Last week was a rough one. Chances are either your first round draft pick underperformed or was injured.
KEY 1st ROUND WEEK 2 BUSTS: Antonio Brown, Todd Gurley, Rob Gronkowski (still hasn’t suited up in ’16), Devonta Freeman, Eddie Lacy, A.J. Green and Lamar Miller.
Of course, the injury trend continued this week as more high-profiled NFL stars are going to now be on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
KEY WEEK 2 INJURIES: Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin, Jonathan Stewart, Donte Moncrief, Corey Coleman, Arian Foster, and Danny Woodhead.
There’s a good chance there are some big holes in your lineup this week, especially with names like Antonio Gates and Delanie Walker popping up questionable yesterday. So, who do you start and sit?
We got you covered.
EXPERT OF THE WEEK: Dunton. If you rolled with Dunton’s advice you likely did pretty well. Mike Wallace and DeMarco Murray scored 20 points in PPR leagues, while Derek Carr got around roughly the same depending on your QB scoring system. Jameis Winston proved to be a smart sit after he returned to earth in Arizona, as was the struggling Todd Gurley. Demaryius Thomas did get 14 points in a PPR league, which isn’t terrible, but if you took Dunton’s advice to bench the start WR, this was the week to do it.
Dunton:
Starts:
RB: Melvin Gordon-San Diego is losing players to IR at break neck speed. Gordon has been a stud in the offense and now he is the go to RB. With Woodhead out Gordon has to take on a more significant role in the offense. Expect Gordon to get more red zone touches and some more passes out of the backfield.
WR: So one thing we have learned after the first two weeks of the season is that Larry Fitzgerald is like a fine wine, he only gets better with age. This week Fitz and the Cardinals head to Buffalo where they can score points but can’t stop anyone. They are so good at scoring points that they fired their offensive coordinator. Not going to help their real problem which is their defense that can’t stop anyone including Fitz and the Cards this weekend.
Jarvis Landry is playing the Browns. Get him in your lineup. I called Mike Wallace last week didn’t I?
DEF: There is no denying that everyone has their eyes on the Texans defense against the Patriots 3rd string QB. I see this as a ripe for the pickings pick for defense this week which kind of scares me. If you want another option the Cardinals at Buffalo look intriguing as well.
Sits:
RB: Matt Forte – Forte is a little banged up and playing a tough defense. I still think he gets touches but I feel his points are going to be limited this week against a strong KC defense.
WR: Brandon Marshall – You saw what happened to his knee last Thursday. I’m surprised he is just a questionable status after witnessing that knee twist and bend. More importantly KC is tough at home and I have already told you to go a different direction with Forte. Marshall’s status is up in the air and the KC defense is too much at home. Find a different receiver if you have Marshall.
Teddy Ballgame:
Starts:
QB-Big Ben has had a great start to this season, even with Antonio Brown having a down game last week. He was able to spread the ball around to his secondary receivers against the Bengals. With the return of their number two receiver Marcus Wheaton, the Eagles will have even more to deal with. I think the Steelers will hand the Eagles there first loss.
WR- Willie Snead has become one of Drew Brees favorite and most reliable receivers. He’s going to see a bunch of targets on Monday night against the Falcons. The Saints offense is high-powered at home.
WR- TY Hilton and the Colts offense is going home this week to face San Diego. I think both quarterbacks will light it up in this game. TY could have his first real big game of the season.
RB- Melvin Gordon has had a very nice start this season. He is going to get a bunch of chances with Danny Woodhead out for the season, and like I said before I think this will be a high-scoring game.
Sits:
RB-Jeremy Langford Will definitely see a loaded box in Dallas with the nightmare that is Brian Hoyer starting at QB. You can just ask Texans fans about that.
RB- Jerick McKinnon I know that he is going to get the start this week with AP out, but I expect it to be real tough sledding in Carolina for Minnesota’s running backs. Matt Asiata will probably steal any goal line opportunities from as well.
TE- Gary Barnidge I Think that the Cleveland passing game will really struggle this week with Cody Kessler at QB.
Saucy T
Starts:
QB: Matt Ryan – The Falcons signal caller seems to be taking his game to another level this year as Kyle Shanahan is starting to adapt his offense towards what Ryan does best, the no huddle. The Falcons ran the no huddle on over 1/3 of their plays last week, and they had great success. I expect to see similar tactics against a soft Saints defense. Drew Brees at home is always a safe pick, but I expect this game to be a shootout with the winning team’s QB having the better day. Rise Up!!!
RB: Melvin Gordon – After the carnage at the RB position we saw in week two, almost any back with a pulse is start-able, but I’ll take it one step further with Melvin Gordon… He’s a top 3 back this week and a top ten back going forward. I’m all in on the Gordon hype train, and you should be too. Gordon may even come close to outperforming his 2015 draft mate Todd Gurley in 2016.
