Fantasy Football Week 1: Starts, Sits For Packers-Bears Thursday Night Game

Football is here, and in some senses, Week 1 of fantasy football is one of the tougher matchups, as you have no clue which players will progress and regress in the upcoming season.

The season opener underscores that in a big way, as the Chicago Bears will play host to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. Both teams have intriguing fantasy options, but few are clear-cut must-starts every week. In turn, you’ll run into a lot of guys who could go either way on a given week, making your roster selection all the more anxiety-inducing.

So, here’s who you should start and sit in Packers vs. Bears:

STARTS
Tarik Cohen, RB, Bears. Rookie David Montgomery probably will overtake Cohen as the top back in Chicago’s offense, but we’re not so sure it’s this week. And even if Cohen doesn’t lead in carries, he still has value in the passing game.

Bears defense. Don’t over-complicate this: Chicago’s defense is the best in the NFL. The unit probably won’t blank the Packers, but it also likely won’t get killed.

Geronimo Allison, WR, Packers. Most of the attention will be Davante Adams (and to a lesser degree Marquez Valdes-Scantling), which should pave the way for Allison to make an impact. How exactly he’s used remains to be seen, but one has to think he’ll receive plenty of targets.

Aaron Jones, RB, Packers. Some experts suggest not starting Jones because of the Bears defense. That’s fair, but he’s the clear top back and Green Bay can’t operate exclusively through the air. With that in mind, Jones should see plenty of work.

SIT
David Montgomery, RB, Bears. Expectations are high for Montgomery, but he’s still a relative unknown and a shaky start in Week 1 as a result.

Jimmy Graham, TE, Packers. Graham regressed in a big way last season and there’s no reason to believe he’ll turn a corner in 2019. He’s probably going to be a routine sit.

Mitchell Trubisky, QB, Bears. Trubisky at times last season was plenty exciting and had fantasy value, but he’s a big fantasy risk until he becomes more consistent.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Packers. Aaron Rodgers has talked up MVS quite a bit this preseason. That might result in a little extra focus being placed on him by the Bears defense.