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: Derek Carr is a sit ‘em.
Sunday Late Games
Matchup: Washington Football Team @ Arizona Cardinals
Start of the Game
Kyler Murray – Quarterback – Arizona Cardinals
Murray scored north of 25 fantasy points last week against a much-vaunted 49ers team and whilst this Washington D is no joke, I expect Murray and the Cardinals to be far more effective than a depleted Eagles were last week.
Other Notable Starts
Arizona Cardinals – DST, DeAndre Hopkins – Wide Receiver
Washington Football Team – N/A
Sit of the Game
Christian Kirk – Wide Receiver – Arizona Cardinals
Of the seven players to see targets from Kyler Murray last week, Kirk performed the worst with a single catch from five targets. As mentioned, this Washington D comes to play and I would swerve starting Kirk even as a WR3/Flex.
Other Notable Sits
Arizona Cardinals – N/A
Washington Football Team – Antonio Gibson – Running Back
Matchup: Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers
Start of the Game
Austin Ekeler – Running Back – Los Angeles Chargers
Don’t come at me with your CEH shouts here. Yes, he was above and beyond what Fantasy players could’ve expected in the season opener but this is a better D-Line. Anyway, Austin Ekeler had 19 carries last week and is clearly the most reliable option for an offense that is going to struggle this year. Lock him into your RB1 spot this week.
Other Notable Starts
Kansas City Chiefs – Travis Kelce – Tight End, Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Running Back (there, ya happy?!)
Los Angeles Chargers – N/A
Sit of the Game
Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers – Wide Receiver
A single digit scoring week for a man who was probably an early draft pick this year and the fact Ekeler is my Start of the Game just screams another meagre day for Allen, even if the Chargers are playing catch-up early on.
Other Notable Sits
Kansas City Chiefs – Sammy Watkins – Wide Receiver
Los Angeles Chargers – DST
Matchup: Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans
Start of the Game
Mark Andrews – Tight End – Baltimore Ravens
One of my favourite players from last season has continued rolling and kudos to those of you who took him ahead of players like Ertz and Cook. Five receptions, two scores and over 50 receiving yards to boot, I expect him to go off against a Texans team that struggled against Travis Kelce last week.
Other Notable Starts
Baltimore Ravens – JK Dobbins – Running Back, Marquise Brown – Wide Receiver
Houston Texans – Will Fuller V – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Mark Ingram – Running Back – Baltimore Ravens
I wasn’t expecting Dobbins to take away from Ingram’s carries so quickly but here we are. Until we see otherwies Ingram is not only in my Sit ‘Em but also my newly-made-up Trade ‘Em Whilst Ya Can.
Other Notable Sits
Baltimore Ravens – N/A
Houston Texans – Brandin Cooks – Wide Receiver, Randall Cobb – Wide Receiver
Sunday Night Football
Matchup: New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks
Start of the Game
DK Metcalf – Wide Receiver – Seattle Seahawks
I was torn between Metcalf and DangeRuss for this pick but opted for the wide-out who went off against an anaemic Atlanta. I expect Tyler Lockett to be blanketed by Stephon Gilmore which leaves Metcalf in a more favourable matchup. Metcalf’s Week 1 line? Four catches, 98 yards, one score. Nice.
Other Notable Starts
Seattle Seahawks – Russell Wilson – Quarterback, DST
New England Patriots – Cam Newton – Quarterback
Sit of the Game
Sony Michel – Running Back – New England Patriots
So Cam is being early-years Cam at the moment which is good news for Patriots fans and bad news for anyone who has a Patriots Running Back on their roster. Until I am shown otherwise I see their rushers as an ensemble rather than a hierarchy.
Other Notable Sits
New England Patriots – Julian Edelman – Wide Receiver, James White – Running Back
Seattle Seahawks – Carlos Hyde – Running Back
Monday Night Football
Matchup: New Orleans Saints @ Las Vegas Raiders
Start of the Game
Alvin Kamara – Running Back – New Orleans Saints
Let’s ignore that he was one of my Sits last week, shall we? Forget it ever happened. With Michael Thomas nursing ankle issues and a growing question mark over Drew Brees (rightly or wrongly), this team now looks primed to go as AK41 does. I expect him to be one of the top scorers this week against a Raiders team who allowed way too much to an okay Panthers offense.
Other Notable Starts
New Orleans Saints – Emmanuel Sanders – Wide Receiver, Jared Cook – Tight End
Las Vegas Raiders – Josh Jacobs – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Derek Carr – Quarterback – Las Vegas Raiders
Derek Carr has never excited me and his 239 yards and one passing touchdown last week is the definition of ‘fine’. Except this week he’s going against a Saints D that will be far more aggressive than the Panthers were and will force him to take more risks that I don’t think will pay off.
Other Notable Sits
New Orleans Saints – Drew Brees – Quarterback
Las Vegas Raiders – Nelson Agholor
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.