Week 2 Fantasy Starts, Sits and Sleepers

 Week 2 Fantasy Starts, Sits and Sleepers

Week one is in the books and what a week it was. Some anticipated booms from Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jonathan Taylor were matched by equally unimpressive showings from the likes of Trey Lance, Cam Akers and Mike Williams. A personal 0-4 fantasy start was one of the hardest I've had to stomach in my days...primed for a big bounce back week two.

Our article last week nailed Nick Chubb and Jalen Hurts as starts, Aaron Rodgers/DJ Moore as sits but essentially struck out on our sleepers. Such is life predicting fantasy football. So here comes our second go round at these fantasy starts, sits and sleepers.

Starts

Joe Burrow (@ DAL): What a terrible game for the 4^th year QB against Pittsburgh last week. A really lethargic start made worse by 5 turnovers, including a pick six. It’s incredible that he had the Bengals in a position to win it late (twice).

He’ll square up versus a decent-at-best defensive unit in Dallas that’ll be on the field a lot as a result of bad quarterback play from Cooper Rush. Burrow’s out for blood after the embarrassment of his week one showing. Look for him to pepper Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd on his way to 350 yards and three scores. 

Josh Allen (vs. TEN): I should probably reserve a spot for Josh Allen in the starters section for the next 16 weeks too, bye included. The man absolutely dazzled last week in Los Angeles and is primed to do so again in Buffalo’s home opener. They’ll be welcoming King Henry and the Tennessee Titans to town. Tennessee caught the L against a much lesser Giants team a week ago, setting them up for a long day versus another New York squad.

Allen will overpower a lesser opponent on Monday in front of the Bills faithful. Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs will help him accomplish this, tearing up the Titans’ inexperienced cornerbacks. He’ll rack up over 400 total yards and four scores like he’s Abe Lincoln.

 

Saquon Barkley (vs. CAR): I never expected to get every one of my starts or sits correct, but wow was I wrong about Saquon last week. The aforementioned Titans had a pretty strong run defense last season, leading me to believe the Penn State product would struggle to kick off the season. Instead, he busted out for 164 yards on over 9 yards per carry. What a performance.

No reason the Giants shouldn’t follow that exact same game script again this week, challenging a Carolina team that got absolutely mauled by Nick Chubb on the ground in their opening loss. Daniel Jones should provide a slightly higher threat in the pocket compared to Jacoby Brissett (slightly*), which should prevent the Panthers from loading up the box too regularly. Barkley’s going over 150 rushing yards again this week, two scores too. G-Men starting 2-0?!

Leonard Fournette (@ NO): Fat Lenny claimed most of the offseason weight he’d put on was muscle and it showed week one. He destroyed the Cowboys to the tune of 137 total yards, helping carry the Bucs to a 1-0 start. Chris Godwin is set to miss this game at wideout and Mike Evans isn’t 100% in his own right. Fournette should be heavily featured in this game plan.

He’ll be squaring off against the Saints team that surprisingly allowed Cordarelle Patterson to shred them in Atlanta week one, rushing for 120 on 22 carries. All of this should set the table for a pretty run happy script for Tampa, rewarding fantasy owners who drafted the polarizing back. I can see 115 yards rushing, 4+ receptions and at least one touchdown.

Terry McLaurin (@ DET): As much as I would hate having Carson Wentz be my quarterback, he does generally provide opportunities for his wide receivers to put up some big numbers. McLaurin hurt me last year in fantasy, so I have some reservations still, but it was a nice showing by the star receiver in their win over Jacksonville. He’ll be traveling up to Detroit this week in what should be a high scoring affair against a subpar group of corners. Scary Terry’s gonna eat at Ford Field, producing over 100 yards and a long score.

Courtland Sutton (vs. HOU): Courtland had a solid day in Denver’s shocking loss to Seattle (4/72) but it was Jerry Jeudy who stole the show. It’ll be Sutton’s turn this week going against a Texans’ team that managed to tie Indianapolis last Sunday. Michael Pittman Jr, another big-bodied receiver, put up some big numbers in Houston last week. Russell Wilson cannot start out his Broncos’ career 0-2 and he’ll ride #14 on the way to a home dub. 9 catches, 87 yards and two tuddys for the SMU alum.

Darren Waller (vs. ARI): The Cardinals were downright awful in their season opener. A big part of that was Travis Kelce’s 121-yard performance. The Raiders tight end is just as physically gifted as Kelce and also got off to a strong start to his season in Los Angeles. This talent-ridden Las Vegas offense should permit some really favorable matchups for Waller in what should be a high scoring battle. He should tally at least 6 catches and a score in this one.

Sits

Tom Brady (@ NO): The ageless wonder Tom Brady had a pretty tough go in Dallas a week ago. He'll face a much stiffer defense here that's had his number the last two years. With Chris Godwin probably out and Mike Evans banged up, he's progressively running thinner on targets as well. Throw in the success of the run game and this spells a dud of a game for Mr. Terrific. Don't be surprised if he fails to throw for over 250 yards down in NOLA.

Mac Jones (@ PIT): His back's not 100% and facing an uber-difficult secondary on the road. Not a good combination. Jones will dodge a bullet with TJ Watt out for this one, but the challenge still remains. He looked really bad facing an equally strong Dolphins defense, unable to provide any spark for the offense. Mike Tomlin is a game planning wizard too...Steelers should pop out to a 2-0 start.

