Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 2: Debating Difficult Fantasy Football Lineup Decisions

From a start 'em, sit 'em perspective, little is what it seems heading into the main portion of the Week 2 NFL slate.

Fantasy owners learned this lesson well enough Thursday to get the week started, as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton sliced through an elite-looking Baltimore Ravens defense to the tune of 26.60 fantasy points. 

The point being, one week of numbers doesn't tell owners looking to make the best possible plays the whole story. Those numbers have to be part of the conversation but far from dominate it, so let's break down the top matchup comparisons and outline some notable start-sit decisions. 

QB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Drew Brees (vs. CLE) vs. Matthew Stafford (at SF)	Drew Brees
Ben Roethlisberger (vs. KC) vs. Philip Rivers (at BUF)	Philip Rivers
Andrew Luck (at WAS) vs. Russell Wilson (at CHI)	Andrew Luck
Kirk Cousins (at GB) vs. Patrick Mahomes (at PIT)	Patrick Mahomes
Cam Newton (at ATL) vs.Aaron Rodgers (vs. MIN)	Aaron Rodgers

Start: Jared Goff, LAR (vs. ARI) 

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff is a nice streaming option this week with the upside of a must-play starter in the right situation. 

Call this the right situation. 

Goff gets a hapless Arizona Cardinals defense in Week 2, Patrick Peterson or not. Those Cardinals coughed up 19.60 points to Alex Smith a week ago, and Goff has the benefit of playing at home and leaning on a guy by the name of Todd Gurley. 

Against a familiar, clearly downtrodden opponent, Goff is a must-start option for those owners in need. These Cardinals ranked among the top-10 in points allowed to quarterbacks last year, too. 

Sit: Dak Prescott, DAL (vs. NYG) 

Big name, little production. 

Dak Prescott might morph into a quality streamer as the season progresses, but his showing featuring less than 10 points for the Dallas Cowboys to start the season is a major red flag. 

Prescott has little in the way of a supporting cast outside of Ezekiel Elliott, who doesn't do him any favors from a fantasy perspective. Hence his going for less than 200 total yards in Week 1 before heading into a game against a New York Giants defense that only allowed 14 points to start the season. 

In what should be a showdown between star running backs, Prescott is one to avoid. 

RB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Saquon Barkley (at DAL) vs. Melvin Gordon (at BUF)	Saquon Barkley
Alvin Kamara (vs. CLE) vs. Kareem Hunt (at PIT)	Alvin Kamara
Ezekiel Elliott (vs. NYG) vs. Adrian Peterson (vs. IND)	Adrian Peterson
James Conner (vs. KC) vs. David Johnson (at LAR)	James Conner
Dalvin Cook (at GB) vs. Marshawn Lynch (at DEN)	Dalvin Cook

Start: James Conner, PIT (vs. KC) 

Not to be cliche but, Le'Veon who? 

Maybe James Conner isn't the special player Le'Veon Bell is, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have a solid workhorse in Conner, who went off for 135 yards and two scores in Week 1—good for 31.70 points for those owners who took the risk. 

There isn't much risky about Conner in Week 2. He's at home against a Kansas City Chiefs team that allowed a combined 44.30 points to the combination of Melvin Gordon III and Austin Ekeler to start the season. 

Workload isn't a concern for Conner, who carried it 31 times and saw six targets during his breakout game. He isn't losing touches to anybody in Week 2, so he's a full-go for owners. 

Sit: Derrick Henry, TEN (vs. HOU) 

Stick a fork in Derrick Henry. 

The Tennessee Titans ignored the 2016 second-round pick in Week 1, giving him only 10 carries and one target in the passing game. Dion Lewis got 16 and eight, respectively. 

To make matters worse, Henry only earned 26 yards on those 10 totes on his way to 3.60 points. We'd be remiss not to mention a 62-yard score he had called back on a flag, but the work rate itself is a major problem. 

