It was only a few weeks ago that Sundays were lazy, quiet, uneventful. I ran errands. My wife and I took long walks with the dog. I watched a lot of golf. Sundays are back to being busy, loud, chaotic. I set fantasy football lineups for dozens of teams. I answer hundreds of start/sit questions. I watch a lot of football.
Sundays are exhausting now.
Man, it’s glorious.
We all have our Sunday NFL rituals. My Sundays start with a pot of coffee and a quick check to see whether Adam Schefter has dropped any overnight Schefter-bombs.
I check a few sources for injury news and other tidbits. I update my rankings. I whip up an egg sandwich and wolf it down with coffee while setting my lineups. Then, I’m on either a FantasyPros or BettingPros livestream most weeks, and I take over the FantasyPros Twitter account for an hour or so to answer more start/sit questions.
At noon Central, football finally arrives, and it’s sensory overload. I used to do the octo-box with eight games on the screen at once, but the boxes are pretty small on the octo, and the old eyes aren’t what they used to be, so I’m a quad-box guy now. Four games at a time are plenty. Well, three games plus RedZone.
Then it’s six hours of bliss. I’m lost in football. It feels like an inconvenience when I have to use the bathroom or grab a snack. My wife occasionally talks to me. Sometimes I even hear what she’s saying. There’s work to be done on Sunday nights, but at that point I’m surfing a wave of adrenaline.
There’s really no point to all of this, other than to express my gratitude for the return of football season.
I hope all of you are enjoying it as much as I am.
Feel free to use these tiered half-PPR rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Beneath the tiers, I’ll offer a few brief thoughts on some of the borderline fantasy football start sit options and some other interesting cases.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Lineup Advice
Quarterbacks Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
- Mac Jones
- C.J. Stroud
- Marcus Mariota
- Tyrod Taylor
- Geno Smith
- Trevor Lawrence
- Matthew Stafford
- Sam Darnold
- Jake Browning
Tier 5
Tier 6
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Quarterbacks
The Cowboys-Bears game in Chicago profiles as a shootout with a Vegas total of 49.5. The Dallas pass defense looked terrible last week against Russell Wilson and the Giants, with Russ throwing for 450 yards and three touchdowns, repeatedly finding receivers running wide open downfield. The Cowboys’ best cornerback, DaRon Bland, is out. The Bears’ defense is in tatters too, so this game should be a track meet. It’s a nice setup for the Bears’ Caleb Williams, who currently ranks QB9 in fantasy scoring. Williams has been clicking with second-year WR Rome Odunze, who already has three TD catches. Williams has also been adding value as a runner, with 85 rushing yards and one TD run so far. Start Williams with confidence against Dallas.
Although I think Daniel Jones‘ carriage turns back into a pumpkin at some point, Jones looks like a solid play this week in a road game against the Titans. The Colts’ offensive line has been giving Jones terrific protection. He’s been sacked only twice, even though the Colts have faced an NFL-high 37 blitzes. Jones will be facing a Titans defense that has notched only two sacks so far. As long as he keeps getting ample time to throw, Jones should continue to thrive.
Kyler Murray has been solid so far but only ranks QB16 in fantasy scoring, largely due to low passing volume. He’s thrown only 38 passes in his first two games, as Arizona has held a lead in most of its two wins, first against the Saints, then against the Panthers. Kyler might be forced to throw a little more this week in a road game against the 49ers, but the matchup isn’t easy. San Francisco’s pass defense ranks seventh in DVOA — although in fairness, they’ve faced Sam Darnold and Spencer Rattler so far.
I’m below consensus on Jordan Love, who clocks in at QB14. The Packers are favored over the Browns by more than a touchdown. Green Bay’s defense has been incredible, so Love probably isn’t going to be in many shootouts this season. Love is also going to be short on pass catchers. The Packers lost Jayden Reed to a fractured clavicle last week, and stud TE Tucker Kraft sustained a knee injury in practice Thursday, leaving his availability in doubt.
