Hopefully week 2 will produce better fantasy performances for many highly drafted players than week 1 did. If you were a Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, Aaron Rodgers, or even a Jimmy Graham owner you are probably questioning yourself for all of their respective draft positions. No need to panic this early, fantasy football karma has a way of always evening itself out! The week 1 results have allowed us a clearer perspective of some players roles within their own teams, such as Shane Vereen emerging as the lead back in New England or Rashad Jennings getting pretty much all the carries over rookie Andre Williams. Other situations seem to be more muddled than ever like Zac Stacy/Benny Cunningham in St. Louis and Maurice Jones-Drew/Darren Mcfadden in Oakland. We will continue to gather more information to use as a predictive measure and hopefully that will help some people make better lineup decisions and win more fantasy games. Here are the start and sit options for week 2:
Quarterbacks to Start
Robert Griffin III, Redskins: Griffin completed an efficient 29-37 passes last week against the Houston Texans but did not find the end zone. Look for Griffin to attack a vulnerable Jaguars secondary deep with Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, and to find the end zone for the first time this year.
Tony Romo, Cowboys: Romo looked pretty rusty last week against the 49ers, throwing 3 really bad interceptions on missed reads. The optimistic outlook for Romo is that the rust might be attributed to missed preseason action due to rest after off-season back surgery. Romo’s throwing mechanics looked well and his arm appeared to be strong. The Titans defense isn’t of the same caliber of the 3-time consecutive NFC championship game appearing 49ers. Look for Romo to bounce back with a big game on the road.
Jake Locker, Titans: To stay in the same game, Locker should benefit from facing a poor Dallas Cowboys defense and be able to produce a decent fantasy outing in a shootout. The Cowboys defense is coming off of the most yards given up in NFL history in the 2013 season, and through one week of 2014, they look no better. As long as Locker stays healthy, he will be a viable deep –league and 2 quarterback league option.
Quarterbacks to Sit
Philip Rivers, Chargers: Rivers has a tough matchup against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday. The Seahawks are coming off of a dominant season opener in which they held hopeful MVP Aaron Rodgers to a mere 9 fantasy points. With Rivers’ tendency to loft passes into dangerous situations, Seattle’s Legion of Boom secondary should have plenty of opportunities to shine.
Carson Palmer, Cardinals: Palmer was a fantasy darling last week when he lead the Cardinals to a game-winning TD drive against the Chargers. Palmer had a 20 fantasy point outing on 304 passing yards and 2 TD’s. The problem is that the Cardinals played the late game on Monday night, and have to make the dreaded west to east trip for the 1:00pm (EST) kickoff against the NY Giants. While the Giants made Calvin Johnson look like the future Hall-of-Famer that he is, they were able to contain the Lions passing offense in the second half. Palmer is also a turnover prone QB and expect him to come back down to earth with a few INT’s on Sunday.
Geno Smith, Jets: Last week Smith appeared in the start portion of this column, and would have been a decent option if it weren’t for his 2 very bad turnovers. Smith faces a Green Bay team who has playoff aspirations, and probably has no intentions of starting the season 0-2.
Running Backs to Start
Shane Vereen, Patriots: Vereen has emerged as the lead back in the Patriots offense. Vereen was already established as the Patriots pass catching RB, but his value really increased when he was awarded goal line carries against the Dolphins and was able to convert one into a TD. The Patriots should be in for a bounce back game against the Minnesota Vikings and Vereen could be a big reason why.
Arian Foster, Texans: Foster might not be the explosive runner that he was when he first developed into a fantasy superstar back in 2010, but his sheer volume of workload will allow him to be relevant in 2014. Last week against the Redskins, Foster rushed for over 100 yards on 23 carries. This week he faces the Oakland Raiders defense that was shredded on the ground by Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory last Sunday.
Le’Veon Bell, Steelers: Bell lost over 20 pounds this off-season and it looks as if that has given him an added element of explosiveness that he did not have last season. That combined with the workload of 21 carries and 6 catches, Bell may be on his way to becoming one of the elite fantasy RB options. He should be in your lineup every week going forward.
Running Backs to Sit
Stevan Ridley, Patriots: To all of the people who still are expecting 2013 Stevan Ridley to show up, please get him out of your lineup and on to your bench ASAP. Shane Vereen has materialized into the starting RB in NE, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go drop Ridley just yet, Vereen is injury prone and Ridley could re-emerge at some point this season.
