Start em or sit em? Fantasy football start or sit decisions can be excruciating. While it feels great to make the right call and cruise to fantasy glory, it hurts just as much when you have someone erupt while on your bench. You can use our Who Should I Start? tool to gauge advice from fantasy football experts as you make your lineup decisions. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings and analysis.
Let’s take a look at a few polarizing players and what fantasy football expert Derek Brown advises. And you can find all of DBro’s fantasy football outlook in this week’s fantasy football primer.
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Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice
Sam Darnold might be the QB20 in fantasy points per game, but he has been a QB1 in weekly scoring in three of his last five games (QB10, QB2, QB9). The problem for Darnold hasn’t been his play, but the passing volume of the Seattle offense. He ranks 26th in dropbacks this season despite ranking second in yards per attempt, tenth in passing yards per game, second in hero throw rate, and ninth in fantasy points per dropback. Darnold could be a QB1 again this week. Since Week 4, Washington has allowed the second-most yards per attempt, the tenth-highest success rate per dropback, the third-most passing touchdowns (tied), and the sixth-most passing yards per game.
Travis Etienne is the RB20 in fantasy points per game, averaging 15.9 touches and 84.8 total yards. He is tenth in snap share, 19th in weighted opportunities, and 17th in red zone touches among running backs. Among 60 qualifying backs, Etienne ranks 19th in explosive run rate and 26th in yards after contact per attempt. The Raiders have toughened up as a run defense and present a sizable obstacle for Etienne this week. Since Week 4, the Raiders have allowed the fifth-lowest explosive run rate, the tenth-fewest rushing yards per game, and the fourth-lowest yards before contact per attempt. Etienne is a volume play that you hope gets into the end zone this week.
Over the last two games, Rico Dowdle has worked as the 1B in the Carolina backfield with two red zone rushing attempts (Hubbard, four), a 40.3% snap rate, and a 25% route share (1.8% target share). He has averaged 13 touches and 75 total yards over the last two games. He’s still crushing it on a per-touch basis. Among 60 qualifying rushers, Dowdle ranks 16th in explosive run rate, 17th in missed tackle rate, and third in yards after contact per attempt. Dowdle will have to overcome a tough matchup, but he could get a boost of volume with the coaching staff insinuating that workload could shift back to him more this week. Plugging him in as a flex play this week is a bet on talent and the hope that his volume and backfield share increase this week. It’s a risky play no matter how ya slice it. Since Week 4, Green Bay has allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards per game, the fourth-lowest explosive run rate, the second-lowest missed tackle rate, and the third-fewest yards after contact per attempt.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