Running Backs Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1
Tier 2
- Saquon Barkley
- Jonathan Taylor
- Derrick Henry
- Jahmyr Gibbs
- Jordan Mason
- James Cook
- Bucky Irving
- Josh Jacobs
- De’Von Achane
- Kenneth Walker III
- Chase Brown
Tier 3
- Ashton Jeanty
- Travis Etienne
- Alvin Kamara
- Kyren Williams
- Breece Hall
- Chuba Hubbard
- Javonte Williams
- Tony Pollard
- James Conner
Tier 4
- Jaylen Warren
- J.K. Dobbins
- Omarion Hampton
- David Montgomery
- Isiah Pacheco
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt
- Rhamondre Stevenson
- D’Andre Swift
Tier 5
- TreVeyon Henderson
- Nick Chubb
- Quinshon Judkins
- Cam Skattebo
- Tyler Allgeier
- Kenneth Gainwell
- Trey Benson
- Tyrone Tracy
- Bhayshul Tuten
- Rachaad White
- Kareem Hunt
Tier 6
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs
Jordan Mason is a must-start. Aaron Jones is on IR with a hamstring injury, and it’s unclear who’ll be backing up Mason on Sunday. (Odds are it’ll be Cam Akers, whom the Vikings signed to their practice squad earlier this week.) Minnesota has Carson Wentz subbing for the injured J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell would be wise to hide his QB as much as possible. Mason could get 20-25 carries against a squishy Bengals defense. I have Mason ranked RB7 this week. Play him unconditionally.
If only Tony Pollard were catching more passes or, y’know, scoring the occasional touchdown. With Titans RB Tyjae Spears on injured reserve, Pollard has 38 carries through two weeks — only Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley have more — and quietly ranks sixth in the league with 152 rushing yards. Pollard has seen only two targets so far and has one catch for 29 yards. It’s possible rookie QB Cam Ward won’t throw to his RBs much this season. But the rushing outlook is bright for Pollard, and he’ll be facing a Colts defense that, as noted by my colleague Derek Brown in this week’s edition of The Primer, has allowed the fifth-most rushing yards before contact per attempt and the sixth-most rushing yards after contact per attempt. Consider Pollard a solid RB2 this week.
James Conner is losing some work to second-year backup Trey Benson. Conner played only five more snaps than Benson in Week 2, and Benson ran more routes than Conner. A true workhorse last season, Conner might be operating in more of a split backfield this year. Consider him a low-end RB2.
Omarion Hampton will be at the center of a lot of start/sit dilemmas this week. The first-round rookie has struggled to get traction in his first two NFL games. Hampton has 23-72-0 rushing and 3-14-0 receiving thus far. He had eight carries for 24 yards against the Raiders on Monday night and coughed up a fumble late, although the NFL wrongly charged the fumble to Chargers QB Justin Herbert. The snap share for Najee Harris went from 18.5% in Week 1 to 34.5% in Week 2. Hampton investors should be patient, but they should at least prepare for the possibility of a Hampton/Harris time-share. Hampton has a tricky Week 3 matchup against a Denver defense that ranks sixth in DVOA against the run, although Jonathan Taylor gashed Denver for 165 rushing yards last week. I’m ranking Hampton as a high-end RB3 this week.
D’Andre Swift‘s touch volume has been ample, but his efficiency leaves much to be desired. He’s averaging 1.62 yards after contact per carry, which ranks 46th. Swift is averaging -0.25 expected points added per rushing attempt, which is a pretty terrible number. You’re probably playing Swift against the Cowboys, but at some point the Bears might start giving more work to rookie backup Kyle Monangai.
A lot of people believe Austin Ekeler‘s season-ending injury could lead to a bigger role for Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Maybe. Or maybe the Commander just plug in Jeremy McNichols as a one-for-one Ekeler replacement. I’m not all that bullish on Croskey-Merritt, aka Bill, this week. He has yet to catch a pass in the NFL. The Commanders may or may not have QB Jayden Daniels, and if they don’t, Croskey-Merritt’s TD chances are diminished. And Bill faces a sneaky-good Raiders run defense that has allowed 97 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry to opposing RBs so far.
