Fantasy Football Week 1 Start/Sit Advice: Russell Wilson, Evan Hull, Marquise Brown

Welcome to Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. We have been waiting so long for this, and we can finally start to set our lineups and get ready to be right and wrong on so many little details. This column will help you to try and navigate the pitfalls and traps of fantasy football, avoiding those who could crater your matchups and pointing you towards those that are safer options instead.

Week 1 Start/Sit Advice (2023 Fantasy Football)

Marquise Brown (WR – ARI)

Sometimes, when a player is such an obvious pick for a 20% or greater target share, it can feel easy to suggest that they are an obvious start, but Marquise Brown is about to deal with extenuating circumstances above and beyond the usual situations we see. The Arizona Cardinals are far and above any other team to be the favorite for the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft, and that is a fact compounded by their decision to head into Week 1 with no named starter at quarterback.

The Cardinals’ offensive line looks to be terrible, and their quarterback might be Josh Dobbs, who two weeks ago wasn’t a part of the team. Brown is an exciting player, but this is not the situation to start him, particularly when no teams are on bye weeks.

Marquise Brown cost himself a lot of second contract money by requesting a trade out of Baltimore https://t.co/z1WcTJfE11

— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) September 1, 2023

Evan Hull (RB – IND)

After all, it could be very tempting to start one of the Colts’ backup running backs in Week 1, with Jonathan Taylor on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Still, it must be remembered that Jonathan Taylor’s backups aren’t the kind of players we would have drafted inside the first 10 rounds if Jonathan Taylor wasn’t on the Colts.

Two years ago, when JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards both tore their ACLs, Ty’Son Williams was rocketing up draft boards, only for drafters to swiftly realize that Williams was a backup who hadn’t warranted the temporary hype, and many regrets were had. This Colts team is in a rebuild, and it’s unlikely they will end up in too many positive game scripts over the coming weeks; assuming that any of the backs from this backfield will be relevant is quite the stretch.

Russell Wilson (QB – DEN)

2022 was a miserable year for the Denver Broncos until Nathaniel Hackett was fired, at which point Russell Wilson turned in two top-five performances within a three-game span. Still, we shouldn’t be so quick to turn Wilson back into a starter, given everything happening with the Broncos.

Throughout this offseason, Sean Payton has invested heavily in the offensive line while also seeing Samaje Perine as a priority pickup in free agency, along with seeing Tim Patrick ruled out for the year and Jerry Jeudy pick up a noteworthy hamstring injury. This Broncos team feels like a run-orientated team, and it will be best to see how well Russ can cook before counting on him.

One of the biggest questions of the NFL season is whether Sean Payton can help Russell Wilson bounce back. Found this detail in @SethWickersham’s great profile of the coach interesting. Wilson’s always taken forever—can Payton speed up his process?https://t.co/EhQBQPYvJw pic.twitter.com/lklCVSwyKx

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 5, 2023