Fantasy Football Start or Sit Week 1: Chuba Hubbard, Tetairoa McMillan, Jonathon Brooks

Some fantasy football start or sit advice for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and running backs Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) with the ball in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the Carolina Panthers take the field against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, they will have running backs Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan all active.

Brooks was on the injury report to begin the week, but he has since been removed from it after turning in a full practice on Friday.

Hubbard was dealing with an injury during the offseason but has gotten himself to 100%, and McMillan has had a mostly clean bill of health throughout the summer and is good to go.

While that's all well and good, should any of these three players be in your fantasy football starting lineup in Week 1? Here's what we think.

Chuba Hubbard start or sit advice

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) catches the ball during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hubbard is set to split work with Brooks this season, something head coach Dave Canales has confirmed. However, we tend to believe Hubbard will lead the way in touches, at least early on, because of his experience.

This matchup against the Bears sets up as a juicy one after they sported the sixth-worst run defense in 2025 and did almost nothing to address the issue this offseason.

We're anticipating around 15 touches or so for Hubbard in Week 1 and that should be more than enough to turn in a quality fantasy performance as a flex play.

Verdict: Start

Tetairoa McMillan start or sit advice

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) runs with the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first quarter during a preseason game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the Bears were better against the pass last season, they still were not good in that area, as Chicago surrendered the 11th-most receiving yards per game in 2025. And, as is the case along the defensive line, the Bears did not make any earth-shattering additions to fix their cornerbacks room.

Outside of Jaylon Johnson, the Bears don't have anything scary going on in their secondary. Tyrique Stevenson, who got benched last season, is opposite Johnson, and the Bears might be starting a rookie in the slot in Malik Muhammad.

As much as the Bears would love to stick Johnson on McMillan all game, they may not be able to because Tet is slated to play both inside and out in 2026, which Canales has confirmed.

After finishing as WR16 overall last season, according to Fantasy Pros, McMillan is an every-week WR2 option by default. But he could turn in WR1 production in this favorable matchup.

Verdict: Start

Jonathon Brooks start or sit advice

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) catches the ball during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As we touched on earlier, Hubbard is likely to get the majority of work in the season-opener, with Brooks playing second fiddle.

We're probably looking at about 10 touches, and even in a plus matchup against the Bears' suspect run defense, that just isn't enough to depend on right now.

Not to mention, the jury is still out on Brooks overall after he has played in just three contests over two campaigns after missing most of 2024 while recovering from a torn ACL and all of 2025 following his suffering yet another torn ACL.

Keep Brooks on the bench this week and see how things play out in Week 1.

Verdict: Sit