By Dave Moore (@davieremixed)
Without doubt, the biggest head scratcher of a fantasy football player is deciding who to start in their line-up each week. There is nothing worse than leaving a game on your bench and spending the entirety of the next week dwelling in hindsight.
Whether you’re in 1 league or 100 leagues, setting your line-ups is the most crucial part of your fantasy week and we’re here to let you know which players are in the best environments to boom and which are most likely destined to bust.
Don’t forget to keep your #EyesPeeled for tomorrow’s podcast where we dive into a full preview of the weekend games and make sure you head over to Twitter (@F10YFantasy) for “Start ‘em, sit ‘em, GIF ‘EM!”.
Spoiler alert: I don’t think the Cowboys are going to get much better this season.
Thursday Night Football
Matchup: New England Patriots @ Los Angeles Rams
Start of the Game
DST – Los Angeles Rams
There are Fantasy stinkers and there are Fantasy stinkers. This, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is a Grade A Stinkbomb for Fantasy. A Rams team who can be great with their wide-outs or pummel you with their backfield-by-committee against a Patriots team who have a mobile QB and that’s about it. However I just see this being a low-scoring affair and that’s why I’m going loco. The Rams DST is my Start of the Game who have scored in their last two games.
Other Notable Starts
New England Patriots – DST
Los Angeles Rams – Tyler Higbee – Tight End
Sit of the Game
Cam Akers – Running Back – Los Angeles Rams
Akers had a great game in Week 13 and may well have snuck you into your Fantasy playoffs but I’d err on the side of caution this week. He’s been limited in practice and the Rams backfield responsibilities can change at the drop of a hat.
Other Notable Sits
New England Patriots – Jakobi Meyers – Wide Receiver
Los Angeles Rams – N/A
Sunday Early Games
Matchup: Houston Texans @ Chicago Bears
Start of the Game
Keke Coutee – Wide Receiver – Houston Texans
Coutee rocketed up the depth chart for various reasons related to Houston’s wide-receiver availability and he didn’t let us down with a 141 yard day. On the other side of the ball, the Bears just let the Lions stick over 450 yards of total offense on them! Four receivers had north of 60 receiving yards. I love Coutee in this matchup to carry on his good form. If he’s still available in your league then lock him in for your playoff run. Go. Now!
Other Notable Starts
Houston Texans– Chad Hansen – Wide Receiver
Chicago Bears – David Montgomery – Running Back, Cole Kmet – Tight End
Sit of the Game
David Johnson – Running Back – Houston Texans
Houston doesn’t have a run game. It hasn’t had one all year. Don’t expect anything to change against the Bears, despite their horrific play for much of the year. If you’re still carrying Duke or David Johnson on your team then you’ve clearly not been paying attention.
Other Notable Sits
Houston Texans – Duke Johnson – Running Back
Chicago Bears – Jimmy Graham – Tight End
Matchup: Dallas Cowboys @ Cincinnati Bengals
Start of the Game
Giovani Bernard – Running Back – Cincinnati Bengals
I just can’t quit the Bengals backfield…I know I should run from any Bengal not named Tyler Boyd for the rest of the year but…Did you see how bad Dallas was against the Ravens backfield?! I mean…Eurgh! There’s talk that Mixon may not play the rest of the season (if he does come back then start him ahead of Bernard) but I am backing Gio Bernard to his glorious moustache back to Week 7/8 levels against a rotten Cowboys run-D. A bold strategy, Cotton…
Other Notable Starts
Dallas Cowboys – Dalton Schultz – Tight End
Cincinnati Bengals – Drew Sample – Tight End
Sit of the Game
Ezekiel Elliott – Running Back – Dallas Cowboys
Zeke didn’t fumble against the Ravens! Hooray! I’m still not interested in him for the rest of the year, though. The Andy Dalton Revenge Game (but not really) storyline around this game only fuels my desire to sit him if at all possible. Just as a means of planting my flag, I’d start Gio Bernard over Zeke in a heartbeat. A heartbeat.
Other Notable Sits
Dallas Cowboys – N/A
Cincinnati Bengals – A.J. Green – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Kansas City Chiefs @ Miami Dolphins
Start of the Game
Mike Gesicki – Tight End – Miami Dolphins
If Kansas has a weakness when it comes to Fantasy it’s when they face Tight Ends. Fortunately for Miami they’ve got such a player who’s starting to get hot as it gets cold. He went off against the Bengals with a line of 9/88/1. Targeted 11 times, I like him this week in a game which could be surprisingly low-scoring.
