Week 2 Start'em - Sit'em
By: FN Staff
Wednesday, Sep 11, 2019 at 12:00 pm ET
This is the Fantasy Football Nerd's look at the best and worst matchups for Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season. Analysis is aggregated from multiple sources including FFN. FFN rankings are based upon PPR (point per reception) scoring. Given the known conditions, these matchups are the ones to watch and/or avoid.
Please Note: This list does not generally include the elite players that you are going to start regardless of matchup. You don't need us to tell you to start Aaron Rodgers, Travis Kelce, or DeAndre Hopkins. Instead, we take a look at other players on your team that we believe either have great matchups or should be avoided for multiple reasons. Factors like opposing defense, performance trending, and peer comparisons may influence our decisions.
Start 'em Tom Brady (NE, QB)Brady was drafted as a backup QB in most leagues just a few weeks ago, but he should be considered an elite option this week facing the Dolphins defense that just got torched by Lamar Jackson last week. Brady should be able to pick Miami's secondary apart. Jackson scored 33 fantasy points and we're expecting Brady to put up similar numbers.
Start 'em Ben Roethlisberger (PIT, QB)Big Ben was a sit for us last week and that was the right call. Don't be afraid to plug him into your lineup this week though. He's at home and facing a Seattle secondary that just gave up 418 yards and two scores to Andy Dalton last week. Roethlisberger is a Top 10 play this week.
Start 'em Lamar Jackson (BAL, QB)You can absolutely go back to the well this week with Lamar Jackson. Arizona just gave up 27 fantasy points to Matthew Stafford last week. Jackson is a must-start for another plus matchup with the Cardinals in Week 2.
Start 'em Kerryon Johnson (DET, RB)Johnson had a disappointing day on an afternoon where the Lions ran an incredible 80 plays. More disappointing still was the mix of touches with J.D. McKissic drawing as many targets and C.J. Anderson toting the ball 11 times. Johnson is still a solid RB2 play this week though against a Chargers defense that just allowed Marlon Mack to run for 174 yards and a score.
Start 'em Austin Ekeler (LAC, RB)Melvin Gordon who? We put Ekeler in our Start'em column last week and we're going to leave him there. Ekeler out-touched Justin Jackson 18-7 and was obviously the 1A to Jackson's distant 1B. Ekeler's seven targets were second on the team to Keenan Allen's 10, and with the Chargers' offensive line in its current state, Philip Rivers constantly was looking to Ekeler on dump-offs to avoid the pressure. Ekeler will be a solid RB2 this week against the Lions who just gave David Johnson 25.7 points.
Start 'em Derrick Henry (TEN, RB)Henry led the backfield in touches last week and had a monster fantasy day capped off by a 75-yard receiving touchdown. He out-touched teammate Dion Lewis by a decisive 20-6 margin while also edging him in snaps (36-24). Fast, powerful and underrated as a pass-catcher, Henry is a thunderous talent and should be in all lineups as a no-brainer RB2 (if not an RB1) when the Titans return home to face Indianapolis in Week 2.
Start 'em Sammy Watkins (KC, WR)If you have Sammy Watkins, yes - you're going to start him this week. With Tyreek Hill out for the next 4-6 weeks, Watkins has the opportunity to shine. Now, he's not likely to repeat his incredible 9-for-198 yards and 3 touchdowns performance, but he's the main WR target in one of the NFL's most potent passing offenses. He's ranked 6th this week facing a Raiders secondary that gave up almost 20 points to both Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton on Monday night.
Start 'em Julian Edelman (NE, WR)If you have a NE wide receiver, this should be a good week to play them all. Edelman's thumb injury was a non-issue last week after missing most of training camp. His slot role is secure, but he has a lot of competition playing with Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon in three-wide sets. He's ranked inside our Top 10 because the Dolphins are a cake matchup for Edelman in Week 2.
Start 'em Tyrell Williams (OAK, WR)With no Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams stepped up into the WR1 role for the Raiders on Monday night catching 6-of-7 targets for 105 yards and a touchdown. Williams had a pair of splash plays, including a 43-yarder where he burned Isaac Yiadom. He also had some success against Chris Harris. With Antonio Brown gone, there’s a lot to like about Williams in an offense that should play most of its games from behind. Williams is a low-end WR2 against the Chiefs.
Start 'em TJ Hockenson (DET, TE)Historically, first-year tight ends do not do well fantasy-wise. The last time we saw a first year TE become a significant fantasy option was with HOF'er Tony Gonzalez. That being said, Hockenson looked solid in his debut hauling in 6-of-9 targets for 131 yards and a touchdown. He was narrowly out-snapped by Jesse James, but he out-targeted his veteran teammate 9-1.
Start 'em Darren Waller (OAK, TE)Waller led Oakland in targets last week while playing all 55 snaps. "We're going to get the ball to Waller," HC Jon Gruden recently told reporters. Waller is going to be a top-two target for the Antonio Brown-less Raiders, and has the looks of an every-week TE1 in fantasy. Waller is on track for a big year if he stays healthy.
Start 'em New England Patriots (NE, DEF)Well, this is a no-brainer. Any defense playing against the Dolphins is likely to put up solid fantasy numbers. The Patriots already have a solid defense, so giving them a cake matchup means that New England's defense is a must-start.
Start 'em Robbie Gould (SF, K)The former Bears kicker put up a nice fantasy day for the 49ers. Go ahead and keep him locked in as he's ranked inside our Top 10 this week.
