Week 10 Start ‘Em/Sit ‘Em
9 November 2020 Fantasy Football Opinion
After an absolute monster Week 9 (24/33 overall), I’m going to kick off this week with my start/sit column again. Week 9 saw all of the running back fantasy football points get sucked up by Dalvin Cooks’ monster 40 point performance on Sunday. On top of that the return of CMC may be short lived as well. Although scoring a hefty 32 points, CMC seems to have aggravated his shoulder and will be undergoing an MRI to determine the extent. The issue here? CMC and Dalvin Cook combined for 72 points on the day, the RB3 (James Robinson) scored 15.9 points. That’s not even half of McCaffrey’s Week 9 total. You can combine the RB3 and RB4, Kalen Ballage’s fantasy days and it STILL wouldn’t be enough to beat CMC’s day. What am I saying then? Pay attention to the projections, pay attention to practice trends and pay attention to my start/sit column.
Quarterback:
START – Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Season long, DFS, whatever format you may be playing, please start Aaron Rodgers. This game is set up to be the perfect storm of fantasy points for all things Packer. Currently sitting as the fantasy QB4, Aaron Rodgers gets to face a Jaguars defense that is ranked 28th in the league in pass defense and has given up an average of 280 yards per game. Coming off an absolute massacre of San Francisco, in which he put up 28.3 points, Rodgers is definitely welcoming the return of his favorite teammate, Davante Adams. Since his return in Week 6, Adams has saw a staggering 49 targets (lowest being week 6 with 10 targets) and has averaged 121 yards, 1.75 touchdowns and 25.58 fantasy points per game. Look for Rodgers and Adams to connect early and often against an atrocious Jaguars secondary.
SIT – Ryan Tannehill – Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis Colts
Division games are always tough to call, and Ryan Tannehill is even more difficult to project. There are weeks that Tannehill looks like a locked and loaded QB1 and is leading the Titans’ offense with efficiency and throwing darts in the passing game. Then there are games over the last 3 weeks that have left fantasy owners frustrated. Since week 7 Tannehill is averaging just 15.3 completions per game and is coming off his lowest season total for completions (10) in week 9 against a pretty good passing defense in Chicago. Unfortunately for Tannehill, the road doesn’t get any easier when he faces Indianapolis this week. Allowing the third least passing yards per game, the Colts defense has been the main reason that the team has been able to stay in so many games. Coming off a game where they allowed just 156 yards through the air, the one saving grace for Tannehill may be that the Colts are allowing more passing yards on the road than at home (237.2/175.5). Look for Tannehill to struggle again this week against a tough defense in Indy though.
Others to START: Carson Wentz @ NYG, Deshaun Watson @ CLE, Nick Foles vs MIN
Others to SIT: Matthew Stafford vs WFT, Joe Burrow @ PIT, Teddy Bridgewater vs TB
Running Back:
START – Kareem Hunt – Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans
Yep, you sucked me in to the hype again. Coming off of a bye week, Kareem gets the “Dream” (see what I did there?) matchup against a Texans defense that is allowing a league worst 159.9 rushing yards per game and 178.2 on the road. Coming off a divisional win against the Jaguars, the Texans still managed to let running back James Robinson rush for 99 yards and a rushing touchdown in what was considered a “pretty good” game for the Texans rush defense. On top of that, the Browns will seemingly go to a more balanced or rush heavy offense as they deal with life after Odell Beckham Jr. in the passing game. Pair all of this with the fifth best rushing offense in the league and a team that averages 149.5 rushing yards per game at home and it’s looking like a good week to be a Kareem Hunt owner.
SIT – Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
As an Eagles fan, this is an eye-popping name for me to put in my “sit” column. Miles Sanders is electric and is an instant upgrade to the Eagles’ rushing attack but there are a few things that I don’t like about Sanders’ matchup against the Giants this week. First and foremost, the Giants have a top 6 rushing defense. Allowing just 94.8 rushing yards per game on the year, and 71.3 yards over their last three games, the Giants have formed a reputable front seven against the run. Additionally, Miles Sanders has missed the last two games and has hopefully heeled through the bye week. However, shifty running backs have a tendency to have lingering issues with lower extremity injuries and that could be the case with Sanders. Sanders could pop in your fantasy lineup but, that’s not a risk I’m willing to take this week.
Others to START: Dalvin Cook @ CHI, James Conner vs CIN, James Robinson @ GB
Others to SIT: Kenyan Drake vs BUF, Damien Harris vs BAL, Deandre Swift vs. WFT
Wide Receiver:
START – Sterling Shepard – New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles
This is a slight at both the Eagles and Golden Tate, as well as a tip of the cap to Sterling Shepard. Shepard has seen an uptick of usage in the slot since Tate’s injury and suspension and has filled in well. Since his return, Shepard has seen at least 8 targets in all three games. Shepard posted a 6-59-1 performance against Philly in a WR15 night, out of a guy that you could’ve gotten for free off of waivers. Additionally, slot corner, and self-proclaimed “slot gawd,” Nickell Robey-Coleman has consistently been one of the worst nickel corners in the NFL. Graded 81 of 83 among cornerbacks by PFF, NRC will have a tough task to guard Shepard and the Eagles’ fourth ranked pass defense will have to key in on Jones’ favorite target.
SIT – Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
Why would you sit the WR9? I don’t dislike Adam Thielen. He’s a great wide receiver that’s trapped in a bad system, with a bad quarterback and too many other mouths to feed. The Vikings are reliant on the production of Dalvin Cook and that production has been there for the taking all season. If it’s broke, why fix it? The Vikings will feed Dalvin Cook 25+ times again and he will continue to suck up all others’ fantasy value on that team. Additionally, the Bears are ranked eighth in passing yards allowed per game and are coming off a game where they allowed just 136 passing yards. Stylistically, this might be the worst game of the week for the passing game on the Minnesota sideline.
Others to START: Robert Woods vs SEA, Stefon Diggs @ ARI, Michael Pittman Jr. @ TEN
Others to SIT: Tyler Lockett @ LAR, Christian Kirk vs BUF, Tyler Boyd @ PIT
Tight End:
STARTS: Jonnu Smith @ IND, Dallas Goedert @ NYG, T.J. Hockenson vs WFT, Darren Waller vs DEN
SITS: Noah Fant @ LVR, Eric Ebron vs CIN, Mark Andrews @ NE, Hunter Henry @ MIA