The 2024 NFL season is finally upon us, with the Chiefs and Ravens kicking off the season at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday before the Packers and Eagles play the NFL's first ever regular-season game in Brazil on Friday. As bettors, Fantasy managers and other NFL gamers shift into regular-season mode, it's time to discuss our NFL survivor pool options for Week 1.

I already broke down the entire schedule week by week and looked at the best options for 18- and 20-week formats throughout the year, and I definitely suggest checking out that season primer if you haven't. Since we covered all our bases there, I'm going to skip a long intro and get into Week 1 options.

When looking at your options for Week 1, it's important to project out the rest of the schedule (hence the point of this weekly column). It's also important to know the format of your pool, as Circa Survivor adds two standalone slates for Thanksgiving and Christmas. With only one big favorite this week, some people may look at a mid-range team in a good matchup that they likely won't otherwise use, but I would avoid making that the Bears against the Titans.

There's a lot of buzz around Chicago this year after the selection of Caleb Williams, but I have a very hard time trusting a rookie QB in his debut in survivor pools. Why risk the moment being too big? I also think the Titans could be sneaky competitive in this game, as their O-line could have an edge against the Bears defensive front. If Will Levis is able to put up 20-plus for Tennessee -- and I think that's very much realistic -- we're potentially talking about Williams to have a big game in his debut to get the win. It could happen considering his talent, but there are other places to target where I'm more comfortable.

Why listen to me? I'm 636-534-34 (+4899) on ATS picks over the last seven years and even better with my top five picks each week, going 428-327-25 (56.7%) over the last nine years in the Las Vegas ATS contests. While this doesn't involve picking against the spread, I do believe by applying the strategies I've developed to have long-term success on those picks to survivor pools, we'll be in the best position to outlast the competition this season.  

Below, you'll find my top options for this week as well as a tiered set of options for every week over the rest of the season, including breakouts for the Thanksgiving/Black Friday and Christmas slates. Let's dig in.

What are the best options to use in survivor pools in Week 1? And which teams should be saved to use later in the season? ... Join SportsLine right now to see NFL Survivor Pool strategy from the expert who's 636-534-34 on ATS picks from 2017 to 2023, returning almost 50 units!