Must Starts & Sits | NFL Week 2

by Matt Babich · Matchups Start/Sit

It’s time for Start Sit Week 2 in Fantasy Football! Which players should you be starting this week, and which players should you consider benching? We will cover it all in this weekly article!

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Week 1 Recap

Every week of the NFL season, fantasy gamers juggle players to insert into lineups at each position. Are you questioning which players face easy matchups and which players face tougher paths to production? You are in the right place! Outside of the obvious starts, Start Sit Week 2 decisions can be more difficult than usual to differentiate who faces an easier or tougher matchup. For seasonal leagues, DFS, and more, this week’s must start and sit picks can give you some guidance on setting your lineups.

In a very abstract Week 1, here’s what we learned from our hits and misses (the latter vastly outweighing the former):

  • Dallas’ defense is still good enough to lower Dak Prescott‘s weekly floor against average-or-worse opponents.
  • With their interior offensive line struggles, Caleb Williams will take a few weeks before he’s a prominent fantasy starter.
  • Jordan Addison, regardless of the injury, is and was always going to struggle to be a consistent fantasy starter.
  • With Deshaun Watson under center, the Browns’ fantasy assets are going to struggle to produce against good defenses.
  • Brock Bowers is getting elite usage right off the bat and is a weekly starter in fantasy.

Quarterback

Start: Baker Mayfield

The Lions’ defensive struggles are still ever-present. Last week, they struggled to contain an offense funneled through a singular WR in Cooper Kupp and down multiple starting lineman. Seemingly welcoming plays over the middle of the field, and allowing the No. 11 most pass attempts in 2023, Detroit is a true pass-funnel defense. That’s an ideal spot for Baker Mayfield, who torched the Commanders for 289 passing yards and four touchdowns. Baker’s first feud against Detroit in 2023 was dismal. As many remember, he responded by throwing for 350 yards and three scores on 41 pass attempts in a near-playoff victory.

Now in Year 2 as a Buccaneer, it’s obvious that Mayfield is gelling with his weapons at their highest level yet. His supporting cast, which is one of the league’s best, is enough to have weekly top 10 upside. Given the shootout-potential matchup, I’m starting Baker as often as I possibly can. He’s a top 15 candidate for me, who I’d start over the likes of Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert.

Sit: Justin Herbert

I love Justin Herbert, truly. However, it’s going to be a pain in the rear to start him in games where LA will be playing with a lead. Last week, against the Raiders, Herbert only attempted 26 passes and four rushes. The Chargers were inefficient through the air, racking up just 144 passing yards and 1 touchdown. The lack of weapons are going to be a hinderance all season long. Against a poor Raiders secondary, Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston were both allergic to production. With this supporting cast, I expect Herbert’s passing numbers are going to have to come from volume rather than efficiency.

Their also isn’t much of a rushing floor. With the suspected plantar fascia injury he’s working through, his rushing attempts aren’t going to rise soon. While more money continues to come in on the Panthers, suggesting a closer game script, I’m not sold on the Panthers staying in this game. The Chargers are going to be extremely run-heavy in this matchup. Many may start Herbert solely because of what the Saints did last week, but remember these are two totally different offenses and styles of play.

Honorable Mentions (Starts): Justin Fields, Matthew Stafford

Honorable Mentions (Sits): Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith

Running Back

Start: Jerome Ford

In a tough matchup against the Cowboys, with the Browns trailing all game, Jerome Ford still put out a usable week. That’s the kind of consistency we *should* be able to expect while Nick Chubb remains sidelined. His production on the ground was lackluster, finishing with 44 yards on 12 carries, but his stranglehold on the goal line touches gave us a score. Where he really shined was in the passing game. He absorbed seven targets ( 15.6-percent Target Share) and turned them into six receptions for 25 yards. With an erratic Watson under center, we should be able to rely on quite a few check-downs on a weekly basis.

This week, Ford finds himself against a pass-funnel Jacksonville defense that tends to get pressure on the quarterback. Meaning, Ford will be active in the passing game. Further, the Browns should be putting together more sustained drives against a weaker defense. The rushing efficiency may not be there again this week, as Jacksonville stifled the hyper-efficient Dolphins rushing attack last week. However, the touch volume gives him top-10 potential once again this week if he finds the endzone.

