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
Love has topped 25 fantasy points twice in his last three games. He offers such a high ceiling, and the floor is around 16 fantasy points with multiple touchdowns in every game. In fact, he has multiple passing TDs in each of his last 10 games (including playoffs), making him just the 10th quarterback since 1970 to do so, according to NFL Research. That’s a quarterback you can trust weekly -- even against a top-five pass defense in the Texans. With C.J. Stroud and that Texans offense on the other side, this has the potential to be a scorefest. The Texans defense may be good, but so is the Packers offense. Trust him.
Don’t look now, but Mayfield has been awesome this season, both in real life and for fantasy purposes. He had one dud game in Week 3, but he’s put up at least 18 fantasy points each of the other five contests and scored more than 23 fantasy points four times. Not only is he putting up big numbers with his arm, he’s using his legs, with more than 20 rushing yards in four games and two rushing touchdowns this season. This week, he gets a Ravens defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to QBs. That includes the most passing yards and fifth-most touchdowns.
Richardson is expected to return in Week 7. If he plays, I’d need to have another very good QB option to consider sitting Richardson because the second-year QB has such a high upside. In his first four NFL games dating back to 2023, Richardson was averaging over 25 fantasy points per game. Despite his recent struggles and injuries, his big-time throws and rushing ability keep him in play against Miami. The Dolphins might not be a great matchup on paper, but they aren’t a shutdown defense by any stretch. I would roll the dice with Richardson.
It was back to a floor game for Cousins in Week 6. But let’s not forget that in Week 5, he threw for over 500 yards with four touchdowns. He could have another ceiling game this week given the fantastic matchup against Seattle, which is banged up on defense and has been torched recently through the air. Over the last three weeks, the Seahawks allowed Jared Goff to throw a perfect game and score more than 27 fantasy points. Then, they allowed Daniel Jones to score more than 22 fantasy points and register a top-10 fantasy QB finish without rookie sensation Malik Nabers. Last week, Brock Purdy had his second-best fantasy game of the season and a top-six fantasy QB finish against them.
Last time we saw Darnold, he struggled against the Jets defense in London. But don’t let that game and the bye week make you forget about how good he had been in Minnesota’s first four games, when he averaged 19.6 FPPG with 11 pass TDs. This should be a bounce-back week (at least fantasy-wise) for Darnold. The Lions are elite at stopping the run but struggle against the pass. Detroit also puts up plenty of points offensively, which tends to make its opponents throw more against it. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys were unable to take advantage of the matchup last week, but the Lions have allowed a top-eight fantasy QB in two of their last four games. They also just lost sack artist Aidan Hutchinson for the season. Darnold brings upside could throw a bunch in this game.
Sit 'Em
This is where we are with Mahomes. He has averaged just 14.2 FPPG this season. His weekly finishes are QB12, 18, 16, 17 and 18. Plus, the Niners are not an easy matchup. They have allowed just eight passing touchdowns in six games and 15-plus fantasy points to a QB in just two of six games this season. Mahomes may be an MVP candidate in real life, but in fantasy, he belongs on the bench.
Purdy is coming off his second-best fantasy game of the season, but that came in a very favorable matchup against Seattle. This week’s matchup is not nearly as good with Steve Spagnuolo’s defense coming to town. Lamar Jackson went off fantasy-wise against the Chiefs in Week 1. Since then, no QB has reached 18 fantasy points against them. They have held QBs to less than 13 fantasy points in three straight weeks (Kirk Cousins, Justin Herbert and Derek Carr). They have also allowed just 13.5 FPPG to QBs in their last four games, which ranks seventh-lowest in that span. Given that Purdy has been held to less than 15 fantasy points in four of six games, it’s best to get away from him this week.
There is just no upside with Herbert in this offense. That is why he has become a fixture in the “Sit ’Em” section of this article. Herbert scored a season-high in fantasy points in Week 6 … with 13.7. It was also his first time exceeding 12 fantasy points in 2024. Herbert hasn’t used his legs to pick up yards and isn’t being asked to throw much at all. Last week was the first time he topped 180 passing yards this season, and he has just six touchdown passes in five games.
Rodgers had one of his best games as a Jet on Monday night. However, he is still more of a safe-floor option right now. He has topped 250 passing yards only once. He has scored more than 16 fantasy points twice and more than 18 one time. Now he faces the Steelers, who have allowed the fourth-fewest points per game to QBs this season. The Davante Adams trade adds some intrigue, but given the matchup, I would still opt to take a wait-and-see approach here because this has the potential to be a low-scoring battle.
There is a chance Cooper Kupp returns this week, which would be great, because once he and Puka Nacua are healthy and back on the field, perhaps we can begin starting Stafford in fantasy lineups. And perhaps, the upside will return to the Rams offense. So far this season, Stafford has not scored 15 fantasy points in a game. He has just three passing touchdowns in five games, and he’s thrown for 224 yards or fewer in three of his last four contests. Plus, he doesn’t run at all. This should be a huge Kyren Williams game, so play it safe with Stafford this week.
