the Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 wide receiver Davante Adams could struggle versus a Houston Texans secondary that allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards per game last season (201.0). Playing mostly on the outside, Adams is also likelier to face Derek Stingley Jr.
• In his NFL debut, Panthers’ No. 1 wideout Tetairoa McMillan faces a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that surrendered the most passing yards per game (257.4) to opponents in 2024.
• Across their last 12 regular-season games, the Saints’ defense allowed 233.3 passing yards per game. Facing Marvin Harrison Jr., a below-average Saints’ pass rush will also likely struggle to prevent Kyler Murray from building on his improved rapport with the second-year wideout.

Related: Week 1 Fantasy WR Rankings, Stats and Matchup Analysis for Top 20 WRs

Week 1 Fantasy TE Rankings

Read More: NFL Predictions 2025, Projecting Win-Loss Records for Every Team

By Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college ... More about Matt Johnson