Week 2 Start vs. Sit: Don’t Burry Joe

Well, that was a doozy. The Aaron Rodgers-Jets Experiment lasted about as long as my underground rapping career. Last night, the Minnesota Vikings were about as good at possessing the football as Antonio Cromartie is at possessing contraceptives. And the Cowboys looked about as dominant in Week 1 as ever while Daniel Jones played the part of Benjamin Button at his first birthday party. We unpacked all of that, turned the page, and now we stand before Week 2.

One game is in the books, leaving you to either celebrate your bold decision to roll out D’Andre Swift or scream out in agony as you watched him post 25-plus fantasy points on the bench. Although it’s too late to assist you with that decision, here’s my Week 2 insight as you go about making your start vs. sit calls. If I don’t hit on the player you’re looking for this week, hit me up in the comments section, and we can discuss it at length.

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Quarterback

START: Joe Burrow. I’m in a league where I own both Burrow and Anthony Richardson, and the decision has been keeping me up at night. In the end, if you have one of the two players, I think you’ll be just fine in Week 2. Last week was an outlier for Burrow and the Bengals, and although it might be nice to have one extra week of hedging against that calf, Burrow is going to be throwing against the equivalent of grocery store clerks and construction workers in an injury-plagued Baltimore secondary in Week 2. Lock him in as a top-eight fantasy QB this week. Should you start AR over him? That’s another story.

HAT TIP: Daniel Jones. Week 1 was rough, but it’s time for a bounce-back against the Arizona Cardinals. Jones completed just 53.6% of his passes against Dallas last week, which was his lowest in the Brian Daboll era and his worst mark since…. 2021 at Dallas in Week 5. With a matchup against the Cardinals looming, Jones should see significantly less pressure and have more time to work through his progressions. Not to mention, Daboll isn’t going to allow for another clunker. Fire Jones up as a mid-to-backend QB1 this week.

SIT: Geno Smith. This is more a process of elimination than anything else. I can see 16 or 17 quarterbacks returning decent fantasy value in Week 2, but Smith isn’t one of them. He finished as QB25 last week, completing 16 of 26 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. A lot of that stat line seemed to be the product of consistent pressure from the Rams defense, which doesn’t provide an enhanced outlook in Week 2 on the road in Detroit. I would start all of Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, and Derek Carr over Smith this week.

Running Back

START: Najee Harris. Don’t overthink it. Where did you draft him? Round 4? I’m by no means a Harris believer this year, but Harris is embarking on three straight juicy matchups against Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Houston. You don’t use a fourth-round pick to bench a fantasy RB2 after just one week. Keep Harris locked into your weekly lineup. He may even surprise with a back-end RB1 finish against a Browns defense that ranked 28th in the league in yards after contact per attempt last week.

HAT TIP: AJ Dillon. Aaron Jones was absent at practice on Thursday, leaving the door open for increased touches for Dillon in Week 2. Even with Jones a full-go in Week 1, Dillon saw 15 touches despite totaling only 36 scrimmage yards. He’s been a far more efficient back than that throughout the majority of his young career, so there’s potential for a bounceback here, even with Jones active. Value Dillon as a back-end RB2/high-end Flex in Week 3 with RB1 upside should Jones be held out.

SIT: Isiah Pacheco. Week 1 wasn’t much to write home about. Owning Pacheco in 2023 may ultimately prove to be more frustrating than rewarding. Pacheco currently has an ECR of RB18 in half-PPR, but I’m struggling to see the RB2 value. Yes, he’s the starting back on a stellar Chiefs offense, but he saw just 12 touches in Week 1. Things don’t get much better against a stout Jaguars front seven this week that held the Colts running game (albeit without Jonathan Taylor) to 65 total yards and 2.5 yards per carry last week.

Wide Receiver

START: Michael Pittman Jr. What am I missing here? Pittman sits at WR31 in half-PPR for Week 2. He’s a surefire WR2 with weekly WR1 upside, evidenced by last week’s 8-97-1 showing on a team-high 11 targets… IN ANTHONY RICHARDSON’S FIRST NFL GAME! Do we not expect this passing attack to improve throughout the season? Pittman Jr. is one of the 10 most talented receivers in football. Start him at wide receiver EVERY WEEK.

SIT: George Pickens. The second-year Steelers receiver finished with five receptions on seven targets last week en route to being dominated by the 49ers. The Pittsburgh passing attack didn’t look great, and truthfully, I don’t have much optimism in Kenny Pickett and Co. for ROS purposes. Pickens is a talented player, but he has a tough matchup against Cleveland’s Denzel Ward or Martin Emerson in Week 2. He’s going to need to find paydirt to be worth starting in this matchup.

Tight End

START: Dalton Kincaid. In his NFL debut, Kincaid caught all four of his targets for 26 yards while seeing an 80% snap share and running routes on 95% of Buffalo’s passing plays. Dawson Knox still played a higher percentage of snaps (84%) while running slightly fewer routes, so he’s still a part of the equation. However, this level of volume in game one for Kincaid speaks volumes for his ROS outlook, as I have him ranked as a top-nine ROS option ahead of Pat Freiermuth, Sam LaPorta, David Njoku and Tyler Higbee.

SIT: Pat Freiermuth. In one of my bigger leagues, I own both Freiermuth and Kincaid. I started Freirmuth last week and am rolling with Kincaid this week. Sure, Freirmuth is banged up with a chest injury from Week 1, but he did practice in a limited fashion on Thursday. Even if he suits up on Sunday without an injury designation, Kincaid is locked into my lineup this week. And it may stay that way for the rest of the year.