Who's ready for some more 2022 Fantasy Football Action! I know I am, and in this article I'm going to be breaking down each of my starts and avoids for Week 2 of the NFL Season.
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Rather than going with the easy picks for starts and avoids, I try and focus on important decisions that fantasy managers actually need to make. Must starts and obvious sits within reason will not be on my lists.
A START is a suggested lineup move based on matchup, and an AVOID is quite the opposite. It is NOT a must enforce. So if I recommend avoiding Josh Jacobs, and the only player you have to replace him is someone like Devontae Booker, use your judgement and realize that a backup who won't see touches is not a better option than a starting QB.
That being said, lets win some leagues! 🏆
STARTS
🔥🔥🔥 MICHAEL THOMAS vs TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - Last week, Michael Thomas only played 61% of the offensive snaps and caught 2 TDs in his first game back since 2019. That topped with a 23.5% target share (basically just the second half), with some ramped up snaps, a healthy MT can return to WR1 form, and he starts that this week against the Bucs!
🔥 JEFF WILSON JR. vs SEATTLE SEAHAWKS - For the time being, Wilson is the RB1 in San Fransisco with Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price competing for snaps behind him. His reign as a starter may not last too long, so take advantage while you can in a matchup that will favor the run (49ers are 9 Point Favorites).
🔥 TRAVIS ETIENNE vs INDIANNAPOLIS COLTS - According to a post from Fantasy Guides, Etienne could've had 24.3 Fantasy Points (Would've made him the RB4), but Lawrence missed him on a wide open pass and he dropped a 4-Yard TD. Also, 81% of his offensive snaps were pass plays, and he out snapped James Robinson in his NFL Debut. We saw Burkhead rack up targets against the Colts last week and Etienne could do the same.
🔥🔥 CEEDEE LAMB vs CINCINNATI BENGALS - It's easy to count out Lamb early, especially with Dak missing time and a poor Week 1 performance. But Lamb was targeted 11 Times in the opener and played 97% of snaps (he's only played that many snaps one other time in his previous seasons). He can take advantage of a matchup against Eli Apple on Sunday, and he had 6/8 for over 100 Yards with Cooper Rush last season in Week 8.
🔥 GREG DORTCH @ LAS VEGAS RAIDERS - After playing an astounding 91% of snaps, and leading the team with 9 Targets (23.7%), Dortch finds himself in another prime position to hog some short passes. Rondale Moore has yet again been ruled out and the Raiders are early 5.5 Point Favorites, so more passing will be in the cards... for the Cards...
DESPERATE STARTS
- REX BURKHEAD @ DENVER BRONCOS ; Burkhead saw 22 Opportunities (Including 8 Targets) last week in a balanced game against the Colts. So in a game where the Texans enter as 10 Point Underdogs, we will likely see a lot of dump offs to Burkhead early on. Plus, playing 71% of snaps helped too.
- MELVIN GORDON vs HOUSTON TEXANS ; Just the opposite here, Gordon saw 14 Opportunities last week and looked great out there. In a game where they are expected to lead, running out the clock with the tandem of Williams and Gordon will a part of the gameplan.
- CURTIS SAMUEL @ DETROIT LIONS ; Last week, lead the team with 11 Targets out of the slot, and that's with running less routes and played less snaps than both Dotson and Terry. We know of Wentz' affinity of passing to the slot, and I'm expecting Samuel to be a weekly flex play in an offense that will likely be playing from behind and has based it offensive scheme around passing.
AVOIDS
🛑 DAMIEN HARRIS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS - As much as I want the Patriots to establish the run early with Harris, I just don't trust the new play-calling to make that happen. Watt or not this defense is legit and I have a feeling the Patriots are going to be down early and forced to throw.
🛑 CAM AKERS vs ATLANTA FALCONS - It's great that McVay is excited to see Akers respond to his unofficial "benching" last week. But I'd like to respond by benching his ass until he proves to be a starter again. No matter what, Henderson looked good and will continue to operate at least as the 1a.
🛑🛑 DAMEON PIERCE @ DENVER BRONCOS - It pains me to say it, but Pierce is just not startable yet. When he was being drafted in the 9th/10th round, he was a stash. But then he got pushed up to the 5th/6th round and is operating as a lot of people's RB3. Let him ride the bench, but don't drop/sell, his time will come!
🛑🛑🛑 AMARI COOPER vs NEW YORK JETS - One of my biggest avoids this offseason, Cooper is just not that guy in Cleveland. He played 83% of snaps as the starter, but it was Donovan Peoples-Jones who lead the team with a 32.4% Target Share and acted as the team's WR1. Sauce Gardner was also PFF's #1 graded rookie DB and D.J. Reed was great in coverage too. Not ideal for many reasons to put him in your lineups.
🛑🛑 DEVIN DUVERNAY vs MIAMI DOLPHINS - A couple of flukey TDs later than my DMs are covered in questions about starting Duvernay this week. Will he ever have a good game again? Probably. Am I going to bet every week that he turns 4 Targets into 2 TDs while Mark Andrews sits in the corner acting like he's allergic to the end zone? No.
LOWER EXPECTATIONS
- TOM BRADY @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ; Man, Brady's record against the New Orlean Saints (as the Bucs QB) is not pretty. He's 0-4 in the regular season, and including the playoff game he's thrown a total of 8 TDs and 8 INTs in 5 Games. He's also averaged 13 Points per game as well. Did I mention his entire WR Core caught a case of the T.Y. Hilton sprains and strains? Godwin is already out, while Evans, Julio, Gage, Perriman, and Fournette are all questionable.
- DERRICK HENRY @ BUFFALO BILLS ; This one hurts, but I'm not expecting Henry to recreate his famous Josh Norman stiff arm against the Bills this time. The Super Bowl favorites just made last year's super bowl champs look like Rutgers and Henry is not involved as a pass catcher like he was last week. Are you sitting him? Almost definitely not, unless you are in an 8 Team League and your other option is a Top 5-6 RB.
- J.K. DOBBINS vs MIAMI DOLPHINS ; Well, we recently discover that Dobbins just about tore every muscle in his knee last year, so not quite the simple ACL tear and recovery that we were expecting. He practiced in full and will more than likely make his debut against the Dolphins. Expect a rotation of RBs while they ease Dobbins into his role.
If a player you are curious about was NOT mentioned in this article, I review every fantasy relevant player in EVERY matchup in the video below! I also answer ALL comments exclusively on YouTube as long as you subscribe! :)
Good Luck as always, and I'll see you back here for Week 3! 😉