Chase Edmonds (@ BAL): One of Miami's marquee offseason acquisitions did not show well in his first go round with the team, only averaging 2.1 yards per carry. Baltimore's stout defensive line owned the line of scrimmage in the Meadowlands on Sunday and should have minimal issue doing so again here against the Dolphins. 

If you drafted Edmonds in the first 6-8 rounds, this is a tough pill to swallow. But there's no way this is a prudent start against the Ravens, especially with their top four cornerbacks banged up. If the Miami's offense gets rolling, it won't be in Chase's hands.

Ezekiel Elliott (vs. CIN): A repeat member of the sits list, not a good look when it's only week two. Zeke was actually the sole "bright" spot on the Cowboys' offensive side of the ball vs. Tampa Bay, averaging a respectable 5.2 YPC on 10 totes. But that was with Dak at QB.

Now with Cooper Rush under center, he should see more stacked boxes than an Amazon distribution center. With Cincy likely to put up a ton of points in this offense, we can't even foresee a positive game script for him to possibly break out in. Probably too late to sell high here on Elliott, try to find some RB depth while it's early. 

Elijah Moore (@ CLE): For the record, I think Elijah Moore is one of the most electric, under the radar talents at wide receiver in the league. Joe Flacco just is not the guy to maximize his potential, not at this point in his storied career. 

Moore should draw Denzel Ward in coverage throughout most of this one, adding more difficulty to an already tall task. They'll likely be playing from behind most of the game, which is in his favor, but I expect the Browns to really minimize the Jets time of possession by pounding the ball. I'd say his 5/49 line from last week is his ceiling here. 

Ceedee Lamb (vs. CIN): I promise the sits list won't be 30% Cowboys next week again. But given recent developments, and despite where you drafted him, how could you start Ceedee Lamb Sunday? Last week he went 2/29 against a not-so stellar Tampa secondary, and that was with his QB1 in for majority of the game. Insert Cooper Rush at the helm and I'll insert Ceedee into one of my     bench slots.

Kyle Pitts (@ LAR): Glancing at the 26 points the Falcons' scored vs. New Orleans would lead one to believe that Kyle Pitts had a nice beginning to his sophomore campaign. Not the case! He was targeted a team-high 7 times, but was only able to inefficiently secure two of them for 19 yards. 

Personally, it was exactly what I expected from the Atlanta tight end. I've never understood the fantasy hype around the young talent, at least not with his current quarterback situation. Even when they drafted him, it seemed like a value pick for a franchise that was a piece or two away from contending, which they were (and are) far from. No way Pitts bounces back versus a Rams team that needs to rebound from an embarrassing loss.

Sleepers

Matt Ryan (@ JAX): Matt Ryan had a fair fantasy day in Houston but it could've been much better without two dropped touchdown passes. He and the Colts' will make up for that in Jacksonville against an even weaker secondary. Michael Pittman will have a big day but I expect another Colts receiver to contribute a good bit as well, perhaps a Parris Campbell appearance?? Regardless of who the passes are to, Ryan should have a solid day down in Duval. 

Carson Wentz (@ DET): As high as I am on Detroit, their defense just isn't great. Good enough to let the offense win them some games, but definitely a liability to give up big fantasy numbers week in and week out. Carson Wentz will be the benefactor this Sunday. I don't think they'll be able to ride the running game all the way to a W, so Wentz will be asked to toss it around some. He should have success doing so in the Motor City, helping cash the over while setting up some of his receivers for nice statistical showings. 

Jaylen Warren (vs. NE): I'll be the first to say, don't know much about this kid. But Pittsburgh seems high enough on him to let him leapfrog the plodding Benny Snell on the depth chart. New England has a solid front seven, but running the ball is fundamental to the Steelers' mentality. Najee will not be at 100%, opening the door for touches to be had. This is a deeper league sleeper, but if you need a flex Warren could be worth a gander.

Jordan Mason (vs. SEA): Another name the common fan would not recognize is 49ers rookie running back Jordan Mason. With Elijah Mitchell's injury, he's seemingly overtaken Tyrion Davis-Price (this year's "Trey Sermon") as the #2 back in San Francisco behind Jeff Wilson. It wouldn't be a surprise to see this turn into more of a hot hand in Mitchell's absence, so if Mason pops off, buckle up lucky fantasy owners who got in before the rest of the world on this secret. 

Devin Duvernay (vs. MIA): Prior to last week, the former Texas Longhorn had never cleared 45 receiving yards in a game. He put up 54 and two touchdowns week one against the Jets, including a beautiful snag in the end zone over rookie Bryce Hall. Facing Miami this week, teammate Rashod Bateman will probably be seeing a ton of Xavien Howard, opening the door for Duvernay to have another strong showing. With no clear cut WR2 in Baltimore right now, he's at least worth a roster stash.

KJ Osborn (@ PHI): James Bradberry and Darius Slay will have their hands full all afternoon with Justin Jefferson...and Adam Thielen too to a lesser extent. KJ Osborn may inherit some favorable matchups as a result when Minnesota ventures into Philly. In what projects to be a fast paced and exciting game, Osborn should be able to grab a few passes and possibly sniff pay dirt. Minimal standalone upside outside of favorable matchups like this, but KJ's a viable deep league start this Monday.

Robert Tonyan (vs. CHI): We asked the question last week, "Who is going to catch passes for Aaron Rodgers?" Still haven't gotten that answer yet. Romeo Doubs looked the most promising of the rookies, but even he had some miscommunications with his immunized quarterback. Getting Allen Lazard back and Robert Tonyan more involved in the passing game should help Rodgers begin to settle back in to his elite ways.

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@Choppinglines

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