Patriots veteran Rhamondre Stevenson has out-snapped rookie second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson 85-44. After a quiet Week 1 in which he had 27 yards from scrimmage against the Raiders, Stevenson blistered the Dolphins for 11-54-0 rushing and 5-88-0 receiving in Week 2. Now he gets a surprisingly shaky Pittsburgh run defense that has opened the season by giving up 100-yard rushing games to the two highest-drafted RBs from the 2022 NFL Draft, Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III. Henderson has 8-37-0 rushing and 8-54-0 receiving through two weeks. The passing-game usage is encouraging, although Henderson has struggled in pass protection — an area that was billed as one of his strengths coming out of Ohio State. At some point soon, the backfield split in New England could be close to 50/50. Henderson is too explosive to take a backseat to the useful but limited Stevenson. For now, I think both should be regarded as flex-level RB3s.
It seems as if Cam Skattebo is about to seize lead-back duties for the Giants. He led the Giants’ backfield in snaps, carries and routes last week, and he looked good. Skattebo had 11-45-1 rushing and had two catches for 12 yards. He absolutely trucked a Dallas defensive back on a nice 12-yard run that was negated by a penalty. Tyrone Tracy is returning kickoffs for the Giants, which seems like a tell that the Giants envision Tracy as the No. 2. The only reason I can’t rank Skattebo higher than RB35 is because of a matchup against a Chiefs defense that’s always tough against the run.
Wide Receivers Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
- A.J. Brown
- Brian Thomas Jr.
- Ladd McConkey
- Garrett Wilson
- Davante Adams
- Tetairoa McMillan
- Mike Evans
- Tyreek Hill
- D.K. Metcalf
- Marvin Harrison Jr.
- George Pickens
- Rome Odunze
- Courtland Sutton
Tier 4
Tier 5
- Keon Coleman
- Khalil Shakir
- Jaylen Waddle
- Quentin Johnston
- Michael Pittman Jr.
- Stefon Diggs
- Jerry Jeudy
- Cedric Tillman
- Wan’Dale Robinson
- Travis Hunter
Tier 6
- Darnell Mooney
- Cooper Kupp
- Kayshon Boutte
- Romeo Doubs
- Troy Franklin
- Elic Ayomanor
- Rashid Shaheed
- Josh Downs
Tier 7
- Matthew Golden
- Dontayvion Wicks
- Rashod Bateman
- Tyquan Thornton
- Marvin Mims
- Hunter Renfrow
- Calvin Austin III
- Christian Kirk
- Joshua Palmer
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Wide Receivers
Get George Pickens into your lineup against a Bears defense that just gave up 344 passing yards, five TD passes and 52 points to Jared Goff and the Detroit offense. Chicago has allowed a league-high seven TD passes and has a league-worst opponent passer rating of 136.9. Opponents are averaging 9.9 yards per pass attempt against the Bears. Chicago’s best cornerback, Jaylon Johnson, is out indefinitely with a groin injury, and its second-best cornerback, Kyler Gordon is questionable with a hamstring injury. Pickens and CeeDee Lamb are both poised to smash.
Jake Browning is one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league, so I doubt Tee Higgins‘ fantasy value will be gutted in the absence of star QB Joe Burrow. Browning made seven stars for the Bengals at the end of the 2023 season. Higgins played in five of those games and had 15 catches for 328 yards and three TDs, finishing WR25 in half-point PPR scoring over that stretch among receivers who played more than one game. But I don’t feel great about the Browning-Higgins connection this week. U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is one of the hardest places in the league for visitors to play. But the Vikings laid an egg at home last Sunday night, losing to the Falcons 22-6. I doubt a team as well-coached as Minnesota will play poorly in two straight home games, and I suspect that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will have his troops breathing fire this week. I’m ranking Higgins as a high-end W3, and even that feels optimistic.
Two weeks into the season, Deebo Samuel is quietly WR8 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, with 14-121-1 receiving plus a 19-yard TD run. Deebo seems like a great fit for Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingbury’s horizontal passing attack. And while it’s impossible to spin the potential absence of QB Jayden Daniels (knee) as a positive for Deebo, a pass catcher who typically operates close to the line of scrimmage might take less of a value hit with backup QB Marcus Mariota than a receiver who operates deeper downfield (like, say, Terry McLaurin). Deebo is playable as a midrange WR3.
