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.
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice
Start’em
Since assuming the starting job for New York, Dart has been the QB5 in fantasy points per game. Among 41 qualifying passers, he ranks 27th in yards per attempt, 30th in highly accurate throw rate, 15th in catchable target rate, tenth in hero throw rate, and fourth in fantasy points per dropback. He has averaged 8.2 rushing attempts and 41.8 rushing yards with five rushing scores in his six starts. This week should be another nice game for Dart. Since Week 5, the Bears have allowed the third-highest yards per attempt, the fifth-most passing yards per game, the highest CPOE, and the sixth-highest success rate per dropback. Smash Dart. Smash.
Caleb Williams is pulling his best Kyler Murray from yesteryear in 2025. Williams has been quite volatile in fantasy with four top-ten finishes in weekly fantasy scoring while also stacking four weeks as the QB20 or lower. He took advantage of three amazing matchups against Dallas, Washington, and Cincinnati, which he should have. The bottom has fallen out when he has been tested against better opponents. Even when we zoom into his play since Week 4, Williams has still had maddening accuracy issues, ranking 28th in highly accurate throw rate and 30th in catchable target rate. After saying all of that, he should still have a nice fantasy outing this week against a weak Giants’ pass defense. Since Week 5, New York has allowed the 12th-most passing yards per game, the 13th-highest CPOE, the sixth-highest passer rating, and the fifth-most passing touchdowns (tied).
In J.J. McCarthy‘s two healthy starts this season, he has finished as the QB11 and QB13 in weekly fantasy scoring. In those two games, he had 6.36 yards per attempt, a 10.1% CPOE, a 75.6% catchable target rate, an 8.9% hero throw rate, and 0.78 fantasy points per dropback. Overall, this season, among 41 qualifying passers, those numbers would rank 30th, fifth, 22nd, first, and second. Not too shabby, Mr. McCarthy. Not too shabby. McCarthy still has plenty to improve upon, but those numbers are quite encouraging. He should flirt with QB1 numbers again this week. Since Week 5, Baltimore has allowed the 11th-most passing yards per game, the fourth-highest success rate per dropback, the 11th-highest CPOE, and ranked 15th in yards per attempt.
Jared Goff got destroyed last week as he was pressured on 45.2% of his dropback. This week should be a different story for Goff against a Washington defense that, since Week 5, has ranked 15th in pressure rate. Goff still is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL on a per-dropback basis, but the passing volume has held him back in fantasy. Goff ranks only 15th in passing yards per game and 22nd in dropbacks. Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, he does rank eighth in yards per attempt, fifth in CPOE and catchable target rate, and 11th in highly accurate throw rate. This week, he faces a pass defense that, since Week 5, has allowed the sixth-most passing yards per game, the most yards per attempt, the second-most passing touchdowns (tied), and the eighth-highest CPOE.
Matthew Stafford is poised for another QB1 week. He’s the QB9 in fantasy points per game as he’s playing at an MVP level. Stafford ranks ninth in yards per attempt, second in passing yards per game, and first in hero throw rate and passing touchdowns. He should cook again this week. Since Week 5, San Francisco has allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game, the ninth-highest yards per attempt, the fifth-most passing touchdowns (tied), and the third-highest success rate per dropback.
Yes, Daniel Jones had a rough Week 9. Does that wipe out everything else he has done this season? Nope. Players have down games. It happens, and we move on. Jones is the QB9 in fantasy points per game. Among 41 qualifying passers, Jones ranks sixth in yards per attempt, tenth in highly accurate throw rate and catchable target rate, and seventh in fantasy points per dropback. He continues to add value on the ground, especially near the goal line with ten rushing yards per game and five rushing scores. Jones should have a bounceback game this week against an Atlanta secondary that since Week 5, has allowed the 13th-highest yards per attempt and success rate per dropback, the 14th-highest passer rating, and the 11th-most passing touchdowns (tied).
Sam Darnold is the QB15 in fantasy points per game, but don’t let that fool you. He has QB1 outings in three of his last four games (QB2, QB9, QB5) and has been one of the most efficient passers in the NFL on a per-dropback basis. Among 41 qualifying passers, Darnold ranks first in yards per attempt, seventh in passing yards per game, fourth in CPOE, and second in highly accurate throw rate and hero throw rate. Since Week 5, Arizona has been a middle-of-the-road pass defense, ranking 14th in success rate per dropback, 13th in EPA per dropback, and allowing the tenth-highest CPOE. Don’t rule out Darnold for another QB1 week.
