Jared Cook start or sit: Week 1 fantasy football advice

The Los Angeles Chargers will officially begin its 2021 campaign on the east coast this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET when opening up against the Washington Football Team.

After two seasons in New Orleans, two-time Pro Bowl tight end Jared Cook signed with the Chargers in the offseason to provide quarterback Justin Herbert with a big target. Considering former Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi is the new offensive coordinator in L.A., the hope is that he can establish a similar dynamic to what he had with Drew Brees. We’ll see if that manifests itself immediately in Week 1.

Fantasy Football analysis: Chargers TE Jared Cook

Since his career-high season in 2018, Cook’s production has somewhat tapered off in the last two seasons but he’s remained a solid red zone target. Playing in 15 games with just five starts in 2020, he caught 37 of 60 targets for just 504 yards but caught seven touchdowns in the process. He’s hoping to up that as a full-time starter this season.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

The potential is there for the Herbert-Cook dynamic to be viable down the road but for now, there’s better tight end options to turn to in Week 1. Sit Cook against Washington.