As always, Start 'Em, Sit 'Em is geared toward helping fantasy managers make difficult roster decisions. You won't see "start Jahmyr Gibbs" here. Instead, I'm exploring the players closer to the perceived fringe and aiming to optimize your lineup for a win each week. Importantly, the new "Start of the Week" and "Sit of the Week" are the calls I have deemed the most notable in each category, not necessarily the most essential players to start or sit.
Also, you'll see quite a few references in this year's column to NFL Pro, spotlighting insights provided through Next Gen Stats data dashboards, matchup evaluations, All-22 film and the uniquely trained Fantasy AI Assistant. You can get access to all of those tools yourself with an NFL+ Premium subscription!
P.S. Feel free to follow me on X (@MattOkada) or Instagram (@mattokadaNFL) and hit me with your questions, congratulations or complaints throughout the year.
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
Stroud's master class against the Chargers last Sunday sealed the deal: He's back! With a healthier receiving corps at his disposal, Stroud hit 35.36 fantasy points in Week 9 and is now averaging 23.78 PPG over his last five outings. Since Week 4, among qualified quarterbacks, he ranks top three in passer rating (117.2), completion percentage over expected (+8.1%), success rate (50.9%) and EPA per dropback (0.29), right alongside Joe Burrow in most of those metrics. The Browns might look tough in your fantasy app, but they've played a very weak schedule -- and Stroud is nearly matchup-proof at this point.
Notable starts
Young handled the Broncos' defense quite deftly last week (20.34 fantasy points) and the Saints simultaneously surrendered 22.68 fantasy points to Shedeur Sanders. It seems Dave Canales and Co. found a game plan to mitigate the pressure that had been causing Young problems, so he's back on the starting radar.
Prescott has been reasonably consistent, finishing as a QB1 in three straight games, with 19-plus fantasy points in each. He's been particularly excellent from a clean pocket -- with a 72.5% completion rate, 15 TDs and just four INTs -- and the 49ers have not pressured QBs at all this season.
In the ultimate battle of red-hot and unstoppable force versus entirely immovable object, I'm choosing Love. He's still the only man to finish as a QB1 against Minnesota, with his 19.48 fantasy points back in Week 1. This defense is undeniably tough, but the way Love's playing, we simply cannot sit him.
Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week
I liked Stafford in a great matchup with the Commanders last Sunday ... and he scored just 11.22 fantasy points. The Rams QB still has not finished higher than QB12 in a week without Davante Adams this season, and now Puka Nacua is sidelined for the foreseeable future, as well. Almost exactly half of Stafford's yards and touchdowns this season have gone to Nacua and Adams, but he'll be down to Tutu Atwell, Konata Mumpfield and his bevy of tight ends in Week 10. While Arizona has been a great matchup for quarterbacks, Stafford simply cannot be trusted with his weaponry this depleted.
Notable sits
The No. 1 overall pick is set to make his debut start after Vegas traded away Kirk Cousins ... but no matter how long you've been waiting, the rookie should not be started against this Seattle defense. The Seahawks have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (10.44); only Caleb Williams has tagged them for 200 passing yards so far this season.
Assuming that Cousins slides right back into the driver's seat in Minnesota -- which seems quite likely, given the urgency of the trade acquisition -- I'd be very hesitant about starting him with less than a week of practice and with the Vikings going against a Packers defense allowing the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.
