Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 2

Welcome to our Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 2 of the 2022 fantasy football season!

Week 2 of the fantasy football season is upon us and some of you are either pounding your chest in victory or hanging your heads in defeat after Week 1. Both of which are probably a result of all the research in the offseason that you made when preparing for your fantasy football drafts either coming to or not coming to furitition. In either case it’s important to remember that its been only ONE WEEK and not a single one of us should be overreacting to one loss or one victory.

Speaking of victory, how about we discuss the players, I believe, will bring you victory this week. Here are my Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 2!

Quarterbacks

START: Carson Wentz versus The Detroit Lions

CARSON WENTZ 🚀 TERRY MCLAURIN
pic.twitter.com/H0HCoO2AUp
— PFF (@PFF) September 11, 2022

Carson Wentz was the QB3 in Week 1! Who saw that coming? Wentz threw his standard two ugly interceptions. He made up for it with 313 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Washington Commanders have a dynamic wide receiver corps with Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson. Antonio Gibson is a weapon out of the backfield too.

Wentz is a starter this week because the Detroit Lions are a GREAT matchup for quarterbacks. Simply, the Lions’ defense is not good enough yet. The Eagles threw and ran all over the Lions in Week 1. Jalen Hurts finished as the QB7 last week. He could have scored more if the running backs did not have three goal-line touchdowns. AJ Brown had the 2nd most receiving yards last week (155), only behind Justin Jefferson (184). The Commanders have enough talent to score all game against the Lions.

Typically, you do not need to stream a quarterback in Week 2. However, one person in every league lost Dak Prescott for some time. Carson Wentz is the perfect replacement to pick up and immediately start this week. He is not an elite quarterback, but he has an elite matchup and enough talent and teammates to score plenty of points.

Additional Starting Candidates: Marcus Mariota versus The Los Angles Rams, Justin Fields versus The Green Bay Packers, and Daniel Jones versus The Carolina Panthers

SIT: Ryan Tannehill versus The Buffalo Bills

You should not be starting Ryan Tannehill this week. Somehow Tannehill seems to finish as a back-end QB1 by the end of the season. He will not finish as a back-end QB1 this week. The Buffalo Bills are a stout defense, even without their starting cornerbacks. Cooper Kupp dominated the Bills in Week 1, but the Titans do not have a wide receiver even half as talented as Kupp. The Titans are a heavy rushing offense. It makes sense be Derrick Henry is a beast of a running back. They traded away their alpha wide receiver this offseason. Now they lack talented wide receivers. If the Titans want to win against the Bills then they will try to control the ball and shorten the game with a ground and pound attack. Whether they accomplish that or not would mean Tannehill will not get enough passing attempts to score enough to be a fantasy football starter. Tannehill played fine in Week 1 against the New York Giants. He finished as the QB9, but the Bills’ defense is significantly better than the Giants’ defense. Do not let last week’s finish let you think Tannehill is a sneaky start. You should avoid the entire Titans’ offense this week, except Derrick Henry because you probably do not have a better option at running back to bench him.

Additional Sitting Candidates: Tua Tagvailoa versus The Baltimore Ravens, Mac Jones versus The Pittsburgh Steelers, and Trey Lance versus The Seattle Seahawks

Running Backs

START: James Robinson vs. Indianapolis Colts

JAMES ROBINSON IS BACK🔥
pic.twitter.com/q924rSUNHO
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 11, 2022

Wow, what a pleasant surprise in Week 1! Honestly, I did not expect James Robinson to play this season. I was wrong because he played on almost 50% of the snaps in Week 1. Robinson only had 12 touches, but he was efficient with those touches. He averaged six yards per carry and scored two total touchdowns.

Ultimately, Robinson looked healthy, which is amazing. It will be a split backfield with Travis Etienne. There will always be fantasy value for Robinson if he continues to be the goal-line running back. Based on when you drafted Robinson, he can slide right into your flex spot or RB2 spot if you are dealing with running back injuries.

