Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em: Cam Ward, Trevor Lawrence, Tyrod Taylor

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 dive into our start/sit lineup advice and outlook for a few of the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups of the week.

Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice

Cam Ward (QB – TEN)

After a rough start to his NFL career, Cam Ward has come out of his bye week with a pair of strong starts. Considering that his strong starts came against the Texans and Seahawks, who have two of the league’s best defenses, Titans fans should be optimistic. Ward has committed only one turnover over his last two games. He has also started racking up yards with his legs. Ward had 33 rushing yards against the Texans in Week 11 and 37 rushing yards and a touchdown run against the Seahawks in Week 12. This week, he faces the Jaguars, who have allowed the third-most passing touchdowns on the season. Of all the waiver wire QBs, Ward is the most intriguing. Maybe the rookie has turned a corner.

Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX)

I asked a magic 8 ball if Trevor Lawrence is worth a pickup. The response: “Ask again later.” Frankly, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Lawrence is the most appealing yet disappointing fantasy quarterback. With four weeks outside the top 20, five weeks between QB10 and QB19 and two weeks inside the top 10, it’s like asking the 8 ball each week. There are some good signs for Lawrence. He’s had five or more carries and three rushing touchdowns over his last four games. In Week 12, Lawrence threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinals. However, he also threw three interceptions. A Week 13 date with the Titans is on tap, which could help propel Lawrence to a solid performance. If you are struggling at the position, can you play Lawrence this week? Outlook is good.

Tyrod Taylor (QB – NYJ)

Tyrod Taylor is back as a starting NFL quarterback. Replacing the demoted Justin Fields, Taylor made his second start of the season on Sunday against the Ravens and threw for 222 yards and a touchdown. He added five carries for 19 yards. Taylor has always added value with his legs, helping provide a decent floor for fantasy each week. Next week, the Jets face the Falcons, who are around league average against fantasy quarterbacks. After the Falcons, the Jets face the Dolphins and the Jaguars, who have allowed the 12th-most and fourth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, respectively. If you need to stream a quarterback, Taylor should be a relatively safe Week 13 option with limited upside.

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.