Fantasy Football: Big-name players who could struggle through tough early-season schedules

This might sound odd coming from someone who just released his Fantasy Strength of Schedule Matrix , but you need to be careful to not overweigh those types of season-long metrics.

As I mentioned in that article, the full-season strength of schedule is good to use as a tiebreaker between players you’re targeting in drafts — just don’t get overconfident and let it dictate your outlooks for later in the year. That’s because injuries and changes in performance on both sides of the ball can have a significant impact in the latter stages of a campaign.

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The best way to gain an advantage using strength of schedule is by focusing on the first few weeks and drafting players set for hot starts or avoiding those likely to struggle through a tough streak of opponents. Players with difficult schedules in the early going are prime trade targets when managers begin to question their value in the opening month.

So let’s take a look at each position and identify who has the hardest early-season slates.

Hardest Early QB Schedules

Josh Allen, Bills

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

at HOU

vs. DET

vs. LAC

vs. NE

This is the perfect spot to begin, since it allows us to once again clarify that a bad early season schedule doesn’t mean you’re avoiding a player entirely, especially when that player is the best fantasy quarterback.

Allen, who has been a top-three fantasy producer on a per game basis for six straight years, is getting even more weapons to work with in the form of DJ Moore and Skyler Bell. While he’s always capable of putting on the Superman cape and overcoming any challenging matchup, we might need to brace for at least a couple floor games in the opening month. The Texans’ ferocious defense forced one of Allen’s worst performances of 2025 and should be just as dangerous this year. He’ll also take a Chargers unit that allowed the fourth fewest fantasy points to QBs last season. Though Allen tends to come through against the Patriots, their defense didn’t hit its stride until the stretch run and could be even tougher this time around.

Don’t let this sway you away from drafting Allen, but make sure you adjust your expectations for September.

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

vs. CLE

at DEN

vs. NE

at CIN

Lawrence finished last season as hot as any quarterback in fantasy. He was a top-five QB in four of his last five outings as he settled into Liam Coen’s offense and took advantage of an easy slate. His runout won’t be as smooth to start the 2026 campaign, however, facing the Browns, Broncos and Patriots in the first three weeks. Each one of those defenses finished last year as one of the top 12 hardest matchups for fantasy QBs and even with roster changes this offseason they still project to be challenging opponents. Sharp Football Analysis ranks all three of those secondaries as top-10 units entering the season. Even the Bengals, who were a generous matchup last year, project to be more difficult moving forward. The good news is Lawrence has the fourth easiest fantasy schedule for the whole season, so as long as he survives the daunting start, the wind will be at his back the rest of the way.

Honorable mentions: Caleb Williams, Baker Mayfield

Hardest Early RB Schedules

James Cook, Bills

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

at HOU

vs. DET

vs. LAC

vs. NE

As a Bills’ fan, I hate that the first two sections of this article revolve around players from my favorite team. Sadly, this is the reality Buffalo’s offense finds itself in to start the season and it’s even worse for Cook. In addition to facing legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the first five weeks (Rams in Week 5), all four of his opponents in the first month landed in the top-10 for fewest fantasy points allowed to running backs a year ago. For the record, the Rams came in at 11th but should be even more stout after beefing up their defensive line with Myles Garrett and possibly luring Aaron Donald out of retirement.

Before you point to Cook’s Week 15 performance against New England (111 scrimmage yards, 3 TDs) as a sign of hope, just know that Milton Williams wasn’t on the field for that game. In their earlier matchup with Williams active, Cook was held to 49 scoreless yards. And while I’d like to tell you it gets better after this stretch, that would be a lie. The Bills RBs have to deal with the second most difficult fantasy schedule over the course of the season. Let’s hope the reports of Cook being more involved in the passing game materialize so he can offset the concerning gauntlet of run defenses ahead of him.

TreVeyon Henderson/Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

at SEA

vs. PIT

at JAC

at BUF

Most of the discussion around the Patriots’ backfield has been focused on who will be the more valuable fantasy asset between Henderson and Stevenson, but we may not get a clear answer at the beginning of the season due to the strenuous path they’ll be forced to undertake.

That starts with the defending champion Seahawks who were the second toughest opponent for fantasy RBs in 2025, followed by the Steelers defense that was sixth in that category and the Jaguars defense that was third. Buffalo was a matchup to target last year, but even they might be a more interesting test given the change in scheme under new coordinator Jim Leonhard. While we’ll learn more during training camp about the Patriots’ plans for deploying Henderson and Stevenson, it’s worth noting that the team leaned heavily on Stevenson during their playoff run when they encountered a series of difficult run defenses. It’s also worth mentioning that Stevenson wasn’t overly effective during that span.

Honorable mentions: Chase Brown, JK Dobbins

Hardest Early WR Schedules

Emeka Egbuka/Chris Godwin, Buccaneers

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

at CIN

vs. CLE

vs. MIN

vs. GB

In general, the Buccaneers offen...

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