Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III power Seattle’s Week 1 ground game, with Charbonnet positioned as a daytime X-factor after strong 2024 bursts when Walker was sidelined. Rookie Tory Horton steps into WR3 duties and could exploit favorable matchups behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the expected target volume. Grey Zabel was brought in to boost the line, but his first real test comes against San Francisco’s edge pressure led by Nick Bosa and rookie Mykel Williams.

Seattle’s trio—Charbonnet’s burst, Horton’s developing chemistry, and Zabel’s blocking stability—could dictate game flow, allowing the passing game to opportunistically open up. If they click, the Seahawks control the clock and create a fantasy-friendly script in Week 1.

Jauan Jennings, Rashid Shaheed, and Khalil Shakir enter Week 1 with varied risk and reward. Jennings could seize a top target role for San Francisco if healthy, but calf issues and a contract dispute loom large. Shaheed is the Saints’ healthiest veteran with big-play upside, though quarterback and usage questions temper his certainty. Shakir offers Buffalo’s clearest floor among the three, yet a high-ankle injury and system changes temper expectations. Week 1 matchups and practice reports will determine who earns the early-season value.

RotoBaller's 2025 D/ST rankings place Denver, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore on top, with a tiered ladder guiding early-draft selections and favorable Week 1 matchups. The piece emphasizes dialing in defenses by schedule strength and looks at how schedule volatility can swing streaming picks in the early going.

Key IDP names surface in the outlooks: Garrett remains a sack-heavy anchor while Watt’s-era dominance shows signs of aging, and Baun, Hamilton and Starks emerge as versatile playmakers with multi-stat upside. Dre Greenlaw and Trent McDuffie are highlighted as value-connected defenders, with Parsons a standout name in fantasy debates on elite-dL alongside the Packers’ evolving defense questions.