- Start Jimmy Garoppolo: He’s been a borderline fantasy starter in recent weeks, and a favorable matchup against the Cardinals pushes him into clear “start” territory.
- Sit Kareem Hunt: The Browns backup hasn’t been getting as many touches this season, and the Bills' defense is unlikely to be where he turns things around.
- Start George Pickens: Pickens’ role in the Steelers’ offense has increased since the Chase Claypool trade.
Estimated Reading Time: 8 mins
Deciding who to start or sit can be as easy as looking at the PFF rankings and starting the player ranked higher. This start’em, sit’em column digs a step deeper, looking into why someone you might typically start might not have a good week, or why someone overlooked might have a good week. In many cases, it’s the usual starters who should star, but we want to explore the borderline players too.
QUARTERBACKS
START
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
- Jones has scored the 10th-most fantasy points per game over the past four weeks.
- His 382 rushing yards are the fourth-most among quarterbacks this season.
- The Giants have the third-best matchup for quarterbacks this week, according to PFF's strength of schedule tool.
- New York faces the Lions, who have allowed the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season.
- Jones averaged a touchdown on 4.9% of his passes against man defenses, compared to 1.6% against zone, over the past two seasons.
- The Lions employ man defense at the fourth-highest rate on pass plays compared to the other 31 teams.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
- Garoppolo has scored the 11th-most fantasy points per game over the past six weeks.
- His 0.51 yards per dropback ranks 10th among all quarterbacks and third among quarterbacks under 200 rushing yards.
- Garoppolo is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt, which is the third-most at the position this season.
- The 49ers face the Cardinals, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
SIT
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
- Wilson has finished as a top-14 fantasy quarterback only once this season.
- His 70.4% adjusted completion percentage is the lowest among quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks this season.
- Wilson has an 8.9% turnover worthy-throw rate against man defense this season, compared to 2.5% against zone.
- The Raiders call man defense at the sixth-highest rate in the NFL.
Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
- Carr ranks 29th in fantasy points per game among quarterbacks over the past four weeks.
- The Raiders face the Broncos, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.
- Carr averages 8.4 yards per attempt against man defense, compared to 6.8 against zone.
- The Broncos utilize zone defense at the fourth-highest rate in the league.
RUNNING BACKS
START
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
- Pacheco ran 16 times for 82 yards in the Chiefs' victory last week.
- He took over as the clear lead back on early downs for Kansas City.
- The Chiefs' offensive line has the third-best edge over the Chargers' defensive line in the run game, according to PFF's offensive line/defensive line matchup chart.
- That is in part because the Chiefs' offensive line now ranks second in the league.
- The Chargers have allowed the third-most fantasy points to running backs this season.
- The Chiefs are heavy favorites, which should allow them to run both early in the game and late.
- All three of the Kansas City starting wide receivers are dealing with injuries, which could also lead to the team relying more on the run.
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