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’m a start ‘em…Sort of.
Sunday Late Games
Matchup: Miami Dolphins @ San Francisco 49ers
Start of the Game
DeVante Parker – Wide Receiver – Miami Dolphins
I picked him last week against the Seahawks and I’m picking him again this week against a still-banged-up 49ers team. Ten catches for 110 yards and a score against Seattle is enough for me to keep driving down the road with DeVante Parker riding shotgun. There’s not a lot else to be excited about from a Fantasy perspective whilst San Francisco’s playmakers remain on the road to recovery. Other than George Kittle, of course…But you knew that already.
Other Notable Starts
Miami Dolphins – N/A
San Francisco 49ers – Jerick McKinnon – Running Back, George Kittle – Tight End
Sit of the Game
Deebo Samuel – Wide Receiver – San Francisco 49ers
Samuel only nabbed three catches for 35 yards against the Eagles last week and whilst the Dolphins secondary can be torched, I’m not sure if Nick Mullens/CJ Beathard/a convalescing Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be that adventurous against Miami, especially if they get up early. It could have been any of the San Francisco wide-outs in truth, but Deebo is the anointed one this week.
Other Notable Sits
Miami Dolphins – Myles Gaskin – Running Back
San Francisco 49ers – Brandon Aiyuk – Wide Receiver, Kendrick Bourne – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Indianapolis Colts @ Cleveland Browns
Start of the Game
D’Ernest Johnson – Running Back – Cleveland Browns
Wait, who? D’Ernest. Johnson. What? Why? Well, Cleveland are a run-first team, we know this much. Nick Chubb is gone for a few weeks and Johnson stepped into his shoes to lead the team in rushing yards against the Cowboys. With the amount of RBs that are going down injured, Johnson is a valuable commodity. Yes, the Colts D is fantastic but the Browns may have another rushing gem here.
Other Notable Starts
Indianapolis Colts –
Cleveland Browns – Kareem Hunt – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Baker Mayfield – Quarterback – Cleveland Browns
Same again from me, it’s both a missive at the Fantasy qualities of Mayfield and Rivers, there will be better streamers this weekend, trust me. This will be a ground’n’pound game on the whole. This isn’t to denigrate Mayfield’s on-field qualities but for Fantasy he is toxic right now.
Other Notable Sits
Indianapolis Colts – Mo-Alie Cox – Tight End
Cleveland Browns – Jarvis Landry – Wide Receiver
Matchup: New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys
Start of the Game
Dalton Schultz – Tight End – Dallas Cowboys
Take your pick of Cowboys pass-catchers as the Giants are going to get steamrolled here. Behind Lamb and Cooper (I’m certain I’ve been to that pub before…), Schultz is looking premier with 72 yards and a score against the Browns. Whilst I think the aforementioned will comfortably hit double digit points on Sunday, Schultz will be a top five Tight End this week. Lock him in #AlwaysSchultz
Other Notable Starts
New York Giants – Devonta Freeman
Dallas Cowboys – Michael Gallup – Wide Receiver, CeeDee Lamb – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Darius Slayton – Wide Receiver – New York Giants
The Cowboys can’t defend. They should be 0-4 and resemble the bad-era New Orleans Saints when Drew Brees would break records but lose an 80-point game by a late field goal made possible by rank defensive play. However, for as bad as they look on that side of the ball, the Giants can’t get anything going offensively. Slayton was held under 50 yards against the Rams without a score. I don’t expect anything close to his WR2 fantasy-projections this week.
Other Notable Sits
New York Giants – Daniel Jones – Quarterback
Dallas Cowboys – N/A
Matchup: Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots
Start of the Game
Phillip Lindsay – Running Backs – Denver Broncos
Returning from a turf-toe issue, it is mooted that Lindsay will catch a lot of balls when Denver face a weakened New England team. There’s not a huge amount to love offensively for either side, but with the Broncos low on pass catchers, I expect a lot of dink’n’dunk to the backs and hope they make some guys miss.
Other Notable Starts
Denver Broncos – DST, Melvin Gordon – Running Back
New England Patriots – DST
Sit of the Game
Julian Edelman – Wide Receiver – New England Patriots
Brian Hoyer? Jarret Stidham? The Denver D? “No thank you!” Say the pass-catchers. This game is going to be a low-scoring stink-fest for wide-outs. Swerve them at all costs.
Other Notable Sits
Denver Broncos – Brett Rypien – Quarterback, Tim Patrick – Wide Receiver
New England Patriots – Jarrett Stidham – Quarterback
Sunday Night Football
Matchup: Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks
Start of the Game
David Moore – Wide Receiver – Seattle Seahawks
Told you I was going to start…Sort of. This isn’t a pick based purely on the fact we share the same name, he went off for 95 yards and a score against an admittedly weak Dolphins team but, if the Vikings secondary actually get it together, then Metcalf and Lockett may not have as strong days as you’d expect. This isn’t a play for a WR1 spot, but if you’re stuck for a WR3 or a flex then have a look at me, I mean, the other me.
Other Notable Starts
Minnesota Vikings – Justin Jefferson – Wide Receiver, Adam Thielen – Wide Receiver
Seattle Seahawks – DK Metcalf – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Kyle Rudolph – Tight End – Minnesota Vikings
This was a tough one but Seattle – for all their defensive flaws – rank in the top 10 when defending against Tight Ends. In what I expect to be another 70/75/80 point game, Rudolph may be the one receiver to go hungry again, as he did against the Texans.
Other Notable Sits
Minnesota Vikings – DST
Seattle Seahawks – DST
Monday Night Football
Matchup: Los Angeles Chargers @ New Orleans Saints
Start of the Game
Hunter Henry – Tight End – Los Angeles Chargers
The Saints continue to leak defensively, especially to Tight Ends. With Justin Herbert now the official starter in Los Angeles I expect the offense to kick up a gear, despite a more experienced Saints defensive line coming at him. Whilst Herbert could also go off in a big way, Henry could be a big red-zone threat and I expect him to be just that.
Other Notable Starts
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Herbert – Quarterback
New Orleans Saints – Latavius Murray – Running Back, Tre’Quan Smith – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Joshua Kelley – Running Back – Los Angeles Chargers
With the loss of Austin Ekeler the primary running duties fall to the rookie back Joshua Kelley. Hwoever, for all the issues the saints have on the defensive side of the ball, their defensive line is strong and may well be too much for Kelley, especially if this is a fast-scoring game as I expect.
Other Notable Sits
Los Angeles Chargers – N/A
New Orleans Saints – Jared Cook – Tight End
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.