The New England Patriots made a number of additions this offseason, particularly at the offensive skill positions. A.J. Brown was the headliner, but Romeo Doubs and Eli Raridon will also have sizable roles this season.
For Patriots fans and NFL fans alike, skill position players come to the forefront in fantasy football. Last season, Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry, and TreVeyon Henderson had strong fantasy seasons, but 2026 is a new year.
As New England kicks off on Wednesday, fans will be sure to set their fantasy lineups earlier in the week than usual.
Week 1 is always very difficult to predict, but trends from last season and hype for the upcoming year can help us gauge who to start and who to sit in the first week of fantasy football.
Start and sit these Patriots in Week 1 fantasy matchups against the Seahawks
Start 'em: RB Rhamondre Stevenson
The playoffs did anything but confirm that this is TreVeyon Henderson's backfield, and I'd expect Stevenson to dominate the backfield early in the year as Josh McDaniels and company rely on the power run game early on.
Given Drake Maye's struggles against Seattle's cover six defense during the Super Bowl, don't be surprised to see Stevenson haul in his fair share of check downs, as limiting turnovers will be key if the Patriots want to pull off the upset.
In the Super Bowl, Stevenson totaled 63 yards and a touchdown, for a total of 17.3 PPR fantasy points. Most of his points were courtesy of those aforementioned check-downs, in which he managed five catches for 40 yards and a score.
In PPR leagues, I'd expect 13-16 points from Stevenson, making him a sound starting option.
Sit 'em: RB TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson is a sit for me because Stevenson is a start. Early in the season, I'd expect the Patriots to side with the veteran option with superior pass-catching ability. Despite Henderson's strong rookie season, his playoff performance was one to forget.
He managed 76 yards on the ground across four games while averaging just 2.5 per carry.
Across his rookie campaign, Henderon took 10.6 carries per game during the regular season. Isolate his numbers to his Week 8 breakout game and onward, and his carries per game jump to 15.2 per game. During his lackluster playoff performance, he took just 7.5 carries per game, less than half of his regular-season figure.
If playoff momentum continues, Stevenson taking carries over Henderson shouldn't come as a surprise in the early stages of the season.
Start 'em: WR A.J. Brown
Drake Maye and A.J. Brown didn't see any action during the Patriots' trio of preseason games, so I'm sure they'll each be anxious to show the league what they can do. A touchdown for Brown seems a strong possibility, and with the departure of Riq Woolen, there's one less corner to cover him.
Witherspoon and Josh Jobe will have their hands full with Brown and Romeo Doubs, but I'd expect the former to have a strong fantasy performance. In Brown's last first game under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, he had 100 yards. That's a possibility this time around too.
If he reaches the century mark via five catches and adds a score, fantasy owners are looking at 22 PPR points.
Sit 'em: TE Hunter Henry
Seattle's defense is fantastic, particularly down the middle. Ernest Jones is a rangy linebacker, and Nick Emmanwori is one of the best young defensive backs in the NFL.
Between his coverage down the spine of the defense and Devon Witherspoon's slot versatility, finding Henry down the seam, however reliable he was last season, doesn't seem like a surefire solution for fantasy players at the tight end position.
In the Super Bowl, Henry made three grabs for 31 yards, for a total of 6.1 PPR points. That could be on the low end of his total on Wednesday, but unless he gets in the end zone, a single-digit total seems to be a given.
Sit 'em: WR Pop Douglas
While Douglas is the WR3 as things stand, he is the team's primary slot option. Despite that, for the same reasons mentioned for Henry, production via options in the middle of the field doesn't seem all that safe a bet.
With Witherspoon and Emmanwori as the primary slot options, Douglas putting up more than seven to nine points seems unlikely.
In the Super Bowl, the former Liberty receiver finished with 9.5 PPR points: five catches for 45 yards. That sounds like a reasonable final point total for Douglas, but five catches may be a bit aggressive given the team's additions this offseason.
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