The official fantasy football column of Net Sports News is back. As usual, we will not be covering any obvious Fantasy Football starts, like Julio Jones or Ezekiel Elliot. If you have any line-up specific questions, please email us at netsportsnews1@gmail.com.
Quarterbacks
Go's:
Lamar Jackson vs. Cardinals
This one should be obvious. Lamar Jackson is coming off the best game of his life, where he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the lowly Dolphins. Defensively, Arizona is not much better, especially with shutdown corner Patrick Peterson suspended for the first six weeks of the season. Jackson should have another monstrous games, and belongs in your starting lineups. Jackson has the chance to finish as the QB1 this week as well.
Tom Brady @ Dolphins
Sure, the Patriots always struggle in Miami. Sure, they have lost five of the last six games they've played there. But there is one thing different this year: The Dolphins look like the worst team we've seen since the 0-16 Browns. The defense is in shambles, the offense is objectively worse, and add that to the fact that the Patriots will have Antonio Brown on the field on Sunday. This game has the chance to be as bad as last week for Miami.
Note: Barring an extreme case of FitzMagic, but most above average players playing Miami should be an obvious start.
Dak Prescott @ Redskins
Much like Jackson, Prescott is coming off an excellent game and has another easy opponent set up for him. The Redskins have almost no good players on their entire team, and Dallas will feast on them this week. Washington was completely toasted by Carson Wentz last week, and Prescott could have a similar outing this Sunday.
Sleeper: Josh Allen @ Giants
No's:
Mitch Trubisky @ Broncos
Trubisky, who looked like a high schooler could out perform him last week, should be kept on benches again. He is facing a deadly pass rush featuring Bradley Chubb and Von Miller, and throwing it to Allen Robinson every play will not cut it against this Denver defense, who will be looking to bounce back after allowing 24 points to the Raiders on Monday night.
Matthew Stafford vs. Chargers
After having a very good week one against the Cardinals, do not expect Stafford to put up the same amount of points. He is playing a mean Chargers front seven anchored by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, and points will be tough to come by. Stafford should be avoided in most formats this week.
Kyler Murray @ Ravens
The first overall pick of the draft showed plenty of promise at the tail end of the Cardinals' game on Sunday. He will likely take a step back this week, as Baltimore is coming off a overpowering defensive performance where they didn't seem to miss CJ Mosley or Eric Weddle at all. Murray will have an especially hard time getting the ball out of his hands as the Ravens defensive line should feast on the weak Cardinals O-Line.
Running Backs
Go's: Sony Michel @ Dolphins
Going by our previously stated rule, Michel is an above average player playing Miami, making him a must start. After playing miserably in week one, Michel will look to bounce back against the Dolphins. He has played well against the team in his short career, tallying over 170 yards in two games last season.
Austin Ekeler @ Lions
Ekeler almost certainly made all Chargers fans think "Melvin who?" after his performance last week. The Western Colorado University product amassed three touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime. Ekeler will have the opportunity to put up a similarly dominant stat line, as Detroit has a very weak defense that Ekeler can exploit. He can be treated as a borderline RB1 for this week.
Josh Jacobs vs. Chiefs
Jacobs, the first running back off the board in this year's draft, had an excellent NFL debut, where he scored two touchdowns and ran for 85 yards. He will look to make those stats even better against a mediocre Chiefs front seven. Expect Jacobs' name to be called on a lot, as he is the only real offensive threat on Oakland's offense.
Sleeper: Raheem Mostert @ Bengals
No's:
Kenyan Drake vs. New England
The New England run defense played admirably against Pittsburgh on Sunday night, and look for them to keep that up. They stifled James Conner for much of the game, and Drake, who re defined the word disappointment last week, won't have much success. However, you can start him on the off chance that he scores a game winning touchdown off of four laterals.
Devonta Freeman vs. Eagles
Freeman was horrendous in week one, and somehow saw the same amount of snaps as backup Ito Smith did. Against a strong run defense, Freeman will not have much success this week either. He's a very risky RB2-FLEX border.
David Montgomery vs. Broncos
Despite Matt Nagy hyping up Montgomery a ton before the season, the rookie running back saw very little touches. He only received seven touches, and based on what we saw in week one, it looks like he is behind both Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis in the Chicago backfield.
Wide Receivers
Go's:
Amari Cooper @ Redskins
Cooper played extremely well against the Giants last week, and seemed to have a real connection with Dak Prescott. He has an easy matchup against the Redskins, who allowed DeSean Jackson to eclipse 150 yards and score two touchdowns.
Josh Gordon @ Dolphins
OK, we don't want to pick on the Dolphins too much, but the matchup is just too good. Perhaps Miami's only competent player in corner back Xavien Howard who will have his hands tied up with newly signed Patriot Antonio Brown. That will leave passing lanes wide open for Gordon and Julian Edelman to feast on.
Sammy Watkins @ Raiders
With Tyreek Hill nursing a shoulder injury that will keep him out for at least four weeks, Watkins is the WR1 in Kansas City's high flying, explosive aerial attack. He absolutely went off last week in wake of Hill's injury, totaling 198 yards and three touchdowns. He has a great shot to continue his dominance against Oakland's weak secondary, who were exposed time after time by Cortland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders.
Sleeper: John Brown @ Giants
No's:
Larry Fitzgerald vs. Ravens
Despite being pretty much the only person Kyler Murray threw the football to, Fitzgerald will have a tough time racking up yards against Baltimore. He will be shadowed by Pro Bowl corner Marlon Humphery, and will not get thrown to a lot.
Kenny Golladay vs. Chargers
Golladay also played well in week one, and clicked well with Matt Stafford despite the emergence of TJ Hockenson. This week, however, he has a matchup against shutdown cornerback Casey Hayward.
Jarvis Landry @ Jets
Baker Mayfield did not throw the ball Landry's way much at all in Cleveland's new offense. He will likely continue to see a similar amount of targets against the Jets, who played well against slot receiver Cole Beasley last week.
Tight Ends
Go's:
Mark Andrews @ Cardinals
Andrews emerged as one of Lamar Jackson's trusted options, and he shredded the Dolphins defense. He gets another easy matchup against the Cardinals, who let rookie tight end TJ Hockenson get 100 yards in his NFL debut.
Evan Engram vs. Bills
With essentially the entire Giants receiving corps injured or suspended(their best wide receiver is Bennie Fowler), Engram is going to see an insane target share. He will be a must start for week 2, and could be the TE1.
Sleeper: Darren Waller vs. Chiefs
No's:
Austin Hooper vs. Eagles
Hooper played alright in the Falcons loss last week, but will likely have little success against Philly this week. The Eagles have a great defense that should be able to contain Hooper well. He has TE2 value this week.
Jimmy Graham vs. Vikings
Graham was probably the lone bright spot of Green Bay's offense in Week One, and scored the first touchdown of the season. However, Graham seems to be touchdown dependent and might not find pay dirt against Minnesota's stingy defense.
Defenses
Go's:
Patriots Defense @ Dolphins
This one should be obvious.
Ravens Defense @ Cardinals
This one should also be obvious.
No's:
Raiders Defense vs. Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes and company did not show any rust and will likely tear apart the weak Raider defense.
Redskins Defense vs. Cowboys
Washington does not have a very good front seven and will probably get run all over by Ezekiel Elliot.
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