Consistency always key for your teams
With one week in the books, fantasy football players are in the “was it real or was it an illusion?” mode.
Lamar Jackson probably isn’t that good (but the Dolphins may be that bad), Dak Prescott isn’t likely going to flirt with 5,000 passing yards, Sammy Watkins can’t get every target and the Steelers offense won’t endure a season settling for field goals.
Week 2 will offer clarity to the above. At the same time, consistency is a beautiful thing to have, especially if you have fantasy players mentioned here.
START
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots: He’s a must-start even if Antonio Brown doesn’t play. Brady has done some of his best work for fantasy players against the Dolphins, having thrown at least five touchdown passes in five of his past six games versus Miami. He’s also thrown for at least 274 yards in six of his past 10 outings against Miami, making him a solid bet to pick up where he left off against the Steelers on Sunday night.
SIT
Jared Goff, QB, Rams: The lingering effects of his Super Bowl struggles appeared to have carried over. Goff was 23 for 39 for 186 yards in Week 1. The Saints had the third-worst fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks in Week 1 and while the matchup is tempting, the risk of starting Goff looks higher than the reward.
START
Leonard Fournette, RB, Jaguars: Yes, Fournette will get the bulk of the carries against a Texans defense that was 28th in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs in Week 1. What places him here is that he was targeted six times.
SIT
Phillip Lindsay, RB, Broncos: Lindsay will get a high volume of touches, but those touches won’t garner much fantasy impact going against the Bears defense. Chicago allowed just 2.16 yards per carry to Green Bay running backs in Week 1 and limited them to just 15 receiving yards.
START
Sammy Watkins, WR, Chiefs: No Kansas City wide receiver other than Watkins was targeted after Tyreek Hill went down with a shoulder injury. Watkins, who was targeted 11 times on Sunday, shapes up to be the biggest beneficiary of Hill’s absence.
SIT
Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals: He’ll likely draw Richard Sherman as his shadow for much of the game. Even at times when Boyd won’t see Sherman, he will face a 49ers secondary that allowed a 43.7% completion rate to Buccaneers wide receivers in Week 1.
START
Jimmy Graham, TE, Packers: Graham looked like his old self at times in Week 1 and should continue to do so against the Vikings. Falcons tight ends had a 90% catch rate against Minnesota in Week 1 and with the Packers looking to be more aggressive than against the Bears, Graham should benefit, especially in the red zone.
SIT
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Lions: Don’t count on the rookie to repeat his 131-yard outing against the Cardinals.