Fantasy Football Deep Plays to Consider
In the five starts, Justin Fields has played the entire game; he has finished as a QB1 four times (QB2, QB4, QB7, QB31, QB12). In those five games, he has averaged 45.2 rushing yards with three rushing scores. Among 41 qualifying passers, he ranks 29th in yards per attempt, 17th in highly accurate throw rate, 30th in catchable target rate, and 33rd in hero throw rate. Fields at this juncture is a valued fantasy play based upon his garbage time production and rushing output. Guess what…that production is all the same in fantasy football, so stop hating it. His Week 10 matchup against the Browns’ pass defense is average at best, so he’ll need to access his rushing skeleton key to be a QB1 again this week. Since Week 5, Cleveland has allowed the seventh-highest yards per attempt, but they have also ranked 15th in passer rating and CPOE and 19th in success rate per dropback allowed.
Concerning Starts & Players to Fade
Baker Mayfield has back-to-back QB2 weekly finishes (QB20, QB26) that have dropped his season-long standing to QB14 in fantasy points per game. Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranks 13th in passing yards per game, 18th in yards per attempt, 25th in highly accurate throw rate, and fifth in hero throw rate. This New England matchup doesn’t come at a great time, with Mayfield struggling some with his weaponry banged up. Since Week 5, New England has allowed the tenth-fewest yards per attempt, the 11th-fewest passing yards per game, the tenth-lowest CPOE, and the 12th-lowest success rate per dropback.
Sit’em
After Jayden Daniels‘ unfortunate injury in Week 9, Marcus Mariota will get another start this week and could be the team’s starter for the rest of the season (we’ll see). In his three starts this season, Mariota has weekly finishes as the QB6, QB17, and QB19. He has averaged 5.3 rushing attempts and 29.3 rushing yards in his starts. Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, Mariota ranks 16th in yards per attempt, 22nd in highly accurate throw rate, 29th in catchable target rate, and 27th in hero throw rate. His passing accuracy hasn’t been there, which is partially why he has been a QB2 in fantasy in most of those starts. Since Week 5, Detroit has fielded a strong pass defense despite its injuries, giving up the second-fewest yards per attempt and the fourth-lowest CPOE and success rate per dropback. They have also generated the second-best pressure rate in this span. Mariota will have a long day in Week 10.
Jacoby Brissett has finished as a QB1 in each of his three starts (QB7, QB12, QB10). Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranks 11th in yards per attempt, 24th in highly accurate throw rate, 35th in catchable target rate, seventh in hero throw rate, and 19th in fantasy points per dropback. This week’s matchup with Seattle will arguably be his toughest test to date. Since Week 5, Seattle has allowed the 13th-fewest yards per attempt, the eighth-lowest CPOE, the sixth-lowest success rate per dropback, and they have generated the ninth-best pressure rate. Brissett is best viewed as a mid-range QB2 this week.
Aaron Rodgers continues to play the role of game manager for Pittsburgh with only two QB1 performances this season, as the QB18 in fantasy points per game. He’s just another low-end QB2 against this week. Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, Rodgers has the lowest aDOT, the 13th-lowest deep throw rate, ranks 25th in yards per attempt, and 20th in fantasy points per dropback. Since Week 5, the Bolts have allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards per game, the eighth-lowest success rate per dropback, and the seventh-lowest CPOE.
Tua Tagovailoa is the QB31 in fantasy points per game with two QB1 weeks this season. Among 41 qualifying passers, he ranks 28th in yards per attempt, 26th in passing yards per game, 22nd in catchable target rate, and 27th in fantasy points per dropback. Bench him this week. Since Week 5, Buffalo has allowed only one passing touchdown, the 12th-lowest success rate per dropback, and the fifth-lowest CPOE. Tagovailoa will struggle this week.
Trevor Lawrence is the QB17 in fantasy points per game with three QB1 outings this season. He has had two such performances in the last four weeks (QB5, QB12). Among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranks 30th in yards per attempt, 32nd in highly accurate throw rate, 13th in catchable target rate, and 31st in hero throw rate. In two of Lawrence’s QB1 performances, he has managed two rushing scores. I’m not saying that it is totally flukey…ok, well maybe I am. No one should be expecting two rushing scores from Lawrence in any week. Lawrence is a sit this week. Houston’s pass defense has been nasty. Since Week 5, they have allowed the fewest passing yards per game, the lowest success rate per dropback, the fourth-fewest yards per attempt, and the sixth-lowest CPOE.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
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.
