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Must-Start Buccaneers for NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Lineups

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Sep 5, 2024 12:43 PM ET

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play the Washington Commanders in Week 1, and they're excited to implement a new offense (and face off against a rookie quarterback on defense). Week 1 can be a little wonky, but Sunday's game still offers plenty of opportunities for fantasy players everywhere.

We here at BucsGameday love fantasy football, too (who doesn't), so every week, we're gonna compile two players on Tampa Bay's roster that you should start.... and two you might want to stay away from. Here are our picks for this week:

Start 'Em

Tampa Bay Buccaneers D/ST

This might be a bold pick, but that's what we're here for. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had some success with turnovers last year, and they enter Week 1 against a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels. Daniels could be a good football player, but head coach Todd Bowles is somewhat of a rookie killer — he's 10-5 against them as head coach of the Buccaneers (10-4, really, if you don't count a game against Desmond Ridder where he didn't play starters). That's a very tough first game for him, and the Buccaneers defense could reap the benefits.

If you have Tampa Bay's defense, this would be a good week to start them. The Bucs have a hard schedule, so make sure to get the points where they're likely to come.

WR Mike Evans

Washington's secondary was awful last year in 2023, and this year, they've retained quite a few of those same players. Nickel corner Mike Sainristil could be a solid nickel corner, but he'll be on Chris Godwin. With that in mind, pick Mike Evans.

Evans has been a tour de force his entire career, and he has a particularly favorable matchup against this Washington secondary. He also likes opening games, having scored a touchdown in the last two that Tampa Bay's had, so why not keep that rolling? Baker Mayfield will be looking for his favorite target on Sunday, so you should look to start him.

Sit 'Em

WR Jalen McMillan

Jalen McMillan is going to be a very good football player (we think), and his fantasy value could skyrocket. It might be a little slow going, however, so it may be best to see what he looks like this game without putting him in your FLEX spot first.

Chris Godwin is set to play in the slot, so McMillan will likely be outside in most sets. That means that he, too, could reap the benefit of a poor Commanders secondary, but in his first NFL game, it might be worth seeing the type of usage he gets in Liam Coen's offense and how well he does getting used to real NFL game speed.

WR Chris Godwin

There are a few reasons for this one. The first one is something we've mentioned already — nickel corner Mike Sainristl has been by all accounts developing well in Washington and he'll be up against Godwin in the nickel slot, so that limits his usage there already.

The second is that Godwin is well known for his route running and getting in space as a slot wideout, and that's mostly beneficial when you can manipulate a zone defense. The problem with that is that Dan Quinn is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders, and Quinn lives and dies by man coverage. The Cowboys ran it defensively more than anyone in the NFL last year and particularly loved Cover 1 looks, so that in itself could stunt Godwin's production. With all of this considered, sit him for this week.