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The 2023 NFL season-opening game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions should feature plenty of scoring for fantasy football managers, as Thursday night's game features the highest predicted point total (54 points) of any Week 1 game.
With two explosive offenses on the field, here's who you should start and who you should sit in fantasy football for this Week 1 kickoff matchup between the Chiefs and Lions.
Chiefs-Lions Start ‘Em
Patrick Mahomes, KC
Duh. You didn't spend a high draft pick on Patrick Mahomes just to sit him in Week 1, did you? The Lions were 30th in passing yards allowed last season, and while Detroit did make notable improvements to its secondary this offseason, including adding Emmanuel Moseley, Cameron Sutton, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Mahomes is still a QB1 play in all formats in what should be a shootout.
Jared Goff, DET
There's a decent chance you drafted Jared Goff as your backup QB, but he's easily a top-12 option this week. Goff and the Lions could be playing from behind in this one, meaning Goff will be more likely to rack up attempts and passing yards. In Goff's six top-10 QB weekly finishes last season, the Lions defense allowed an average of 26.5 points. Vegas has the Chiefs predicted to score right around 30 points in this one, which bodes well for Goff registering a top-12 finish in Week 1 based on what we saw last season.
Jahmyr Gibbs, DET
While we don't know exactly how Detroit will split carries between Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in Week 1, the Lions didn't use the No. 12 overall selection and trade D'Andre Swift just to use Gibbs sparingly. It's a safe bet that Gibbs will take on the majority of the passing-down work and could benefit from the Lions being in catch-up mode. If Kansas City dedicates underneath coverage to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the middle of the field, Gibbs should feast on checkdowns and swing passes in the old D'Andre Swift role from last year, who Mahomes targeted 70 times in 14 games last year. Particularly in PPR leagues, Gibbs is a solid RB2 option in Week 1.
Travis Kelce, KC
Kelce is coming off career-highs in targets, receptions, and touchdowns…and somehow has less target competition this year with Juju Smith-Schuster in New England and no clear WR1 option taking his place. Kelce is the single best FanDuel DFS option on the board in this one, as Detroit will be starting a rookie at linebacker (Jack Campbell) and is ill-equipped (like everyone else) to deal with the league's best tight end. Never, ever sit Travis Kelce.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET
Speaking of target hogs, St. Brown should see a ton of volume against a Chiefs defense that allowed the third most passing attempts and the most passing touchdowns last season. With Jameson Williams suspended and Detroit needing to rely on rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta right from the jump, Goff should look to his reliable slot safety blanket early and often. Given the likely high-scoring affair, St. Brown should be considered a top-3 wide receiver this week in all formats and perhaps a lower ownership pivot off Kelce or Mahomes in the captain spot for DFS.
Skyy Moore, KC
While much of the offseason talk around the Chiefs receivers has revolved around Kadarius Toney or camp standout Justyn Ross, it's Moore who is expected to occupy an every-down role and be the most targeted Chiefs wide receiver out of the gate. This represents the perfect time to start Moore in all formats: a high-point total game, Toney likely on a snap count, and the price about as low as it will get since Moore wasn't a big factor as a rookie (22 receptions). He's a favorite MVP fantasy football budget pick at just $8,000 on FanDuel for Week 1.
David Montgomery, DET
There are some concerns about Montgomery's workload over a full season, but the Lions should lean on the veteran in Week 1 on early downs after signing Montgomery to a three-year deal worth $18 million this offseason. Montgomery has never run behind an offensive line as talented as this one and should handle all the goal-line work for an offense that tends to get down there a ton. Jamaal Williams led the league in rushing touchdowns last year with 17, and that's the role that Montgomery is more than capable of filling. In the highest-projected scoring game of the week, fire up Montgomery as a rock-solid top-24 RB2 option.
Isiah Pacheco, KC
Again, we aren't skipping a potential shootout like this. Pacheco became a bigger part of the passing game last year as the season progressed, and the Chiefs didn't bring in any significant new competition for him this offseason. After his solid playoff performances that featured an enhanced role, start Pacheco as your RB2 for the week and hope a shootout ensues.
Harrison Butker, KC
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Kickers are people, too! Fire up Butker in a game with a massive point total in all standard leagues and add him as a cost-effective way to semi-fade Mahomes in the MVP slot in DFS should Kansas City unexpectedly sputter in the red zone against an improved Lions defense.
Chiefs-Lions Sit ‘Em
Kadarius Toney, KC
It's going to sting leaving Toney on your fantasy bench in this matchup, as he could easily be involved around the red zone in some Andy Reid-concocted trickery. But the smart play here is to realize that Toney is coming off knee surgery, didn't play in the preseason, and is likely to be on some sort of snap count similar to how he was last year as he works his way back in. The Chiefs are a Super Bowl contender and won't risk rushing back a potentially valuable piece to the championship puzzle in Week 1 with only a few practices under his belt. Given Toney's history of injuries (and re-injuries), take a wait-and-see approach here and sit Toney on your bench.
Kansas City Chiefs Defense, Detroit Lions Defense
In no circumstance do we start defenses against Patrick Mahomes, and Kansas City's defense doesn't need to be rostered yet with Chris Jones holding out and another high-scoring matchup coming against Jacksonville in Week 2. Stream elsewhere, because this game is for the offenses.
Riley Patterson, DET
Patterson is a rosterable kicker for the season, as the Lions play in a dome and should light up the scoreboard plenty. This week, though, as heavy underdogs and potentially facing a big deficit, it's best to sit Patterson. Dan Campbell knows that field goals don't beat Mahomes, so Patterson has a few different paths to missing out on valuable scoring opportunities.
Sam LaPorta, DET
Almost every rookie tight end has been a fantasy disappointment in their first NFL game. In league history, only two have gone over 100 yards — former Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson, who LaPorta is replacing, and Will Dissly for the Seahawks. LaPorta is talented, more than worthy of a roster spot, and is likely to start games down the line for your fantasy team given the lack of target competition behind Amon-Ra St. Brown…but history tells us not to rely on rookie tight ends in Week 1 for fantasy football. Unless you drafted LaPorta as your TE1, sit him this week.
Jerick McKinnon, KC
McKinnon is a much better real-life player than fantasy football option, as he excels in pass protection. While he's worth rostering during bye weeks for his spike performances, you shouldn't be in a position where you need to start a running back outside of the Top 40 in Week 1. McKinnon is a DFS-only fantasy football dart throw in Week 1.
Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, DET
Jones and Reynolds both belong on benches, but Reynolds is the cheaper, younger and better fantasy option at just $8,000 on FanDuel. Reynolds had a few spike weeks before he was injured last season, and with DJ Chark gone, Jameson Williams suspended and Marvin Jones aging, Reynolds could hit as a perimeter threat in a game where Detroit will have to throw a lot. Sit Reynolds in season-long fantasy football leagues, but don't forget him in single-game Lions-Chiefs DFS, either.
