Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em — Week 2 (2023)

Welcome back to another edition of Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em. In this series, we’re here to help you set your lineups and put yourself in a position to win your fantasy football matchups each week. After an extremely unpredictable Week 1, we move on to Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season.

Ben Ditlevson and Brendan O’Bryan return to help guide you through your toughest start or sit decisions for the whole 2023 fantasy football season. Continue reading for our best players to start and sit for Week 2 of the upcoming fantasy football season.

These players will be those “less-obvious” players that you’re on the fence about starting as your WR3 or Flex type of options. Nobody needs to tell you to start Justin Jefferson or Christian McCaffrey.

Start ‘Em

Daniel Jones (QB) New York Giants

It looked really ugly for Daniel Jones and the Giants Sunday night, as they couldn’t get anything going. Should be a little easier against the Arizona Cardinals this week who just let Sam Howell throw for over 200 yards. This should be a bounce-back game for the Giants and Jones. I expect there to be a lot more room to run for Saquon Barkley, opening up space for Jones to run and pass. I’m not expecting a monster game, but he should be a serviceable mid-level quarterback start this week on your fantasy football teams.

Jared Goff (QB) Detroit Lions

This is a very simple decision. Jared Goff is awesome in home games. In 2022, 23 of his 29 touchdown passes came from home games with multiple touchdowns in his final four at home. His Week 2 matchup with Seattle is another bonus as he threw for 378 yards and four scores against them last season. Goff has also surpassed 290 passing yards in six of his last seven meetings with Seattle.

If you’re in one of those nearly 30% of leagues where he’s sitting on the waiver wire, you NEED to scoop him up before someone else does. He is primed for a top-five performance among quarterbacks in Week 2.

James Cook (RB) Buffalo Bills

James Cook was the clear-cut number-one back in Buffalo last week against the Jets. He was in on 59% of the snaps and translated that into 12 rushes for 46 yards and targetted six times in the passing game against arguably the best Defensive line in the NFL with the New York Jets. He looked dynamic and speedy in every one of his touches and he is being deployed as a multiple weapon. My only concern still remains, Damien Harris or Latavius Murray, could vulture some of his goal-line carries. Against the Raiders, this week in the Bills home opener should be a good showing for Cook.

Jamaal Williams (RB) New Orleans Saints

Without Kendre Miller or Alvin Kamara available, Jamaal Williams was the man to toat the rock for New Orleans. He took all but one of the team’s running back carries and added another two receptions. The yardage wasn’t great, but that’ll be solved with the juiciest of matchups in Week 2: the Panthers. Allowing 5.24 YPC and nine receptions for 46 yards would make any fantasy football manager salivate in an early-season contest. Get your Williams share into your starting lineup!

Brandon Aiyuk (WR) San Francisco 49ers

My guy Brandon Aiyuk WENT OFF in Week 1, hauling in all eight of his targets for 129 yards and two touchdowns. With Deebo Samuel in this offense, it won’t be every week that Aiyuk leads the team in targets, but this might be a sign that Brock Purdy trusts Aiyuk a little more than Samuel. Now, Aiyuk has another juicy matchup this week against the Rams, and I expect another big game.

George Pickens (WR) Pittsburgh Steelers

George Pickens has the opportunity to take the reins of the Steelers’ wide receiving corps with the unfortunate injury to Diontae Johnson. With sources reporting that Johnson will “miss a few weeks,” there will be an increased number of targets coming to both Pickens and Allen Robinson, who did receive one more target than the sophomore receiver in Week 1.

Now, Pickens looks to improve on five catches and 36 yards from this past contest against the divisional rival Browns. Of course, if we see another day of rainy, windy weather, I might take an audible on this choice.

Zach Ertz (TE) Arizona Cardinals

Last week, Zach Ertz was by far the highest-targeted pass catcher for the Arizona Cardinals. He didn’t turn it into a ton of production, but he saw 10 targets for six receptions and 21 yards. He also had the most targets for any tight end in the league last week. Without a ton of other options in the Arizona offense, I fully expect Ertz to see a ton of focus this season. The only other playmaker in Arizona who might steal some away from Ertz might be James Conner, but no one else comes to the top. With targets comes the potential for production, so in a pinch, I’m starting Ertz.

Cole Kmet (TE) Chicago Bears

Cole Kmet caught five of seven targets for 44 yards in Week 1, tied for the team lead in targets. This is especially important because the Bears’ offense doesn’t seem to take a lot of deep shots downfield. The icing on the cake for Kmet is the upcoming matchup with Tampa Bay.

Last week, the Vikings completed 11 of 12 passes for 67 yards to their tight ends this past week, representing 27% of the target share to the position. There’s a very good chance that you will get another solid day of production from this 4th-year tight end.

