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 sittin’ those Bears.
Sunday Late Games
Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Las Vegas Raiders
Start of the Game
Ronald Jones II – Running Back – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Raiders love to give up points on the ground and last Sunday was something of a coming out party for RoJo, who firmly put his grip on the title of Number One Back in Tampa.
Other Notable Starts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DST,
Las Vegas Raiders – N/A
Sit of the Game
Derek Carr – Quarterback – Las Vegas Raiders
Before you even think about the quality of Tampa’s pass rush, the Raiders O-Line is in a bit of Covid-disarray. These things together spells trouble for Carr who faces a defense who allow an average of 12 points per game to QBs in Fantasy. Ruh roh!
Other Notable Sits
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Rob Gronkowski – Tight End
Las Vegas Raiders – Hunter Renfrow – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
Start of the Game
Phillip Lindsay – Running Back – Denver Broncos
It’s gonna be a snowy and chilly one in Colorado this weekend, which means a lot of ground game. Step forward Phillip Lindsay – who I see being the bellcow in this game for Denver.
Other Notable Starts
Kansas City Chiefs – Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Running Back
Denver Broncos – Melvin Gordon III – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Le’Veon Bell – Running Back – Kansas City Chiefs
Bell may not even make the roster for Denver but I’ve seen a lot of pickup for him in re-draft leagues which spells trouble this weekend if you are one of those people. Whilst it’ll be a run-heavy game from the Chiefs, the Broncos are a great team against the run and Bell needs time to adjust to a new team and playbook.
Other Notable Sits
Kansas City Chiefs – N/A
Denver Broncos – Drew Lock – Quarterback
Matchup: San Francisco 49ers @ New England Patriots
Start of the Game
Cam Newton – Quarterback – New England Patriots
Right now, any fantasy matchup involving the Patriots is U.G.L.Y. Their D is strong enough that they can hold teams off but they’ve got nothing on the other side of the ball other than Not-Quite-So-Super-Cam. I expect him to be the least worst of the QBs and the most productive rusher for New England and possibly moreso than any 49ers back.
Other Notable Starts
San Francisco 49ers – Jerick McKinnon – Running Back
New England Patriots – N/A
Sit of the Game
Jimmy Garoppolo – Quarterback – San Francisco 49ers
A terrific bounce-back performance from Jimmy G against the Rams has negated the effect of his woeful Dolphins performance a fortnight ago. However, we know Bill Belichick is the guy who can scheme his way to stopping your productivity in any situation. I think we see a flustered Garoppolo this Sunday make bad decisions against a Patriots team that rank 6th against QBs this year.
Other Notable Sits
San Francisco 49ers – Brandon Aiyuk – Wide Receiver
New England Patriots – Julian Edelman – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Jacksonville Jaguars @ Los Angeles Chargers
Start of the Game
Justin Herbert – Quarterback – Los Angeles Chargers
We saw Herbert’s brilliance against the Saints a fortnight ago and now with another two weeks experience under his belt, this kid is gonna take off in this game. The Jags rank okay against QBs but they’re getting worse. With (hopefully) Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and the emerging Jalen Guyton at his disposal, watch out Jacksonville.
Other Notable Starts
Jacksonville Jaguars – James Robinson – Running Back
Los Angeles Chargers – Jalen Guyton – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Gardner Minshew – Quarterback – Jacksonville Jaguars
From one bright young thing to one whose star may be fading quicker than Jags fans had hoped. Minshew hasn’t progressed and if you’re not progressing, you’re regressing. Yes, the Chargers are a good matchup in Fantasy for QBs but right now I’m not buying in on Minshew. He’s thrown a pick or lost a fumble every game apart from Week 1.
Other Notable Sits
Jacksonville Jaguars – N/A
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Jackson – Running Back, Joshua Kelley – Running Back
Sunday Night Football
Matchup: Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
Start of the Game
Christian Kirk – Wide Receiver – Arizona Cardinals
The pandemic has ruled that this game is now SNF and I am actually rather pleased it’s got primetime billing as these are two teams I love watching. Kirk’s superb MNF performance actually cost me a league win by 0.2 points (I’m still grieving) and I expect him to continue here against a Seattle D that is league-worst against Wide Receivers. Points for everyone!
Other Notable Starts
Seattle Seahawks – Chris Carson – Running Back, all Seattle Wide Receivers
Arizona Cardinals – All Arizona Wide Receivers
Sit of the Game
Kenyan Drake – Running Back – Arizona Cardinals
I don’t think Drake is going to be sleepless when it comes to shootouts v Seattle because he’s going to be well-rested on the sidelines as these two have their mobile QBs do most of the groundwork between feeding their wide-outs the ball at every chance. Drake may play a part early on but when this game breaks open his numbers will suffer.
Other Notable Sits
Seattle Seahawks – Greg Olsen – Tight End
Arizona Cardinals – Dan Arnold – Tight End
Monday Night Football
Matchup: Chicago Bears @ Los Angeles Rams
Start of the Game
David Montgomery – Running Back – Chicago Bears
Where do you start with this game in terms of Fantasy? Both teams are built around their D (one more than the other, admittedly). Bears/Rams QBs/WRs will struggle to put up Fantasy points here but the one main matchup where a team’s D ranks outside the top 10? Rams v RBs. That’s why I’m taking Montgomery. Although it was very close to being the Rams DST.
Other Notable Starts
Chicago Bears – DST
Los Angeles Rams – DST, Cooper Kupp – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Nick Foles – Quarterback – Chicago Bears
This is coming from a man starting him in a SuperFlex league this weekend but for those of you running 1QB leagues, you must know you need to sit this guy against the Rams, right? Please tell me you know. Just give my phone three rings to let me know you know.
Other Notable Sits
Chicago Bears- Allen Robinson II – Wide Receiver
Los Angles Rams – Jared Goff – Quarterback
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.