Sit 'em Kirk Cousins (MIN, QB)We knew the Vikings were ready to embrace a run-heavy offense with Gary Kubiak in town, but nobody quite expected "10" total pass attempts. Cousins' fantasy day was saved by a short rushing touchdown from the goal line. He was certainly accurate and efficient in his few dropbacks, but he'll carry a low weekly floor in fantasy if this type of usage continues. Green Bay's defense was surprisingly efficient last week against the Bears keeping Trubisky under double digit fantasy production.
Sit 'em Matthew Stafford (DET, QB)Coming off a solid week against the Cardinals, Stafford and company will face a much more difficult foe in the Chargers. Los Angeles gave up the sixth-fewest yards per game through the air last week. Although shootout conditions could once again develop against the Chargers in Week 2, Stafford will firmly remain a QB2.
Sit 'em Andy Dalton (CIN, QB)Like Stafford above, Andy Dalton is coming off a nice fantasy day throwing for a career-high 418 yards. He'll face a tougher matchup this week against the Niners who flustered and kept Jameis Winston in check to the tune of just 7 fantasy points. He's ranked 19th this week and shouldn't be used outside 2-QB leagues.
Sit 'em Aaron Jones (GB, RB)Jones did very little to get excited about in the season opener, which was probably to be expected against the Bears' strong front seven. 39 yards on 13 carries is hardly the kind of performance that we were expecting out of him. He split duties with Jamaal Williams (59% to 41%), and while Jones is still the better of the two backs, he'll face another difficult matchup in Week 2 against the Vikings who allowed just 18 yards on eight carries to Atlanta's Devonta Freeman last week. Jones is a flex play this week.
Sit 'em Kenyan Drake (MIA, RB)There is not much to like with the Miami situation. Drake turned in a sub-5 point fantasy performance last week and will likely struggle again against a stout New England front who by and large kept James Conner in check. Drake doesn't have much touchdown upside but he could see more snaps than Ballage in games the Dolphins play from behind - like this week. Still, Drake's not more than a low-end flex for Week 2.
Sit 'em Phillip Lindsay (DEN, RB)As expected, the Broncos split the backfield work almost straight down the middle between Lindsay and Royce Freeman. Both guys are low-end flex options at best facing a Bears defense that kept Aaron Jones to under 5 fantasy points last week.
Sit 'em Dede Westbrook (JAC, WR)Westbrook caught 5-of-6 targets for 30 yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars' Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. He was a distant third in receiver yardage to D.J. Chark and Chris Conley. Much was made of Westbrook's potential connection with Nick Foles during the preseason, but Foles will be sidelined 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. Despite the touchdown last week, Westbrook becomes a much more uncertain WR3 with Minshew under center.
Sit 'em Emmanuel Sanders (DEN, WR)It was a nice opener for Sanders catching 5-of-7 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Raiders. Sanders finished behind Courtland Sutton in targets and receptions. He comes into this week's rankings at #36 among wide receivers. The Bears secondary kept elite WR Davante Adams to single-digit fantasy points making Sanders no more than a potential flex option.
Sit 'em Donte Moncrief (PIT, WR)Donte Moncrief caught 3-of-10 targets for seven yards in Week 1 against the Patriots. It was a rough Steelers debut for Moncrief, who struggled with multiple drops. He couldn’t come down with what would have been an 18-yard TD on a contested end-zone pass. Moncrief’s 10 targets led the team but he was outplayed by James Washington, who had 52 yards on fewer looks. Even with a plus matchup against Seattle's secondary, Moncrief is hard to trust in Week 2 lineups.
Sit 'em Eric Ebron (IND, TE)That didn't look like last year's Eric Ebron, did it? With a healthy Jack Doyle and no Andrew Luck, Ebron had to share in a pathetic five targets with his TE counterpart. He caught 1-of-3 targets for eight yards and Doyle caught just 1 of his two targets. Neither is a particularly attractive fantasy option for Week 2 at the Titans.
Sit 'em Kyle Rudolph (MIN, TE)Kyle Rudolph failed to catch his only target in the Vikings' Week 1 win over the Falcons. Even though we're expecting the Vikings to attempt more than the 10 total passes that they did last week, Rudolph shouldn't be relied on as a weekly starter in this run-first offense, particularly as second-round TE Irv Smith Jr. gets more involved as the season progresses.
Sit 'em Jacksonville Jaguars (JAC, DEF)The Jaguars have a talented defense, but a matchup with the Chiefs and their potent offense last week hurt. Facing Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and the rest of the Texans' offense is not exactly the kind of game to see them bounce back from. You'll use Jacksonville this year - it just won't be these first two weeks.
Sit 'em Adam Vinatieri (IND, K)The veteran kicker didn't do much in the season opener missing more field goals than he made. The Titans D showed up last week and kept Austin Seibert to just one point.
Join the Discussion
If asking a sit/start question, be sure to provide your scoring format and contribute to answering questions from other FN members as well.
RaiderLuv4LIFE CommentedSep 14, 2019 11:00 am
Hello! Fantasy Football season again!
I have Mixon (Cin) but he’s questionable, should I replace him with Singeltary (Buf) or Sanders (Phi)?
Nerd CommentedSep 14, 2019 11:00 am
Mixon is questionable. He could very well play, but if he does, he may be limited. Devin Singletary is a good option if you don't want to take the risk. I like Sanders, but I like Singletary a bit more.
Be sure to check the rankings first though.
ldctx01 CommentedSep 14, 2019 11:00 am
Do you think K. Johnson (det.) will get enough carries or should I start Conner (Pit) who had a bad week1
Nerd CommentedSep 15, 2019 11:00 am
@ldctx01 - I like Conner over KJ. Should be a nice bounce-back game.
@irmax - it's Antonio Brown. For me, it's worth the gamble. The talent is there, but I don't know what kind of usage he's going to have.
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