Sit ‘Em

Matthew Stafford (QB) Los Angeles Rams

Even with the lack of weapons, Matthew Stafford looked good last week against a strong Seahawk defense, putting up over 300 yards in the air. The only negative is he didn’t get it in the end zone. This week he faces another division rival with an even better defense in the 49ers. Kenny Pickett last week was battered and bruised by this 49er defense to the tune of 5 sacks and was only able to muster 232 yards and 2 interceptions. In the end, I expect a very similar stat line for Stafford this week.

Dak Prescott (QB) Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott’s Week 1 performance wasn’t anything special, completing only 13 passes for 143 yards and no scores. Perhaps that 40-0 score was a part of it, but not the entire reason. The Cowboys defense had their way all night with the Giants and if they continue to dominate in that fashion, there won’t be a lot of opportunities for Prescott to throw the ball. Add to that a Jets defense that just made Josh Allen look silly with three interceptions, two sacks, a fumble, and just 36 rushing yards. All things considered, this feels like a week where I wouldn’t want to trust Prescott for my fantasy football squads.

Joe Mixon (RB) Cincinnati Bengals

During the end of last season, and last week, Joe Mixon just looked slow and like he has lost a step or two. Last week, Mixon accounted for more than 50% of the Bengals offense last week with 56 rushing yards and 17 through the air. However, that is not saying much as the Bengals only put up 142 total yards of offense. He has another tough divisional opponent this week with the Baltimore Ravens, who will make his day very tough. I expect another weak performance this week as well for Mixon.

Rachaad White (RB) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This second-year runner looked sluggish in his season debut. Rachaad White only managed 49 total yards on 19 touches with his longest carry only producing 6 yards. The Vikings put up a heavy-duty defense against the run, which should continue all season long. Furthermore, this coming week he gets the Bears coming in with a defense that held Green Bay’s offense to just 2.88 YPC. On top of that, the undrafted rookie Sean Tucker looked a little more spry and could take away more touches from White in Week 2.

Gabe Davis (WR) Buffalo Bills

I could be completely wrong with this, as Gabe Davis has this tendency to suddenly pop off for 200+ yards and three touchdowns. However, I’m fading Davis for the time being. Against the Jets he was only targetted four times, amounting to two receptions for 32 yards. Additionally, I do not trust anyone not named Stefon Diggs as a pass catcher in this offense right now. Josh Allen looked erratic Monday night and Davis doesn’t look heavily involved right now. Personally, I need a week or two with higher targets before I have him in my fantasy football lineups.

Marquise Brown (WR) Arizona Cardinals

Earlier in the preseason, many of us were “in” on Marquise Brown. Personally, I had him pegged for 140 targets and 90 catches. Now, that seems like a pipe dream with Joshua Dobbs under center. There was no spark in his throws. Only five targets went to Brown which was half as many that went to Ertz. Dobbs averaged a meek 4.4 yards per attempt while committing three fumbles. If the quarterback can’t hang onto the ball or throw it downfield, there’s little hope for Brown in regard to your fantasy team in 2023.

Noah Gray (TE) Kansas City Chiefs

As it is right now, Travis Kelce’s status for Sunday at Jacksonville is still up in the air. There are chances he might play, and chances he might not play. That is reason number one to find another option other than Noah Gray to start this week. More importantly, Gray is certainly not Kelce. Not even close. He made a few nice plays Thursday night, but the Chiefs offense is much different with Kelce off the field. Obviously, they don’t target the tight end position as much with him out. Gray was only targeted twice Thursday night and any targets that would have gone to Kelce went to other wide receivers or running backs. I wouldn’t even have Gray on my bench at this point and would be looking for any other waiver replacements.

Pat Freiermuth (TE) Pittsburgh Steelers

After such an underwhelming performance from Pittsburgh, there may be reason to take a step back from a lot of their players for fantasy. Pat Freiermuth only caught one of four targets in Week 1. It was for a touchdown, but one pass isn’t enough for fantasy football purposes.

With the Browns coming to town, it feels like an even more counteractive decision to go with Freiermuth. Irv Smith Jr. only mustered 17 yards on his three catches against Cleveland in Week 1. The fact that he even had three catches on five targets was partially due to the inclement weather the teams dealt with. Additionally, the likely lack of Johnson doesn’t move the needle much for me as Robinson seemed to fill that role efficiently enough. Hopefully, the Week 1 performance was a fluke against a good defense, but I’m not taking the chance.

Don’t forget to hit us up on Twitter with any of your lineup questions. You can find Benjamin @FFRabbitDad and Brendan @OBryanBren. If you have a question, we will give you some guidance. After all, we want you to win!

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