Other Notable Starts
Kansas City Chiefs– N/A
Miami Dolphins – Myles Gaskin – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Devante Parker – Wide Receiver – Miami Dolphins
So whilst Kansas may be prone to giving up points to TEs, they’re ranked 2nd against WRs and as such I don’t trust Parker in this game. Fortunately, he won’t face a suspension for his ejection against the Bengals but in such a crucial part of the season, I am reluctant to put my eggs in Devante’s basket.
Other Notable Sits
Kansas City Chiefs – Sammy Watkins – Wide Receiver
Miami Dolphins – N/A
Matchup: Minnesota Vikings @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Start of the Game
Kirk Cousins – Quarterback – Minnesota Vikings
I feel a bit weird doing this but I smell a shootout in front of the pirate ship this Sunday. How close the Jags victory was in Week 13 wasn’t on Cousins, in my opinion (*cough Dan Bailey cough*) and he still threw for over 300 yards, three scores and a pick. In 2QB/SuperFlex leagues I’d be locking Cousins up no problem and frankly, he’s a top 10 QB this week in my eyes against a Bucs D that isn’t as great against QBs as one would think.
Other Notable Starts
Minnesota Vikings – N/A
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Ronald Jones II – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Kyle Rudolph – Tight End – Minnesota Vikings
I have expected more from Rudolph against the Jags but he was targeted twice and caught neither of the passes. Those are the sort of Fantasy off-days that can cost you a Championship, this is no time to take a chance on him. Find another option.
Other Notable Sits
Minnesota Vikings – N/A
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Antonio Brown – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Arizona Cardinals @ New York Giants
Start of the Game
Wayne Gallman – Running Back – New York Giants
What a day for the G-Men. Colt and The Gang sure made me look foolish (I’m sticking with my Charles Boyle lookalike opinion FYI). A huge part of that victory was Wayne Gallman who had 135 yards on the ground and the run game seemed to work well against the Cardinals last week. I’d be surprised if we didn’t see a big day for Gallman again.
Other Notable Starts
Arizona Cardinals – N/A
New York Giants – N/A
Sit of the Game
Christian Kirk – Wide Receiver – Arizona Cardinals
I feel like I’m playing the hits this week and Christian Kirk has bothered me a lot this season. He should be putting up huge numbers in games where Nuk Hopkins is shadowed by someone like…Jalen Ramsey. So what happens last week? One reception for two yards. Yes, Kyler Murray doesn’t seem right but there was no Larry Fitzgerald either. It seems as if any Arizona receiver not named DeAndre Hopkins is Fantasy poison right now.
Other Notable Sits
Arizona Cardinals – Andy Isabella – Wide Receiver
New York Giants – N/A
Matchup: Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Start of the Game
Corey Davis – Wide Receiver – Tennessee Titans
We all know Derrick Henry is going to run for a thousand yards against Jacksonville but we all know you’re starting him so why not show some love to Corey Davis? 11/182/1 against Cleveland in a WILD game last week (insofar as it was garbage time within the second quarter). I don’t expect Davis to see 12 targets again but an angry Titans team could really lay the smack down on Jacksonville.
Other Notable Starts
Tennessee Titans – Ryan Tannehill – Quarterback
Jacksonville Jaguars – Collin Johnson – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Cameron Batson – Wide Receiver – Tennessee Titans
There are no obvious ‘sit’ candidates for this game outside of most of Jacksonville’s pass-catchers but we all know that. So I thought I’d maybe throw some caution out there about Cameron Batson, he’s been getting a few Redzone targets and caught a TD pass last week to boost his PPR stats to double digits but for a guy who is a WR3 for the Titans this week it’s too risky to start him. One for next year in your Dynasty though, for sure.
Other Notable Sits
Tennessee Titans – N/A
Jacksonville Jaguars – Tyler Eifert – Tight End
Matchup: Denver Broncos @ Carolina Panthers
Start of the Game
Melvin Gordon III – Running Back – Denver Broncos
Denver can win games if they keep the ball out of Drew Lock’s hands. Who knew? MGIII had a huge day for anyone brave enough to start him agains the Chiefs and against Carolina he could be in for a pre-Christmas feast as they are weak against RBs in Fantasy. Just stay away from Jeremy Chinn!
Other Notable Starts
Denver Broncos – Tim Patrick – Wide Receiver
Carolina Panthers – Teddy Bridgewater – Quarterback
Sit of the Game
Mike Davis – Running Back – Carolina Panthers
I like the Broncos against the run and we’re expecting Run CMC to make his return here. He may be on a snap count but any snaps featuring him means Mike Davis is almost certainly not getting the ball. It may be worth keeping Davis on your roster for one more week but this is it for his value as an RB1/2 in Fantasy methinks.
Other Notable Sits
Denver Broncos – Drew Lock – Quarterback
Carolina Panthers – N/A
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.