Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 1
Fantasy

Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 1

John Laghezza breaks down the inaugural 2026 kickoff game between the Seahawks and Patriots for fantasy football.

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The 2026 NFL season kicks off with a Super Bowl 60 rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots; let's dive into everything you need for your fantasy football lineup setting.

RELATED: Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings

Seahawks vs. Patriots Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 1

  • Over/Under: 44.5

SEA_seahawks-logo.svgSeattle Seahawks Fantasy Football Rankings, Analysis & Projections For Week 1

Another season kicks off with a championship rematch, but pump the brakes on a perfect replica this time around without Kenneth Walker in the mix—last year’s Super Bowl MVP soaked up 29 total touches for 161 scrimmage yards. Whoa. This very obvious workload gap steers us head-on into one of this year’s most prevalent fantasy questions … What do we do with his replacement, Jadarian Price?

For starters, don’t clump me in with the doubters; I’ve been drafting the late first-round rookie with both hands since the second Seattle selected him. At least with Zach Charbonnet on the IR shelf for a month, we’re going to get the chance to find out. 

To me, the Seahawks’ ability to parse college talent for carry-over traits in the pros speaks for itself. How many teams can honestly say they’ve gotten more from homegrown talent in recent years? The answer’s not many.

Don’t be overly impressed by New England’s run-stopping totals from 2025 (101.7 rushing yards/game, 11 rushing TDs)—they played from ahead most of the season. Not to bury a good defensive unit, but NE did wind up in the bottom half of the NFL in EPA/rush (0.04), success rate (60.1%) and stuffed run rate (18.9%). Just saying there's a ceiling here …

Fully expecting Jadarian Price to carry the lion’s share of SEA’s backfield workload, and yes, despite being browbeaten to the contrary, even catch passes. Why? Seattle’s pass game is almost entirely predicated on sucking in the defense to go over the top with play-action schemes. Sam Darnold led the NFL with 10.6 pass yards per play-action attempt—that element of their game isn’t going anywhere, with or without Klint Kubiak.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s obviously a must-start player (even against Christian Gonzalez), but outside of that I’m not interested in any other Seahawks this weekend. Seattle’s lack of pace and play volume caps a true ceiling outcome in an already rough spot.

NE_patriots-logo.svgNew England Patriots Fantasy Football Rankings, Analysis & Projections For Week 1

New England’s out to show they’re better than last year’s weak strength of schedule might suggest, and that their ascent has just begun. Of course it all begins with Drake Maye, who finished just one vote shy of league MVP honors on the back of an NFL-best EPA/dropback (+0.42) and EPA/attempt (+0.28). Year three could be the big one and bringing in A.J. Brown can’t hurt.

Outside of knowing when to tuck and run, part of what makes Maye’s game so dangerously diverse is how darn pretty his deep ball is. Once again, he’s leading the way in EPA per attempt on deep shots (+0.95!)—completing 34 passes of +20 air yards, ranking just six behind Matthew Stafford for the lead on 23 fewer tries. Impressive stuff. And you’ll need to threaten every single blade of grass in order to stymie these savvy Seahawks.

Seattle’s macro defensive metrics popped in 2025, leading the NFL in scoring defense (17.1), success rate (58.6%), EPA/play (+0.12), and explosive play rate (7.4%). Pretty extraordinary considering the fact that their D racked up 17 more splash plays than anyone else (and roughly 150 more than the last-place Titans). 

Mostly deploying 5-DB zones with a heavy box up front, SEA’s secondary was already tough before adding two top-100 picks in this year’s draft. Talk about leaning into strength—the Seahawks were already creating the sixth-highest pressure rate on a middle-of-the-pack 14.1% blitz rate. Long story short, Drake Maye’s got his work cut out for him.

Start your obvious studs like A.J. Brown, but please cap expectations for the Pats’ passing game in Week 1. And definitely don’t be surprised when it’s actually Romeo Doubs beating zones underneath and DeMario Douglas winning in the slot to move the ball for NE.

As of writing, TreVeyon Henderson just missed his fifth straight practice, and I’m reluctantly removing him from fantasy football projections. Deepest leaguers are already doing their best hyena impression, immediately wondering who the next man up is behind Rhamondre Stevenson (who's set up for a massive workload, albeit in a tough matchup). My best estimation? Second-year UDFA out of Cincinnati, Corey Kiner.  Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. JadarianPrice
    RBSEASEA
    Proj
    11.2
  2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
    JaxonSmith-Njigba
    WRSEASEA
    PPG
    16.8
    Proj
    13.7
  3. Sam Darnold
    SamDarnold
    QBSEASEA
    PPG
    14.1
    Proj
    14.6
  4. Drake Maye
    DrakeMaye
    QBNENE
    PPG
    19.5
    Proj
    17.1

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