Must-start Week 1: six players the injury report cleared and the market has not caught up to

A must-start is not your best player. It is the player where the gap between how nervous you feel and how good the spot actually is has gotten too wide. Six of those this week, all of them cleared on the final Friday report, all of them in games the betting market expects to be played at pace.

1. JA'MARR CHASE, WR, BENGALS (vs. Buccaneers). THE FACT: Chase was a full participant all week after carrying a knee issue into the week, and Tampa Bay-Cincinnati has the highest total on the entire slate at 50.5 with the Bengals favored by 3.5. THE VERDICT: start, obviously, but the point is the stack. The highest total on the board plus a favorite plus a healthy alpha is the single cleanest DFS correlation of the week.

2. TEE HIGGINS, WR, BENGALS (vs. Buccaneers). THE FACT: Higgins also practiced in full after a foot issue. Tampa Bay is doubtful at two rotational spots. THE VERDICT: the same 50.5 total that makes Chase a lock makes Higgins a WR2 with WR1 outcomes. Games this size do not have one winner.

3. MALIK NABERS, WR, GIANTS (vs. Cowboys). THE FACT: Nabers was a full participant and was described by the team as ready to go despite carrying a knee designation into the week. Sunday night, 48.5 total, Dallas favored by 3. THE VERDICT: start him in every format. A near-49-point projected game in prime time against a divisional opponent is the exact environment where a target hog eats, and the knee designation is the only reason he is priced as anything other than a top-eight receiver this week.

4. ASHTON JEANTY, RB, RAIDERS (vs. Dolphins). THE FACT: Jeanty returned to full practice after an ankle issue and carries no designation into Sunday. Las Vegas is favored by 3. THE VERDICT: RB1, start him, but calibrate. The total is 40.5 - second-lowest on the board - so this is a volume week, not a shootout week. You are starting him for 20 touches as a home favorite, not for four catches and a 60-yard touchdown.

5. ZAY FLOWERS, WR, RAVENS (at Colts). THE FACT: Flowers practiced in full Friday and came off the report with no designation after a hamstring scare. Baltimore is favored by 3.5 in a 47.5-total game. THE VERDICT: start. Hamstrings are the injury managers most often talk themselves out of, and a full Friday with no designation is the strongest all-clear the report gives you.

6. BREECE HALL, RB, JETS (at Titans). THE FACT: Hall was a full participant after a groin issue. THE VERDICT: start him, and understand why this one is uncomfortable. Jets-Titans has the lowest total on the board at 38.5 with Tennessee favored by 1.5, which is a bad environment for everyone in it. You are starting Hall anyway because in a 38-point game the team that runs is the team that is ahead, and the Jets are one score from being that team. This is a floor start, not a ceiling start.

THE PROCESS: a full Friday practice with no game-status designation is the most underrated signal in fantasy. Managers price the Wednesday headline and forget to re-read the Friday sheet. Every name here cleared it.