You have lineup questions. We have answers. At least we hope. Start 'Em & Sit 'Em has helped fantasy managers for years make those pressing lineup decisions. And you know what is a good decision? Starting Patrick Mahomes. But that's too obvious, so you won't see that here. Instead here are some of the most-pressing questions. And, if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings right here.
Start 'Em
Tannehill has been a really solid quarterback. The Titans are the best team in the NFL. Well, only if you base it on dominating the best teams in the league. He’s been averaging right around 18 fantasy points per game. He had another two-touchdown performance against the Saints and now has five rushing touchdowns on the season. I’m just waiting for that one smash game where he goes for 30-plus. This week seems like the time.
Jalen joined Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson and RGIII as the only quarterbacks with 2,000 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in a team’s first five games. He’s been great. His 54.7 rush yards per game gives him such a nice, safe floor. Like he’s a lock for 15-plus points. The Saints should be more competitive which should force him to throw more and get back to the 20-point totals we grew accustomed to earlier this season.
Burrow had a rough one just before the break when he finished with just over seven points in a home loss to the Browns. That broke a streak of six games with 17-plus fantasy points and three in a row with more than 20. I like him to get back to the strong fantasy performances this week against the Raiders, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points over the past month. The Raiders have allowed eight touchdowns over that stretch. Almost all of them were from Patrick Mahomes, but still.
Derek was on pace for a nice game against the Chiefs. But the team looked defeated after that DeSean Jackson fumble. Dude should have taken that to the house. Or at least put the Raiders in position for another score. I mean, Derek still finished with 18.24 fantasy points. So he was good. The Bengals have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks over the last month.
I don’t know why I want to do this to myself. I feel like this could be an instance where we should ignore the matchup and just look for other options. Like, I feel I’m going to regret starting him over Kirk Cousins this week. But Tua looked great when he came into the game against the Ravens. And the Jets have allowed 10 passing touchdowns in the last month. I’ve got to do this, right? Why am I asking you? I’m the one who needs to make these tough calls. I’m going with Tua. Oh boy.
Sit 'Em
I mean, starting a Giants QB against Tom Brady has worked in the past but I’m not going to do that here. It’s been very liberating not having to at least be tempted to start Jones last week while he was on a bye. And you’re not going to get me this week, even if Taylor Heinicke was pretty decent last week against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had their wake-up game. The Bucs have allowed 17 touchdown passes this year. You can throw on this secondary … but no. I’m not doing it. I have to denounce this move in public so I won’t go back on my word. I can’t do it.
I don’t want to do this to Kirk, because he’s been playing so well this season. Almost to the point of being matchup-proof. Almost. The Packers have been so strong defensively, it’s really hard to justify starting him again. I’m not saying that you panic and start Jimmy Garoppolo over him or something (no disrespect, Jimmy). You at least need to look at your options. Some of you won’t have options on the waiver wire. Some will be able to add Jalen Hurts. Just be careful and check the rankings before you do something rash.
He’s still going to need to be cleared to play this week. So we will keep an eye on that. But coming off a missing week hasn’t been easy for some players. Just look at Aaron Rodgers, who struggled at home against the Seahawks. He was playing at an MVP level before that. Roethlisberger was not.
Jimmy G was very efficient against the Rams. Which was by design. Kyle Shanahan stated that he wanted to run the ball 40 times against the Rams. Partly because the Rams defense always dares you to run, hoping you’ll get bored and throw yourself into mistakes. The 49ers love running the ball. My conjecture is the 49ers run the ball a lot against the Jaguars and will limit the opportunities for Jimmy.
I don’t want to turn this into a piece where I’m constantly bagging on Baker. I like Baker. That was a rough game. We’ve seen Bill Belichick ruin some great quarterbacks over the last two decades, so I’m not going to trip about it. But I do believe the Browns go back to the basics and run the football against the Lions, limiting Baker’s ceiling.
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