WR: Sammy Watkins – Sammy Watkins burned me in a couple leagues last week when I started him over week two breakout Stefon Diggs (Fear the Turtle), but I’m dipping into the Sammy Watkins well once again this week. Rex Ryan claims that Greg Roman was fired because they didn’t put the ball in the hands of their playmakers enough. Sammy Watkins IS their playmaker. I expect new OC Anthony Lynn to find creative ways to get Sammy the ball and let him work his magic. Dont let Patrick Peterson scare you away. Mike Evans had a productive day in a blowout loss facing Peterson, and Watkins should be able to at least match Evans’ 19 ppr fantasy points.
Sits:
QB: Sam Bradford – Ooh look the new shiny toy that everyone wants to play with! Don’t let the new purple uniform fool you; Sam Bradford is still Sam Bradford. Bradford’s breakout last week was more a result of Stefon Diggs breakout than his own (Diggs made up over 62% of Bradford’s yardage). This week Bradford doesn’t have the luxury of Adrian Peterson in his backfield either. With one less playmaker to game plan for, the Carolina defense will be able to get after Bradford and force him into bad decisions and turnovers.
RB: Jeremy Langford – Once again, after last week, any running back with a pulse is start-able, but I’m not sure Langford has much of a pulse left. Langford continues to bail out fantasy owners with goal line work, but in a game where he got a short TD, he still only produced 8.4 fantasy points. Add to that his lost fumble and word out of Chicago that rookie Jordan Howard will see his role expand, and Langford is a guy you should steer clear of. To put it simply, he just isn’t very good.
WR: Golden Tate – I know most of you that drafted Tate were hoping for a WR2 with possible WR1 upside, but at this early point in the season it looks like the preseason “Marvin Jones is the number 1 in Detroit” chatter was more than just rumors. Golden Tate is a WR4 at best until he proves to be more reliable at this point. Unfortunately, that won’t happen this week as the Lions travel to Lambeau to take on an angry Packers team that opened with two straight on the road.
The Wifeyiac:
Starts:
QB: Philip Rivers – Still not sure how he isn’t an every week starter. He’s proved it over and over again and has a juicy matchup this week.
RB: LeGarrette Blount – They are going to have to run all night with their third string QB out there.
Sits:
TE: Coby Fleener – He’s been a bust and until he does something he has to ride the pine. Reports are he is having trouble finding chemistry with Drew Brees. That’s a major character flaw right there.
The Wayniac
Starts:
QB: Matthew Stafford – There are obviously better starts this week, but I feel like Stafford’s line was misleading last week. He had two touchdowns overturned by penalties, putting him in much worse situations to throw. Stafford only has one interception this season and he’s heading to Green Bay to face a defense that is No. 1 against the run and No. 19 against the pass. What do you think the game plan is?
RB: Melvin Gordon – I was wrong. I didn’t think he had it in him, but he has proven me wrong. He is also a rare breed in the NFL, and he has the backfield of a high scoring offense all to himself. The only thing that is worrisome here is the injury epidemic that has been going around San Diego for three years now.
WR: Jeremy Maclin – Here’s another guy I rarely suggest to start, but here’s the thing. Not only has Revis Island lost a step, opposing QBs and OCs are targeting him. Expect Alex Smith to throw at Maclin a ton. Willie Snead is a no-brainer this week as well.
TE: It’s easier to pick the sit this week, because players like Gates and Walker were absent from practice yesterday. Delaniw Walker has a nice matchup, but what is his injury status. Jacob Tamme is playing the Saints defense and seems to be meshing with the surging Matt Ryan. Roll with him.
Def: Dolphins. They are playing a Cleveland Browns team that is actually worse off than they were two weeks ago, and that was already the worst team in football. Alabama could likely beat the Browns right now.
Sits:
QB: Tyrod Taylor – The Jets have made quarterbacks look good. The Cardinals usually don’t. A new OC, a pretty bad team and two Ryans causing a media whirlwind tell me to stay away from Tyrod.
RB: Jeremy Hill – Melvin Gordon may have been promoted from the perma-sit at RB, but Jeremy Hill will remain here. The Bengals are going to need to use Gio more than Hill’s whopping 53 total yards rushing on the season to try and beat the Broncos defense.
WR: Despite Thomas being dinged up a bit, Emmanuel Sanders seems to have taken the biggest hit in the new era of Broncos football. The Bengals are good in the secondary, no reason to expect Sanders to turn it around this wekk.
TE: Again, there is a lot of uncertainty at this position this week, with several big names questionable. That being said, the Browns QB situation seems to make Gary Barnidge a must sit.
DEF: Eagles – I don’t know that the Eagles lose this game, but I do know that the Steelers offense puts up points on their worst days. AB is coming off of a down week, so this could be an exciting shootout. I’d stay away.
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