NFL Week 2 – Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em

Photo Credit: Daniel Mears (Detroit News)

Week 2 is upon us. Here are your Go For Two starts and sits.

Start ‘Em

Jonathan’s Pick

Nico Collins

Nico Collins led all Houston Texans pass catchers in yards, receptions, and targets week one with a modest 6/80 receiving line on 11 targets.  The Texans are at home against the Indianapolis Colts this week where rookie quarterbacks CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson will face off for the first time.  The Texans are actually favorites in this contest, the first time they are the odds-on favourites to win a football game since Week 12 of the 2021 season.  The Texans should be much more competitive in this game where I expect the offense to step up in a big way and rack up points/touchdowns against the Colts defense who just let up 31 points against the Jaguars week 1. John Metchie III is making his NFL debut after missing the entire 2022 season with Leukemia, but I expect a bit of a slow start for him which shouldn’t affect Collins production this week.  Fire him up as a mid-range WR 2 with confidence.

Ryan’s Pick

Elijah Moore

It didn’t necessarily pay off in the box score last week, but the Browns clearly demonstrated that they intend on featuring Elijah Moore in the passing attack this year. His 7 targets were tied for the team lead, and his 2 carries add another wrinkle to his already intriguing upside. This week, he faces a beatable Steelers secondary that just got torched by Brandon Aiyuk, not to mention Deshaun Watson and the offensive line should benefit from the absence of disruptor Cam Heyward. Factor in that Amari Cooper is suddenly in doubt after aggravating his groin in practice, and Moore should become an even more prominent part of the gameplan should Cooper be inactive or limited. Fire up Moore as an upside WR3 this week.

Ermando’s Pick

Hayden Hurst

Carolina’s offence is mostly lacking guaranteed fantasy starters. There’s not a lot of talent throughout the skill positions, although I have some hope for Jonathan Mingo. That being said, Young has to throw somewhere and Hurst was a preferred target Week 1. It will be important to monitor the health of Chark going into Monday but, if you’re the type of manager that has opted to stream TE, Hurst is one of the safest options available (owned in 35% of Yahoo leagues).

Sit ‘Em

Jonathan’s Pick

Atlanta Falcons Pass Catchers

Head Coach Arthur Smith and the Atlanta Falcons are going to run the ball as much as possible while starting quarterback Desmond Ridder is under center.  This was evident Week 1 when Desmond Ridder only threw the ball 18 times for 115 yards.  Kyle Pitts finished the game with only 2 catches for 44 yards second year stud wide receiver Drake London finished with a whomping 0 catches on 1 target.  Truly egregious for such a talented young player to get involved that little.  It will be interesting to see how the Falcons handle the situation should they fall behind late in the game this week to the Green Bay Packers.  But for now, you simply cannot put either of these players who you likely invested significant draft capital in this week until the Falcons try to stretch the field and throw the ball more over relying on handing the ball off to Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson.

Ryan’s Pick

Antonio Gibson

Gibson was in the doghouse last week after losing a fumble, and while I don’t expect that treatment to be permanent, it is very hard to trust him in lineups this week, especially in what could easily be a slow-paced, low-scoring affair against the Broncos. No matter how thin you may be at RB, chances are you have better options this week. Definitely do not drop him yet, but much like the Falcons pass-catchers, I would like to see Gibson go off on my bench at least once before comfortably re-inserting him into my lineups.

Go For Two

Josh Reynolds

In what figures to be a high-scoring affair in Motown, it would be nice to have some type of exposure to this game. Reynolds is widely available across the board, and he is certainly a worthwhile option if you are in the business of looking for plug-and-play options. With Marvin Jones looking like a shell of his former self, and with Jameson Williams still on the shelf, Reynolds most certainly has a role in this Lions offense behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions have demonstrated that he is more than just a Cardio MVP whenever he has seen an uptick in opportunity, as he is simply someone Jared Goff trusts dating back to their time together on the Rams. Reynolds can be treated as an upside WR4/flex.