Additional Starting Candidates: Devin Singletary versus The Tennessee Titans, Darrell Henderson versus The Atlanta Falcons, and Melvin Gordon versus The Houston Texans

SIT: James Conner versus The Las Vegas Raiders

Let’s keep it simple with James Conner. He is a massive risk until we see the Arizona Cardinals offense look functional. They were abysmal in Week 1. Conner salvaged his day with a touchdown. Fortunately, Conner is the goal line back and dominated the backfield with a 72.3% RB snap share, and a 16.7% target share. Normally, those would all be reasons to favor a player, but the Cardinals’ offense needs to make a massive improvement. Proceed with caution with James Conner, and sitting him would be the safer decision until the Cardinals’ offense improves.

Additional Sitting Candidates: Breece Hall versus The Cleveland Browns, Dameon Pierce versus The Denver Broncos, and Tony Pollard versus The Cincinatti Bengals

Wide Receivers

START: Jahan Dotson versus The Detroit Lions

JAHAN DOTSON HAVE YOURSELF A DAY pic.twitter.com/CiIcbYIdie
— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) September 11, 2022

Jahan Dotson started his NFL career with a bang scoring two touchdowns. He was only 4th on the team in target share at 12.2%. He took full advantage of those five targets by scoring two touchdowns from three receptions. You should never chase touchdowns because touchdowns are not sticky. The biggest reason to slide Dotson into your flex this week is because of his matchup. The Detroit Lions let the Philadelphia Eagles run and throw all over them in Week 1. We already highlighted why Carson Wentz is a start this week because of this juicy matchup. Put Dotson in your flex spot and take advantage of the great matchup.

Additional Starting Candidates: Tyler Boyd versus The Dallas Cowboys, Christian Kirk versus The Indianapolis Colts, Rashod Bateman versus The Miami Dolphins.

SIT: Allen Robinson vs. The Atlanta Falcons

We thought the new scenery would create positive change for Allen Robinson. We did not see that positive change in Week 1. Robinson played 97% of snaps, but he was only targeted once (not counting the end-of-game endzone target). The Rams’ offense struggled besides Cooper Kupp being Cooper Kupp. Robinson is a talented wide receiver, but we haven’t seen that talent on the field in over a year. The Atlanta Falcons should be a better matchup for the Rams. I would rather see Robinson finally have a good game on my bench first before I put him back in my starting lineup. You should have another wide receiver with a safer floor and higher upside that can start ahead of Robinson, or you can even pick up a high potential wide receiver.

Additional Sitting Candidates: DK Metcalf versus The San Francisco 49ers and Drake London versus The Atlanta Falcons.

Tight Ends

START: Albert Okwuegbunam versus The Houston Texans

Let’s ride! Albert Okwuegbunam played fine in Week 1 and he was only inches away from a touchdown. It was encouraging that he had 66.7% snap share and had 24 more snaps than the TE2 on the Broncos. The Broncos threw a lot and Okwuegbunam had six targets. That was 4th on the team in targets, but a positive number for a tight end. If he wasn’t tackled at the goal line and scored a touchdown last week then everyone would have a different perspective and would make him a smash start. He is incredibly athletic and has a great matchup against the Houston Texans. Albert Okwuegbunam has the type of tight end profile you should chase if you do not have an elite tight end on your roster. He is athletic, doesn’t block much, and is attached to a high-volume passing office. You should not be afraid to start Albert Okwuegbunam this week.

Additional Starting Candidates: Taysom Hill versus The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, O.J. Howard versus The Denver Broncos, and Robert Tonyan versus The Chicago Bears

SIT: Mike Gesicki versus The Baltimore Ravens

If you are not in a deep league then you could drop Mike Gesicki. He is not a good fit in this new offensive scheme. He had only one target last week, but it was a tough matchup against the New England Patriots. The most concerning part was Gesicki only getting 41.7% of the snap share and 13 fewer snaps than Durham Smythe. Most tight ends are volatile so you need some volume to have the best chance at a touchdown. Gesicki does not provide volume or touchdown upside so he should stay on your bench or put him on the waiver wire.

Additional Sitting Candidates: Noah Fant versus San Francisco 49ers, David Njoku versus The New York Jets, and Irv Smith versus The Philadelphia Eagles.