Fantasy Football Week 1 Start 'Em And Sit' Em: Travis Hunter Vs. Chris Olave

While it’s one thing to make a draft selection as you think about the entire season, it’s a lot different to make a start/sit decision as you think about one specific week.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs on the field before an NFL preseason matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers of an NFL preseason matchup at EverBank Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We’ve made it! After a long August of drafting, we’ve officially hit the start of the NFL Season. And with Week 1 staring us in the face, it’s also officially the start of over-thinking season. 

While it’s one thing to make a draft selection as you think about the entire season, it’s a lot different to make a start/sit decision as you think about one specific week. There are obviously some players on your roster who are just set-it-and-forget-it guys (also known as the “start your studs” approach), but things get a lot trickier when you’re trying to choose between similarly ranked players for your flex spot.

We have some great Week 1 wide receiver rankings to help with all your start/sit decisions this week, but today, we’re going to dive into whether fantasy managers should start Chris Olave or Travis Hunter.

Travis Hunter

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is one of the biggest unknowns heading into this year and has been one of the hardest players to rank as part of the fantasy football draft process. Ranked at WR30 in our preseason rankings, Hunter came in five spots before Olave. And one could make a viable argument that he's either too high or too low in the rankings. 

While the rookie won’t have a ton of competition for targets as the Jaguars WR2 behind Brian Thomas Jr., we also don’t fully know how he’ll be used as Jacksonville rolls him out on both offense and defense. 

As such, Hunter’s range of outcomes is wide this season, and his Week 1 matchup with the Panthers is no different. Hunter is currently at WR36 in our Week 1 rankings, but there’s a world in which he approaches double-digit targets and produces top-20 receiver numbers. That said, there’s a world in which he only sees a handful of targets and barely finishes as a top-50 receiver this week. 

Chris Olave

While Olave is entering his fourth season in the NFL, he’s almost just as much of an enigma as Hunter is due to his concussion history. Olave was an absolute beast in putting up 1,000 receiving yards during his rookie and sophomore seasons, but he only put up 400 yards in eight games last year. 

While he looks to be healthy entering 2025, the Saints quarterback situation is a bit of an albatross as Olave is currently saddled with Spencer Rattler as his starting quarterback. He should still see plenty of targets, but his upside with Rattler is a bit limited.

Ranked as WR35 in our preseason draft rankings, Olave is currently WR38 in our Week 1 rankings as he heads into his opening week matchup against the Cardinals. Like Hunter, Olave is a bit of an unknown heading into Week 1, but he should theoretically have a bit of a higher floor.

The Verdict

This is a really close one for me, but I’m going with Chris Olave over Travis Hunter Jr. this week. He has a minorly better matchup against the Cardinals secondary while also providing a higher floor due to this WR1 status on his team. While Hunter might have a bit more upside (and a better projection in Shawn Childs' Week 1 wide receiver projections), I just can’t shake the realistic thought of him putting up something like two catches for 24 yards.