Zac Stacy, Rams: Stacy was drafted in the second round in most fantasy drafts and as of right now that was a reach. Stacy has found himself in a full blown running back by committee situation on an offense that appears to be going nowhere fast. Unless something drastic changes in the future, Stacy should not be anywhere near your starting fantasy lineup.
Joique Bell, Lions: Bell is the thunder (rushing) back to the lightning of Reggie Bush in Detroit. I like his overall prospectus for the season, but this is a very tough matchup against the Panthers. The Panthers haven’t allowed a rushing TD in 7 games, and only 3 in the last 18. Look for the Lions to attack the Panthers elsewhere.
Wide Receivers to start
Reggie Wayne, Colts: Last week I made an incorrect assessment by thinking TY Hilton had emerged as the #1 pass catching option to Andrew Luck, but after watching the Colts play Sunday night, it is very clear that the savvy veteran Wayne is still Luck’s favorite target. Wayne looked well recovered from rehabbing his torn ACL, and I expect him to have a big week against the Eagle on Monday NIGHT. Hell, if Allen Hurns can do it, why not Wayne?
Dez Bryant, Cowboys: Add Bryant to the list of fantasy studs who disappointed in week 1. Bryant had 4 catches for 55 yards but was on the receiving end of 2 of those poorly thrown Romo interceptions. Bryant should be in line for a big week facing the Titans as long as Romo allows the offense to flow naturally and not force in any throws.
Jeremy Maclin, Eagles: Maclin was the recipient of 10 targets last week against the Jaguars and converted 4 of those into catches for 97 yards and a TD. The Eagles are going to be a pass- heavy team, and it would behoove you to play him in your lineup strictly based on the volume of targets that he will receive.
Wide Receivers to Sit
Keenan Allen, Chargers: Way to open up the season for Keenan Allen with matchups against Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman, arguably the two best cornerbacks in the NFL. The Seattle secondary is very physical and will look to keep Allen in check. The way that Malcolm Floyd has taken away from Allen’s targets also hurts. Remember that the reason why Keenan Allen was able to emerge last season as the #1 option was because Floyd was out with a neck injury, but with Floyd now being back and the chemistry that he has with Phillip Rivers, I’m not so sure that Allen is even still the #1 option in San Diego.
Cordarelle Patterson, Vikings: Patterson finished as one of the top options at WR last week, but a lot of it wasn’t because of what he did as a pass catcher. Don’t expect Patterson to rush for 100 yards and a TD every week. Darrelle Revis should be able to keep Patterson in check somewhat on Sunday.
Steve Smith Sr, Ravens: Steve Smith had a good outing last week of 7 catches, 118 yards, and a TD on 15 target, while his counterpart Torrey Smith only had 7 targets for the game. I would expect for these numbers to be reversed for this week against the Steelers.
Tight Ends to Start
Greg Olsen, Panthers: Olsen has taken on a much larger role in the Panthers offense with the departure of Steve Smith. He and Kelvin Benjamin are basically the only viable pass catchers in Carolina. While I would not expect a big day from Cam Newton at QB against the Lions, I do expect Olsen to continue to be targeted in the red zone.
Dwayne Allen, Colts: Allen could be primed for a big year after missing all of last season. The TE role is featured in Pep Hamilton’s offense and look for Andrew Luck to continue to spread the ball around.
Larry Donnell, Giants: Donnell was one of the few bright spots in the NYG’s offense Monday Night against the Lions. He’s a big target with sure hands. Eli Manning will continue to target Donnell, especially against the Arizona Cardinals who gave set the record for most TD’s given up to opposing TE’s in 2013.
Tight Ends to Sit
Tim Wright, Patriots: Wright was thought to fill the ”Aaron Hernandez” role in the Patriots offense as the second TE option to Rob Grownkoski, but that may have been a bit premature. Wright should be on your bench until further notice. In fact, if you need the roster space, Wright is a prime cut candidate.
Eric Ebron, Lions: First round draft pick Ebron is not ready to contribute to the Lions offense yet, and he’s still behind Joseph Fauria on the depth chart.
Defense and Special Teams to Start
Packers: Expect the Pack to force a few turnovers from Geno Smith
Texans: Insert JJ Watt led defense facing a rookie QB, Derek Carr
Buccaneers: Insert defense potentially facing Austin Davies at QB