You have lineup questions, we have lineup answers -- at least we hope so. Start 'Em, Sit 'Em is here to help fantasy managers make difficult roster decisions. And you know what is a good move? Starting Justin Jefferson. But that's too obvious, so you won't see such simple analysis here. Instead, we're exploring more debatable situations. And if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out the latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats come from NFL Pro, Next Gen Stats or NFL Research.
Start 'Em
Daniels is now a must-start option. You will not see him included here very often for the remainder of the season, because he is arguably the second-best QB in fantasy football. He has scored 24-plus fantasy points in three of his four games. He is averaging 54.5 rushing yards per game and has four rushing touchdowns. The Washington passing game is getting going, too. He has three touchdown passes and just six incompletions in his last two games. The Browns are a scary matchup, but it doesn’t matter. Start Daniels. On the other side in this game, Deshaun Watson is a sleeper this week.
Love returned from injury in Week 4 and was cooking after a slow start to the game. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, going for 28 fantasy points. That was against a tough Vikings defense, as well. Love gets a fantastic matchup this week against the Rams, who have allowed the third-most passing touchdowns (8) and the second-highest passer rating (122.7) through four weeks. Love and the Green Bay receivers could have a big day against the Los Angeles secondary.
Fields is starting to heat up in Pittsburgh. The fact that it might have taken a couple weeks for him to feel comfortable should be no surprise, since he was not even expected to be the starter for his new team coming into the season. Fields has three rushing touchdowns in his last two games. He has run for 50-plus yards twice this season and he threw for 312 yards last week on his way to scoring 32 fantasy points. He was the fantasy QB1 on the week and has had a 90-plus passer rating in every contest. Regardless of the score in Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, we should see Fields running versus the league’s 27th-ranked run defense. He brings such a high ceiling every week.
Purdy played well last week, but it did not translate into a great fantasy day. The floor is around 14 fantasy points, but we know he brings upside every week. He’s second in the league in passing yards through four weeks (1,130). This could be a ceiling kind of game, as the Cardinals have allowed a top-five fantasy QB twice already this season. Last time he faced the Cardinals, he threw for four touchdowns. With his weapons healthy again (outside of CMC), Purdy is worth getting into your lineup.
Smith leads the league in passing yards (1,182), topping 325 in two of his last three games. He is even running a bit, rushing for 25-plus yards twice so far this season. He has only one passing touchdown in each game, but that is bound to change. And when (positive) regression hits, it tends to hit hard. I would start Smith this week.
Sit 'Em
This one may seem spicy, but it really isn’t. Mahomes is obviously great in real life, but he has been mediocre in fantasy for over a year now. Despite throwing his longest TD pass since 2022, Mahomes was held to just 13 fantasy points last week. He has topped 17 fantasy points once in his last 13 starts. He has topped 26 once since the start of the 2023 season. The floor is low and the ceiling is not all that high. The vintage Mahomes games are rare nowadays. Plus, he just lost Rashee Rice to injury. The Saints have allowed only one passing touchdown all season. They have six interceptions and a league-best 68 passer rating allowed. You can get away from Mahomes this week.
The first month has not lived up to the lofty expectations the fantasy community put on Murray. He has one big game and has been held to less than 15 fantasy points in the other three. Last week he had less than 10 fantasy points. But I’m including him here largely because of the matchup. In his last four games against the 49ers, dating back to 2020, Kyler has been held to less than 250 passing yards. He has just three passing touchdowns and four interceptions in those games. He is not a must-sit, but if you have another good QB option, like one of the QBs listed as starts above, I would go in that direction.
Let’s keep bringing the spice, shall we? Burrow has one big fantasy game this season and it came in the best matchup for a QB, against the Commanders. He has averaged 13.9 fantasy PPG in his other three games. Now he gets the Ravens, who held Josh Allen to just 7.3 fantasy points last week. A QB has reached 18 fantasy points against the Ravens just twice in their last 16 games. Burrow has averaged 218 passing yards in his last three full games against Baltimore, and he threw multiple TD passes in only one of those contests. Like Kyler Murray, he is not a must-sit, but if you have another option, like one of the players I mentioned in the start section, take it.
Benching the league leader in passing touchdowns could be a risky call, but I would argue starting Darnold against potentially the best secondary in the NFL is a risky call, too. The Jets have allowed the second-fewest passing yards in the NFL and just two passing touchdowns. This is a ginormous test for Darnold. It’s OK to leave him on your bench to see if he can ace it. If he does well, you’ll know you can trust him in tough matchups moving forward. This game has the added wrinkle of being in London. Only once since 2021 has a team reached 28 points in a London game. Despite the revenge factor against his former team, I would play it safe here.
Regression has hit Carr and the Saints the last two weeks. Carr has scored eight fantasy points in two straight games. After leading the league with five touchdown passes in the first two games, he has only one TD pass in the last two. The Chiefs rank seventh in the league in scoring defense, as well. Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins and Justin Herbert have averaged just 13.2 fantasy PPG against them in the past three weeks. Playing on the road in prime time adds another wrinkle to this one. There are better QB options this week.
Rodgers and the Jets offense had one big game against the Patriots, but they have looked pretty meh otherwise. Rodgers is averaging just 11.8 fantasy PPG against non-Patriots opponents. Now he faces a tough Vikings defense that has largely held QBs in check outside of Jordan Love in the second half of last week’s game. The floor is low and we have not seen much upside from Rodgers outside of the New England game. Until we see it more consistently, I am OK sitting Rodgers.
