We have sort of an exciting week for start and sit. There are some smaller names with great match ups and that makes this more fun to write than usual. It might give me a chance to differentiate from other sites’ start/sits. Because every fantasy site and blog has a start/sit column, right? At least I hope so. These match ups are juicy and not terribly hard to find. By now, we have a pretty good idea which defenses to stack against and which matchups to try and avoid. Let’s start with a TNF play at the quarterback position.
Start
Teddy Bridgewater
Teddy Bridgewater has been a 2 QB league godsend in some weeks. He’s actually had 3 pretty solid weeks, all of those games with multiple touchdowns. One of these games, in fact, was against the Atlanta Falcons who Carolina happens to face tonight! The Falcons are fantastic, at finding new and creative ways to let offenses throw all over them and lose those games late. Nick Foles, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Teddy Bridgewater have had great moments against them this year. In their first matchup, Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Falcons are coming off of a big heartbreaker against the Lions on Sunday and could yet again be in disarray on a short turnaround. The Panthers are coming off of an almost comeback against the Saints and are trying to get back in the division race.
La’Mical Perine
I gloated about Perine in Tuesday’s buy/sell column. If you don’t feel like clicking out, I’ll rehash my point. Perine is starting to get more and more opportunities in the Jet’s backfield and it led to his first touchdown last Sunday. Frank Gore is pretty cooked as far as I’m concerned so there is no reason that Perine can’t take this backfield by storm. Or however much the offensive line allows him to at least. We can certainly find out this week against Kansas City who has given up a rushing touchdown per game and 4.9 yards per carry.
Damien Harris
I think that this is the week that Harris gets his first career touchdown. In two of his first three games of 2020 (basically his first season), Harris has double digit touches. In his 2 games with double digit carries, he has averaged almost 6 yards per carry. If Harris can get the hot hand early against Buffalo this week, there is no reason he can’t get a lot of touches and have a some success. Buffalo has given up 9 touchdowns on the ground and 4.7 YPC in 2020 so far. The Patriots seem to be in big trouble at the QB position and I expect them to keep the ball on the ground a lot in this one.
Travis Fulgham
Travis Fulgham came out of nowhere and has been a poster boy for consistency. Fulgham has a touchdown in three out of his first four games and at least 50 yards in each contest. The Cowboys have given up 17 touchdowns through the air so far. The Cowboys are a disaster in 2020 and so are the Eagles, but the Eagles are in prime position to keep pace in the worst division in football after a last minute come back against the Giants.
Brandon Aiyuk
I also wrote about Aiyuk in the buy/sell. The 49ers have Seattle on deck who struggles against the pass. That is certainly not a secret. Aiyuk is coming off of a 115 yard performance and Deebo Samuel won’t be available this week. Kyle Shanahan is going to know how to attack this defense and will have to have success through the air to keep up with Russell Wilson.
Richard Rodgers
I already highlighted Fulgham and I think stacking Fulgham with Rodgers will be ideal if you are streaming TEs. Ten days should be plenty of time for the Eagles to figure out how to attack the Cowboys. After a solid introduction the previous week, Rodgers found himself on the fantasy map following Sunday’s 6 catch for 85 yard performance. With both Ertz and Goedert on IR, Rodgers is a nice fit to continue to have success in this offense as long as this opportunity presents itself.
Sit
Cam Newton
Cam started the season off with a bang, but ever since he came back from the Covid list he has seemed to have lost the momentum. Buffalo would usually be a smash matchup for a QB but this is a division game that I feel like will be ugly and low scoring. Cam doesn’t have a touchdown pass in the past two games to go along with his 5 INTs and the ground game hasn’t been as effective so I would look elsewhere.
Carlos Hyde
It’s sounding more and more like Seattle will be without Chris Carson but that doesn’t mean that I would be in a rush to throw Carlos Hyde into your lineup. The 49ers defense is starting to become daunting again and I really don’t think Hyde is all that impressive as a feature back. Before Sunday against Arizona, Hyde’s longest run of the season was for 9 yards. Seattle’s best game plan would be attacking the 49ers through the air.
CeeDee Lamb
Two words, Ben DiNucci. I had to google who the 3rd string QB for the Cowboys was, not going to lie. Lamb is completely unplayable. Zeke is playable because of volume and Cooper because of skillset and experience, but I am completely avoiding everyone else if Dalton can’t play.
Jonnu Smith
I know that the Titans are playing the Bengals but Smith is still a hard pass for me if you can find a better option. The Titans are starting to use their other receiving options, especially with A.J. Brown back. Jonnu has 2 catches over the past two weeks, any back up tight end can do the same thing.
