Week 1 was successful for those who read the new column at Sharp Football Analysis.
The recommended sits had the greatest success, with Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, D’Andre Swift, Brandon Aiyuk, DeAndre Hopkins, and Dalton Schultz all disappointing.
Hopkins and Swift were complete fantasy duds in the opening week.
Jameson Williams was the biggest hit on the start side, but Zack Moss had a productive week, as well.
That type of success might be impossible to replicate, but each week I will try to provide a couple of players who will over or underperform expectations.
Who should you start in Week 2 fantasy football?
Quarterback Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Jared Goff in Week 2
The Detroit Lions have a favorable matchup against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary with cluster injuries, making Jared Goff a great start in Week 2.
The Lions have multiple pass catching options and an elite offensive line, which should allow for a large passing day in terms of yardage for Goff.
Hopefully, he won’t concede passing touchdowns to running back runs.
Start Daniel Jones in Week 2
Daniel Jones struggled in Week 1 and has been the recipient of a lot of criticism on social media.
Fortunately for Jones, he faces a Commanders team that despite a new coach looks to be a target for fantasy gamers.
He will get there if he is more confident to run instead of checking down to Wan’Dale Robinson when Malik Nabers is covered.
Running back Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Zack Moss in Week 2
The Bengals should have some success running the ball against the Chiefs, and game script could increase Zack Moss’ receiving role, providing a great opportunity to start him.
Much to Raymond Summerlin’s chagrin, Moss was the featured running back ahead of Chase Brown in Week 1.
Dating back to last season, the Chiefs defense remains one of the best against the pass and near the bottom of the league against the run.
If the Bengals can keep the score close, Moss will have more rushing opportunities than in Week 1 with an easier matchup, but he also provides a receiving floor should the Bengals trail.
The Chiefs faced 10 running back targets in Week 1.
Moss certainly won’t handle all the running back workload, but Week 1 was a sign that he is the preferred back. He had more carries, routes, and red zone work than Brown.
Start Tyjae Spears in Week 2
Jets opponents targeted running backs on a league high 22% of passes last season, and Tyjae Spears should be involved in the passing game with the Titans as 4-point underdogs.
Tony Pollard continued the preseason trend, playing ahead of Spears in Week 1, but coach Brian Callahan stated that the gap in usage ideally would not be as large moving forward.
In limited time trailing in Week 1, Spears was on the field for 6 routes compared to Pollard’s 1.
Pollard appears to be the lead back, but Spears could have a larger role in negative game script situations.
Wide Receiver Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Diontae Johnson in Week 2
Week 2 provides a bounce-back opportunity to start Diontae Johnson against the Chargers.
This may be a biased take as I believe Johnson is a receiver who is elite at getting open and can produce despite poor quarterback play.
Last season, Adam Thielen had six double digit target games and provided usable weeks with Bryce Young.
The team has improved the offensive line this season.
Last year, Johnson was on the receiving end of terrible quarterback play from Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky. 20.7% of his targets were deemed inaccurate.
Against the Saints, 33% of Johnson’s targets were inaccurate, which was well above Young’s rookie year average.
Tight End Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Your Studs in Week 2
Week 1 was an anomaly. Don’t be scared into sitting someone like Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, Dalton Kincaid, or Trey McBride.
Start Tyler Conklin in Week 2
In the first three quarters of Week 1, Tyler Conklin was on the field for all 18 of Aaron Rodgers’ dropbacks, and he gets a friendlier matchup this week.
Conklin was limited to two targets and one catch in his first full game with Rodgers.
The limited volume can possibly be attributed to the nightmare matchup that Fred Warner provides for tight ends.
I’m hopeful Conklin’s usage increases to closer to the rate from last season when he averaged over 5 targets per game.
Who should you sit in Week 2 fantasy football?
Quarterback Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Sit Kirk Cousins in Week 2
Until Kirk Cousins proves he is healthy enough to throw effectively, he is not startable in fantasy football.
He may not even be start able for the Falcons over Michael Penix.
Sit Justin Herbert in Week 2
Coming off a 144-yard passing performance, Justin Herbert is a potential sit in Week 2 as a touchdown favorite.
The matchup on paper is great for Herbert against a Panthers team that gave up 47 points in the opening week.
The bad news for Herbert is that the Chargers finished Week 1 with a -8 % pass rate over expectation, and I anticipate a similar situation in Week 2.
Running back Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Sit Zamir White in Week 2
Based on a likely trailing game script and lack of passing down role, Zamir White is a sit in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens.
White’s offseason hype was greater than his Week 1 production.
He failed to eclipse 50 yards rushing on 13 carries, lost a fumble, and sat on the sideline while Alexander Mattison scored the lone Raiders touchdown.
The sky isn’t falling for the hulking running back as he still out-carried Mattison 13 to 8, but it’s tough to envision a game script with as many running back rushes as 9-point underdogs in Week 2.
Despite sitting White, I wouldn’t rush to start Mattison.
Wide Receiver Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Sit Christian Watson in Week 2
A quarterback downgrade and the opposition scheme give me conviction in sitting Christian Watson in Week 2.
The Packers are expected to have Malik Willis as the starter, and there may not be a bigger dropoff between starter and backup than the Packers.
Watson is not rostered for his weekly target floor. He is rostered for his money zone targets, which he had three of in Week 1.
The Packers currently have the sixth-lowest implied total, which does not provide optimism for a Watson touchdown this week.
Also working against Watson is Gus Bradley’s Cover 3 scheme, which Watson has been targeted on only 15.5% of his routes against since the start of 2023.
Tight End Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Sit Evan Engram in Week 2
Evan Engram is reliant on volume for fantasy success since he is not used heavily in the red zone, and Week 2 provides some volume concerns.
Rich Hribar was ahead of the curve on Engram’s potential target regression this season. Last year’s splits with Christian Kirk on and off the field were dramatic.
This is another matchup in which Engram could fail to see the expected volume. His target share against man coverage with Kirk on the field was 19.1% last season.
Last season, Cleveland’s opponents had a league low 16.1% target rate to tight ends, which does not help Engram’s volume projection.
