Thursday Night Football was a blast. The Chiefs and Ravens started the season on the right foot. Xavier Worthy and Isaiah Likely will likely be the talk of the town, and rightfully so, but there are plenty of other storylines to unpack, including on the defensive side of the ball. Chris Jones caused chaos throughout the game, Jaylen Watson stepped up in coverage, Roquan Smith had seven total tackles and an interception, and there was a David Ojabo sighting when he recorded one of the Ravens’ two sacks on the night. Looking ahead to this weekend, we’ll take a look at five players fantasy managers should do their best to slot into their lineups and five others who should be left on the bench despite the promising upside. Let’s dive in.

Fantasy Football IDP Start/Sit Week 1

Start them

Omar Speights (LB – LAR)
Speights seems like a candidate for a nearly every-down role with the Los Angeles Rams. The rookie has been impressive throughout the offseason, and with the signing of Ernest Jones, the UDFA will get all the snaps he can handle. He’s a Week 1 LB3, but is expected to put up LB2 numbers. Ernest Jones has been a star in this role, and while no one expects Speights to have a Jones-like impact as a rookie, Speights projects to be a very valuable contributor Week 1 and beyond. Start him as a borderline LB2 over other LB3 types.

Dorian Williams (LB – BUF)
Williams is listed as the Bills’ starter and should see more snaps than Nicholas Morrow did in the opener. Williams is a solid LB3 player for Week 1, even if Morrow’s presence lowers his floor and limits some of his upside. The Bills have a vested interest in developing Williams, but if the defense struggles again because of him, they’ll quickly move on to the veteran. The Bills’ linebackers have a plus matchup this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals, who should provide plenty of tackle options for Williams and fellow starter Terell Bernard.

Nakobe Dean (LB – PHI)
Nakobe won the starting middle linebacker job over Devin White, and since he’ll be donning the green light for the Eagles, it’ll likely take a string of poor performances before he loses his grip on the job, especially since White didn’t travel with the team in Week 1. Dean has already proven to be an LB2-level producer, and he could enter the LB1 discussion if he can take another step forward. Treat him as an LB2 with LB1 upside for Friday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

Damar Hamlin (S-BUF)
Damar Hamlin beat out rookie Cole Bishop for the starting free safety job. The prevailing thought once Bishop was drafted was that he would get the job, but the Bills are more comfortable with Hamlin as the Week 1 starter. Bishop will put pressure on Hamlin, but Hamlin is worthy of being a flex starter for Week 1. If he plays 85 or more percent of the snaps, he will be in the DB3 discussion for Week 2. Start Hamlin as a deep league flex/DB4.

Emmanuel Ogbah (DE – MIA)
After slotting behind Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel the past few seasons, Ogbah will assume nearly every down role for the Dolphins in Week 1. He will eventually lose time to Chop Robinson, but as long as Phillips is on a snap count and Bradley Chubb remains sidelined, Ogbah should see all the snaps he can handle. Start him as a DL3/4 when needed.

Sit down

Ivan Pace (LB – MIN)
Pace was supposed to get the green light for the Vikings defense, but instead, it was Blake Cashman who got the tap to be the one calling the plays. What this likely means is that when Henry To’oTo’o steps in, it will be Pace, not Cashman, who steps in. This will serve to limit Pace’s upside, all but torpedoing his chances of reaching LB1 status this season and potentially knocking him out of the top-24 conversation. Pace will likely still put up LB2-level numbers this season, but he’s fallen from a potential top-15 option to more of an elite LB3 with a clear LB2 upside. Start him as an LB3 for Week 1, but if you were planning on starting him as your LB1 or LB2, you may want to look elsewhere.

Edgerrin Cooper (LB – GB)
Cooper remains a fixture in dynasty leagues, but those in redraft leagues without extremely deep benches may want to let him go. Isaiah McDuffie has been tapped to start alongside Quay Walker , and given McDuffie’s history of being solid in spot starts, it’s likely Cooper will have to force his way onto the field. McDuffie is a solid LB3/flex option as long as Cooper sees less than 35 percent of the snaps. Fantasy managers should definitely not start Cooper in Week 1.

Darrick Forrest (S-WAS)
Quan Martin is listed as a starter alongside Jeremy Chinn. There’s a good chance that Washington routinely uses three safeties due to the versatile skills of Chinn, Forest, and Martin. However, Forest is nothing more than an upside stash as we wait for snap division to play out this weekend. The Commanders have enough talent at linebacker in Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu that it will likely take rookie Mike Sanistrill, who struggles at nickel, to get the team to use three safeties at a high enough clip to make Forest a starter. Forest is a DB2 when he’s on the field, but he should remain benched or cut entirely depending on the size of your league.

Dax Hill (CB/S – CIN)
Dax Hill has been moved to cornerback. The Bengals now have Geno Stone to play alongside Vonn Bell as they drafted Josh Newton this year and Jordan Battle in the third last year. Dax was versatile enough when he entered the league that there were questions about where he would play, and with Mike Hilton set to nickel, Dax will start on the outside. His tackling prowess will make him a low-end CB1 if he can show some consistency, but he should be viewed as nothing more than a DB4/5 until he proves he can be reliable in a fantasy setting after the position switch. Watch elsewhere for Week 1.

From Miller (DE/LB – BUF)
We all knew Miller was going to be a rotational player for the Bills this year, but Buffalo’s initial depth chart lists him as the backup to AJ Espenesa. The Bills are likely making a concerted effort to keep Miller healthy for a potential playoff run, so the days of Miller being viewed as an IDP option outside of the ocean deep leagues are likely over. Bench him if you’re in deep 16+ team leagues, but for those in 12 team formats the suggestion here is to look elsewhere entirely.

Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.