Henry's opponent, the Houston Texans, didn't give up much in the way of yardage to running backs last week on the ground, though New England Patriots backs did damage through the air—which means looks for Lewis, not Henry. 

While Henry will have good weeks, he's dead in the water to start the year.

WR

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Odell Beckham (at DAL) vs. Michael Thomas (vs. CLE)	Michael Thomas
Mike Evans (vs. PHI) vs. DeAndre Hopkins (at TEN)	Mike Evans
Jarvis Landry (at NO) vs. Julio Jones (vs. CAR)	Jarvis Landry
Keenan Allen (at BUF) vs. T.Y. Hilton (at WAS)	T.Y. Hilton
Antonio Brown (vs. KC) vs. Stefon Diggs (at GB)	Stefon Diggs

Start: Devin Funchess, CAR (at ATL) 

Devin Funchess didn't do much to start the year, catching three passes for 41 yards on five targets—good for 5.60 points. 

But step back and consider that was a 16-8 grind-it-out win for his Carolina Panthers over the Cowboys. Week 2 could not only be a shootout against the Atlanta Falcons, Funchess' offense won't have tight end Greg Olsen on the field. 

It means Olsen's targets have to go somewhere, and Funchess benefitted last year when the tight end missed some time. The 6'4" wideout is the big-bodied target Cam Newton will especially look to in critical situations like the red zone, meaning the work rate and the quality of those looks are through the roof in an ideal matchup. 

Sit: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (at LAR) 

On paper, an efficient Sam Bradford getting the ball to Larry Fitzgerald consistently makes for a quality weekly option. 

On paper. 

The problem here is just about everything, as the Arizona Cardinals got stomped in Week 1. An inability to stop the run led to limited chances for a shaky Bradford-led offense. Fitzgerald still got 10 chances and caught seven of those for 76 yards and 11.10 points, but the numbers figure to go down, not up. 

Fitzgerald now has to deal with a Rams team that coughed up 3.80 points to Jordy Nelson in Week 1 and doesn't figure to slow down, especially with Bradford figuring to be under constant pressure. 

This doesn't mean Fitzgerald is a bad option all year, but it's going to take some matchup finesse to get the most out of him. 

TE

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Rob Gronkowski (at JAX) vs. David Njoku (at NO)	Rob Gronkowski
Jordan Reed (vs. IND) vs. Austin Seferian-Jenkins (vs. NE)	Jordan Reed
Jack Doyle (at WAS) vs. Evan Engram (at DAL)	Evan Engram
Zach Ertz (at TB) vs. Eric Ebron (at WAS)	Eric Ebron
Travis Kelce (at PIT) vs. Jimmy Graham (vs. MIN)	Travis Kelce

Start: George Kittle, SF (vs. DET) 

George Kittle has arrived as a fantasy stud. 

A predictable big piece of the San Francisco 49ers attack, Kittle saw nine targets in Week 1, catching five of them for 90 yards and 11.50 points. He's doing damage from tight end and out of the slot, which will cause problems for a suspect defense such as the one belonging to the Detroit Lions. 

Those Lions didn't have problems with tight ends a week ago but did cough up 48 points outright while struggling with a rookie quarterback. 

Jimmy Garoppolo is no rookie, and Kittle is not a tight end restricted by his position, so he's in for another big day and still has touchdown upside to add. 

Sit: Charles Clay, BUF (vs. LAC)

While one of the most underrated players in the league, fantasy owners can't afford to get too cute with Charles Clay in Week 2. 

Clay hardly saw any action during his Buffalo Bills' 47-3 loss in Week 1, watching as guys like Logan Thomas and Jason Croom saw more work. 

Expect more silliness from the Buffalo offense. Making matters worse, the Los Angeles Chargers didn't allow opposing tight ends to even reach two points of production in Week 1. Clay is talented, but the Bills aren't trustworthy and might not be for a long time.