Sit: Zack Moss

We’re going back to the well with this one. Zack Moss was our sit-of-the-week at this position last week, and the process was 100% there. The Patriots defense was underestimated, the Bengals struggled offensively, but Zack Moss starters were bailed out by a touchdown. I suppose that’s the benefit of starting him, having the goal-line back on an offense surely to earn two or more red zone drives every game. However, as I noted above, being a touchdown-dependent starting running back makes you a Devin Singletary…and no one is itching to start Devin Singletary.

In a relatively close game script, Moss only earned nine carries and four targets…woof. Moss’s efficiency on those touches was remarkable, churning out 4.9 yards per carry, but it became evident throughout the game the Patriots were focused on not allowing chunk plays through the air once they grabbed a lead. The scarlet letter on Moss’s profile is that he’s not the Bengals’ pass catching running back. That’s a job he’s splitting with Chase Brown who earned three targets to Moss’s four. The Bengals are staring down the barrel of another negative game script versus the Chiefs who are an above-average rushing defense.

Honorable Mentions (Starts): Brian Robinson

Honorable Mentions (Sits): Zamir White

Wide Receiver

Start: Ladd McConkey

Ladd McConkey had his “Welcome to the NFL” moment quickly, scoring his first touchdown to secure his first NFL victory. The rookie turned his seven targets (29-percent Target Share) into only 39 receiving yards, but his path to growth is obvious. LA tried downfield routes with Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer last week, and they found little success. It’s so clear already that McConkey is the best talent in that core, and it’s only a matter of time before the coaching staff begins drawing up these downfield plays for him.

Further, drawing a 40-percent Red Zone Target Share in your first game is an obvious signal of trust and desire to get said player involved. What better matchup to test out an extended role for Ladd than the Panthers, who allowed an egregious 8.7 Yards per Attempt last week. At this pace, McConkey will be a weekly starter in short order.

Sit: Drake London

Here we are again, watching a quarterback simply incapable of getting the ball to Drake London. Kirk Cousins looked borderline immobile last week, with the Falcons running very little play action and attempting to keep Cousins in the pocket as long as possible. London was only able to turn his three targets into 15 yards last week and will face a similar uphill battle this week. It really doesn’t matter what defense he’s facing if Cousins looks like this. London’s role is reduced to short-area throws that are minimally productive for fantasy football. Until we see the upside actually come to fruition, he’s a detriment to your lineups.

Honorable Mentions (Starts): Malik Nabers, Keenan Allen

Honorable Mentions (Sits): DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton

Tight End

Start: Colby Parkinson

There was nothing awe-inspiring about Parkinson’s Week 1 performance. It’s difficult not to salivate over his potential usage in a Puka Nacua-less offense, though. Last week, the third-year tight end turned five targets into four receptions and 47 yards. While that’s a pretty dismal stat line, it was good enough to be TE7 on the week. Parkinson will step up in the pecking order this week and will be heavily involved in the passing attack. Last week, he recorded a 85-percent route participation rate.

Parkinson finds himself in a matchup against a Cardinals defense who allowed the (tied for) 2nd-most touchdowns to the position last season, tied to a hyper-accurate quarterback in a hyper-efficient passing scheme. With the landscape of the tight end position, that’s a matchup I’ll target every single week. If the Cardinals sell out on Kupp the way they did Dalton Kincaid last week, Parkinson could have an Isaiah Likely-level explosion.

Sit: Isaiah Likely

Yep…I can already see the tweets about this one. I think there’s been a pretty large market overreaction to Likely’s breakout performance. Mark Andrews was bracketed all game, and the Chiefs opted to let Baltimore slowly work the middle of the field and let Likely beat them. We have an entirely new matchup and game script in store, yet many are expecting an explosive performance yet again. The Ravens are 9-point favorites agains the Raiders, and we all know they’re going to control this game.

In a run-heavy game script, with a low-volume passing offense, against a defense that can’t scheme-out Mark Andrews because of Derrick Henry‘s dominance, I’m very slow to put Likely in my starting lineups this week.

Honorable Mentions (Starts): Brock Bowers, Zach Ertz

Honorable Mentions (Sits): Dallas Goedert, Mike Gesicki

Set Your Lineups!

It is time to set lineups! Fire up those fingers and plug in your productive players (and bench the sits!). Check back for weekly must starts and sits based on the action that unfolds this season. Need some more options? Check out PlayerProfiler’s Upside Finder! Or, DM me on Twitter! It’s time again for a season full of ups and downs. Buckle up!

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