Calvin Ridley is off to a sluggish start for the Titans. He had a tough game against the Broncos in Week 1 (4-27-0 on eight targets), which wasn’t a shock considering that he was being shadowed by lockdown CB Patrick Surtain Jr. Ridley was slightly better in Week 2, with 3-57-0 on six targets against the Rams. His 25% target share so far is fine, but rookie QB Cam Ward isn’t exactly force-feeding Ridley. Rookie WR Elic Ayomanor has only one fewer target than Ridley. The big problem is that Ward hasn’t had a 200-yard passing game yet. The rookie will eventually get going, but until he does, Ridley is more of a borderline start than a confident start.
Travis Hunter‘s early-season usage is pretty discouraging. Did the Jaguars really give up a future first-round draft pick and burn the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft on a combination WR/CB they’re going to use in a Wan’Dale Robinson type role on offense and use as a dime back on defense? Hunter has played 61% of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps. He’s averaging 6.1 yards per catch and 3.9 yards per target, with an average depth of target of 6.6 yards, per Pro Football Reference. Yuck. I’m ranking Hunter WR42 this week and am going out of my way to avoid starting him.
Troy Franklin, the Broncos’ second-year receiver, is off to a fast start, with 12-133-1 on 15 targets. After playing 59.2% of Denver’s offensive snaps in Week 1, Franklin played 82.8% of the snaps in Week 2. He has a team-high 22.4% target share. But I’m still in wait-and-see mode with Franklin. Courtland Sutton had only four targets and one catch in Week 2 — an abnormally quiet day. Is Evan Engram going to be more involved? He’s only played about 40% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps so far. Will Marvin Mims continue to have a sub-50% snap share? The fast start for Franklin is encouraging, but it’s hard to confidently start any of the Denver pass catchers other than Sutton right now.
Tight Ends Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
- Kyle Pitts
- Juwan Johnson
- T.J. Hockenson
- Mark Andrews
- Hunter Henry
- Harold Fannin Jr.
- Dalton Kincaid
- David Njoku
- Dallas Goedert
Tier 4
Tier 5
- Mike Gesicki
- Cole Kmet
- Luke Musgrave
- Jake Tonges
- Theo Johnson
- Colston Loveland
- Noah Gray
- Noah Fant
- Tyler Higbee
- Mason Taylor
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Tight Ends
As noted in the blurb about Jordan Love, Packers TE Tucker Kraft injured his knee in practice Thursday. Initial reports described the injury as minor, but Kraft investors will have to monitor his status in advance of his game against the Browns on Sunday.
Jake Ferguson already has 14 catches on 18 targets this season. He’s averaging 7.2 yards per catch, but Ferguson has stayed busy, and he looks like a solid TE option in what figures to be a high-scoring affair between the Cowboys and Bears.
Kyle Pitts has 11-96-0 and gets an inviting Week 3 matchup against Panthers, who allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends in 2024. Carolina gave up 65 yards and a touchdown to Jacksonville’s Brenton Strange/Hunter Long combination in Week 1, and Trey McBride had six catches for 78 yards against the Panthers last week. Pitts checks in at TE9.
Juwan Johnson might be a fixture in this article for a while as we struggle to get a handle on his fantasy value, which is hard to pin down. Johnson’s best season to date was in 2022, when he had 42-508-7. His target share that season was 13.2%. Two weeks into the 2025 season, Johnson has 13-125-1 and a 26.7% target share. The law of gravity is going to bring down that target share, and I would contend that targets from Spencer Rattler are less valuable than targets from most other starting QBs. That said, Johnson has been a reliable security blanked for Rattler, and the veteran tight end has a Week 3 matchup against the Seahawks, the only NFL team to have allowed more than one touchdown to TEs this season. (The 49ers’ George Kittle and Jake Tonges both scored against Seattle in Week 1.) I’m slotting in Johnson at TE10.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
