NFL Week 2 Starts and Sits
By: Logan Lepiscopo
“Where was this article last week?” “It was week one of the NFL season and you could not provide players to start and sit?!” I can understand the frustration behind that, but I have a very strong belief that week one of the NFL season you should start the players that you are most confident in. There is no background data for us to know what defense is going to do, and injuries are bound to happen in the first week of the NFL season. Now after a week of football we have a small sample size of what the defenses and offenses of every NFL team are capable of. Starts and Sits for the 2022-23 NFL season will consist of one player to start and sit at each position (QB, RB, WR, TE, D/ST, K).
Quarterbacks:
Start ‘em – Derek Carr (vs. ARZ)
Derek Carr played a very sloppy game in week one against the Chargers, and Los Angeles was missing its best cornerback J.C. Jackson. The Cardinals played the Chiefs passing game terribly, yes Patrick Mahomes is a better quarterback than Carr, but that doesn’t take away from the lack of talent in the Cardinals secondary. Davante Adams went for 141 yards and a touchdown last week, against another not so good secondary I expect Adams to have another 100+ yard game, potentially hitting that 200 mark. Darren Waller had a good game with four receptions for 79 yards, Travis Kelce tore apart the Cardinals defense in week one, expect Waller to come in and have a similar performance to his week one game, or even better. Also expect Derek Carr to be smarter with the football and use his safety blanker Hunter Renfrow more often, it was unlike Carr to not target Renfrow often in short yardage situations and even the red zone.
Sit ‘em – Joe Burrow (@ DAL)
It was very uncharacteristic of Joe Burrow to put up the performance that he did in week one against the Steelers, and the upgrades to the offensive line in the offseason looked as if there was not a single change made. Burrow not only had four interceptions, but he was also sacked seven times by Pittsburgh. The Dallas defense is no match up to Pittsburgh’s, but the pass rush is still there for the Cowboys to exploit these so-called “upgrades” on the offensive line. Ja’Marr Chase will still eat, and Trevon Diggs will likely give up 200 yards overall by the end of this game, but Burrow’s concern is how well will he be protected. Burrow is one of the best fantasy options every week to start because of that high powered offense but week one’s performance is enough for me to shy away from starting him this week.
Running Backs:
Start ‘em – Devin Singletary (vs. TEN)
I was fading Devin Singletary all offseason for fantasy football and now I am here to say that Singletary is a must start this week. The Titans run defense looked awful against Saquon Barkley, now Singletary is no Saquon Barkley, but he ran the ball fairly decent against the Rams in the first game of the 2022-23 NFL season. The Bills have a pass heavy attack and displayed that in week one, but the Titans weakness was shown to the entire league in week one, and I would be very surprised if the Bills didn’t try to get that run game going. James Cook and Zack Moss could completely ruin Singletary’s day but based off of production in week one, Singletary’s six yards per carry cannot be overlooked.
Sit ‘em – Ezekiel Elliott (vs. CIN)
This one should be very self-explanatory but let’s take a little bit of a dive into why Ezekiel Elliott will once again disappoint fantasy football players. First thing first is that Dak Prescott will be out for this game, last season when Prescott missed time Elliott suffered because there was not a threat of anybody passing the football. Elliott was very efficient running the football averaging 5.2 YPC but he did not get nearly enough touches and he did not see much action in the passing game of the Cowboys. With Cooper Rush in at quarterback and Elliott getting barely any touches versus the Buccaneers it makes it very hard for me to trust him in a starting spot for my team. If Zeke is your best option or second best option and there is a huge decrease in talent he will likely still be in your starting lineup, but if you have a running back you believe can have similar production start them.
Wide Receivers:
Start ‘em – Jerry Jeudy (vs. HOU)
Do I need to say much? Jeudy carved up the Seahawks secondary in week one and here in week two he has another favorable matchup against the Houston Texans. Jeudy had four receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown in week one and I would be very surprised if he did not produce similar numbers against the Texans. Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon will be looked upon early to establish a running game, but Russell Wilson will cook. It is too early to say Jeudy is Wilson’s favorite target but after a game like that it will be hard for Wilson to ignore how well Jeudy did. Also did I forget to mention that in week one when the Texans tied the Colts, Michael Pittman Jr. finished with nine receptions, 121 yards, and a touchdown? Start Jeudy with confidence this week.
Sit ‘em – Brandin Cooks (@ DEN)
Same game, two different wide receivers. The Houston Texans have no other options at wide receiver, but the Broncos secondary looked great against the Seahawks. In that Broncos and Seahawks game Seattle’s leader in receiving yards was tight end Will Dissly with three receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown. Cooks did not have an awful week one either, seven receptions for 82 yards, but the Broncos secondary was not letting much get past them on Monday night. Cooks is a viable flex play this week but I truthfully even think that is too big of a risk to take.
Tight Ends:
Start ‘em – Zach Ertz (@ LV)
Zach Ertz is going to see an increased role in week one with the absence of Rondale Moore, and the Raiders pass defense was not able to hold Gerald Everett in week one. In week one the Cardinals had a very poor showing of what this offense is capable of, Kyler Murray was the rushing leader for the team and Greg Dortch was the leading receiver for Arizona. I find it very hard that this happens again for the Cardinals and I imagine that the team will get its veteran tight end involved. The Raiders allowed Gerald Everett 54 yards and a touchdown off of three receptions in week one, Zach Ertz had just two receptions versus the Chiefs in week one.
Sit ‘em – Dawson Knox (vs. TEN)
In week one Dawson Knox had one single catch for five measly yards. The Tennessee Titans allowed zero, z-e-r-o fantasy points in week one to tight ends. Putting two and two together; little to no production in week one, plus the Titans not allowing the Giants a single point to go to its tight ends, equals do not start Dawson Knox this week.
D/ST:
Start ‘em – Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. NE)
I am very much aware that T.J. Watt is out for this game but nonetheless the Steelers defense as a whole looked incredible against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now facing off against the New England Patriots, a team that could get nothing going offensively in week one, it is looking to be another big week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It obviously will not be the same unit without Watt there but the Steelers have plenty of other players that can make plays and that was shown in week one of the season.
Sit ‘em – Minnesota Vikings (@ PHI)
The Vikings defense is in for a high scoring affair this Monday night against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles offense. I am not worried about the Vikings getting blown out of the water by the Eagles, I am concerned that this game is going to get into the 30-point range for both sides and result in negative fantasy points for the Vikings. The Eagles offense did not showcase anything spectacular in week one as far as passing the football goes, but running the football worked extremely well. Minnesota looked great in week one versus the Packers, but in week one of the 2021-22 season Rodgers came out slow and then well, we all know what award he won at the end of the season. I’m sitting the Vikings defense in anticipation of an absolute shootout between these two offenses.
Kickers:
Start ‘em – Ryan Succop (@ NO)
This is going to be a great game between the Saints and Buccaneers, the Saints always find a way to get the best of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers had just one touchdown in week one versus the Cowboys and Succop took care of the rest of the scoring. The Saints defense held the Falcons to multiple field goals in week one and I anticipate with Chris Godwin out and multiple Buccaneers starters dealing with injuries that Tampa Bay is going to struggle to finish drives and get into the endzone.
Sit ‘em – Jason Myers (@ SF)
I am just completely disregarding the 49ers and Bears game in week one because of the monsoon that the two teams played in. Jason Myers is not going to see the field much this week. People are overreacting about the 49ers loss to the Bears in week one and they are going to come out at home in San Francisco and put on a show against the Seattle Seahawks. Congrats on the week one win Seattle fans but I do not see many more in your future, especially not this week against a 49ers team that is out to shut the critics up.
