Rashod Bateman start or sit: Week 1 fantasy football advice

Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is finally here and opening weekend will continue on Sunday night with the Baltimore Ravens visiting the Buffalo Bills at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes were dashed by this very Bills team in last year’s AFC Divisional round and they’re looking for some revenge to open the new year. Some experts believe that this is the best top-to-bottom roster in the entire league and one of the returning pieces that will be tasked with making plays for the offense is wide receiver Rashod Bateman. He enters the year with an ADP (average draft position) in the 57-63 range among wide receivers across multiple scoring formats according to FantasyPros, making him a late-round flyer pick in most league’s

Below, we’ll go over Bateman’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.

After years of dealing with injuries, Bateman finally experienced a breakout season for the Ravens in 2024 with 45 receptions for 756 yards and nine touchdowns. He proved to be one of the best big-play wideouts in the NFL last season as his 16.8 yards per reception ranked third in the league and he played a big factor in the offense boasting the top passing EPA.

Bateman signed a three-year contract extension with the organization this offseason, locking him in as one of Lamar Jackson’s go-to weapons for the foreseeable future. His low ADP can be attributed to the presence of Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, and DeAndre Hopkins as Baltimore’s other pass-catching weapons, so it remains to be seen how many targets he can command for himself this year.

Sit. Bateman could very well end up being a steal for fantasy managers this season, but I’d take a wait-and-see approach in Week 1. This primetime showdown between two of of the AFC’s top teams could be tight and it may come down to each offense’s rushing attack.