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 not a fan of Cooper Rush (I know, shocking).
Sunday Late Games
Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers
Start of the Game
Josh Jacobs – Running Back – Las Vegas Raiders
I know he may have been drafted as your RB1 but Josh Jacobs has blown hot and cold this season, for avoidance of doubt, you’ve got to start him this week. He won’t rush for 31 attempts this week but the Chargers do like to give up points to RBs and I like him to get back on track here. He’s only reached 20+ points twice this season, it’ll be three by Monday morning.
Other Notable Starts
Las Vegas Raiders – Derek Carr – Quarterback
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Herbert – Quarterback
Sit of the Game
Justin Jackson – Running Back – Los Angeles Chargers
I see Justin Herbert throwing for another 300+ yards in this game which hurts an already-difficult (Fantasy-wise) backfield for the Chargers. Joshua Kelley will continue to take snaps away from Justin Jackson so this is more of a word of caution for those who have the injury bug in their backfield (literally everyone), Justin Jackson may not be the saviour for you this week. Look elsewhere.
Other Notable Sits
Las Vegas Raiders – Nelson Agholor – Wide Receiver
Los Angeles Chargers – Joshua Kelley – Running Back
Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Dallas Cowboys
Start of the Game
James Conner – Running Back – Pittsburgh Steelers
Oh man, it’s tempting to say start Pittsburgh’s DST but I’ll be sensible and advise you to slide James Conner into your starting lineup. After a productive outing against the Ravens I expect Pittsburgh to be up early and by plenty with short fields, this points to running the clock down with the backfield and Conner will do that against an average Fantasy run-D.
Other Notable Starts
Pittsburgh Steelers – Chase Claypool – Wide Receiver
Dallas Cowboys – N/A
Sit of the Game
Amari Cooper – Wide Receiver – Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys receiving corps in general has seen their Fatnasy output decimated in the face of Dak Prescott’s crushing injury. With Cooper Rush/Garrett Gilbert due to start at QB this week you can’t expect good production out of Dallas WRs for the rest of the year and if you are in a re-draft league I would look to trade Amari Cooper if you can get any sort of value for him. You never know, you might get lucky. He won’t. Sit him.
Other Notable Sits
Pittsburgh Steelers – N/A
Dallas Cowboys – CeeDee Lamb – Wide Receiver
Matchup: Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals
Start of the Game
Chase Edmonds – Running Back – Arizona Cardinals
No Kenyan Drake? No problem. Edmonds performed like Alvin Kamara againts the Seahawks with nearly 150 scrimmage yards and this week he faces a Miami team who are weak against running backs in Fantasy. In PPR leagues Edmonds is an absolute must start this week.
Other Notable Starts
Miami Dolphins – Preston Williams – Wide Receiver
Arizona Cardinals – N/A
Sit of the Game
Matt Breida – Running Back – Arizona Cardinals
With Myles Gaskin going down for a few weeks it is difficult to see where the carries are specifically coming from in Miami. Is it Breida? Maybe. Jordan Howard seemingly can’t crack the active roster anymore and they’ve just traded for DeAndre Washington. All this just leaves me wondering if we’ll see a committee approach to the backfield over November. I could be wrong (usually am) but right now you’re spitting in the wind starting a Dolphins RB.
Other Notable Sits
Miami Dolphins – Tua Tagovailoa – Quarterback
Arizona Cardinals – Dan Arnold – Tight End
Sunday Night Football
Matchup: New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Start of the Game
Tom Brady – Quarterback – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I wasn’t a Brady-believer at the start of the year and felt rather smug after Week One but fair play, I was wrong. He’s on fire at the moment and with a matchup against the Saints who are struggling with the deep ball I fancy Brady to torch them in a shootout. Fun fact, Brady nabbed a rushing TD against the Saints in Week One…His first of two this season, the same as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson!
Other Notable Starts
New Orleans Saints – Jared Cook – Tight End
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Rob Gronkowski – Tight End
Sit of the Game
Emmanuel Sanders – Wide Receiver – New Orleans Saints
Sanders (along with Michael Thomas and to a lesser extent Marquez Callaway) returning to action is great news for the Saints. However, he has just recovered from CoVid which makes me sceptical that he’s going to be 100% this weekend against a fearsome Bucs D.
Other Notable Sits
New Orleans Saints – Drew Brees – Quarterback
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Leonard Fournette – Running Back
Monday Night Football
Matchup: New England Patriots @ New York Jets
Start of the Game
Damiere Byrd – Wide Receiver – New England Patriots
A desperately poor Fantasy matchup here aside from the Pats DST but I’m not going to go own that road. However, with the earth of pass catchers for the Patriots there has been a glimmer of hope in Damiere Byrd, he’s not been targeted that much but when he does get a target he’s reliable and has appeared on 85%+ of snaps in every game this year. Against a woeful Jets, he may have a standout day.
Other Notable Starts
New England Patriots – Cam Newton – Quarterback, Damien Harris – Running Back
New York Jets – N/A
Sit of the Game
Braxton Berrios – Wide Receiver – New York Jets
There’s a chance Jamison Crowder returns for Sunday but if he does or doesn’t is immaterial this week. Whilst Berrios holds a bit of PPR value you can find someone out there who will offer more who isn’t playing against the team that drafted him. Oh, they also happen to be coached by Darth Belichick himself. It’s not the same D as last year but the Pats rank in the top 10 for Fantasy D against Wide Receivers.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Darnold saw some more ghosts.
Other Notable Sits
New England Patriots – N/A
New York Jets – Sam Darnold – Quarterback
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.