Too often, fantasy football “analysts” brag about what they got correct but rarely take accountability for what they got wrong. I want to change that trend when it comes to the advice I offer. Here are my Must Start/Sit players for the previous week and my analysis of those picks and performances. Using graphics, I will also evaluate my advice. The legend for the graphics is as follows:
✅ – I got it right, and you did well with my information.
❌ – I got it wrong, and my prognostication hurt you.
↔️ – My advice neither helped nor hurt you; the player performance was middle of the road for their position.
⭕️ – Out or Other Situation that makes evaluation moot.
QB Must Starts
✅Cam Newton, NEP – The dual-threat QB lived up to expectation with stat lines of 30/44-397-1-1 in the air and 11-47-2 on the ground. Newton earned fantasy GMs 112.40 points in DSE scoring (with bonuses), making him QB3 for Week 2.
QB Must Sit
❌Ryan Fitzpatrick, MIA – The Bills Top 5 ranked pass defense collapsed and allowed Fitzpatrick to perform his magic. The Dolphins QB finished the game 31/47-328-2-0 and added 12 yards on the ground for 84.00 DSE fantasy points. The Miami signal-caller was good enough to finish QB7.
RB Must Start
✅Austin Ekeler, LAC – The Chargers RB gained 148 total yards from scrimmage and added 4 receptions. Ekeler finished as the ninth-best RB for week 2, despite not getting in the end zone.
❌Joe Mixon, CIN – Browns finally proved they could stop Mixon in his tracks. The Bengals RB was held to 46 yards rushing, 4 catches for 40 yards, and finished outside of the Top 24 at his position. Huge disappointment for the runner that averaged 154 yards rushing against Cleveland in his last two starts.
RB Must Sit
✅Jordan Howard, MIA – The Dolphins significant off-season acquisition managed just 4 yards and a TD on 5 carries. For the second week in a row, Howard gained less than 10 yards with an average of less than 1 yard/attempt, all the while stealing goal line scores from clearly better RBs in the Miami backfield. Why he is RB1 on the Dolphins official Depth Chart is a mystery.
↔️Melvin Gordon III, DEN – If Gordon had not scored his lone TD, I most certainly would have gotten this right as a Must Sit. Yet, The Chargers RB added a pedestrian 84 yards from scrimmage to his TD and ended up RB20 and 16.40 DSE fantasy points for the week. Gordon was surprisingly worthy of being your 2nd RB rostered.
WR Must Start
✅Stephon Diggs, BUF – The new Bills wideout finished the day with 8 catches on 153 yards and a TD. Diggs quieted naysayers by finishing as the 3rd best WR in Week 2 with 34.30 fantasy points in DSE scoring.
✅Julien Edelman, NEP – The 34-year-old slot receiver finished as the best WR of the week with his career-high 179 yards on 8 receptions while being targeted 11 times (as I predicted double-digit targets). The Patriots receiver earned GMs that started him 40.90 DSE fantasy points.
❌TY. Hilton, IND – Colts QB Phillip Rivers only targeted the usually reliable speedster 5 times during their contest with Minnesota. Hilton managed just 3 catches for 28 yards. Hilton should have been a Must Sit. I got this one wrong in the worst way.
WR Must Sit
✅Sammy Watkins, KC – Chargers held Watkins to one reception and 11 yards. Evaluation not open for debate – got this one right.
❌DK Metcalf, SEA – Metcalf embarrassed the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (Stephon Gilmore) on a deep TD reception and wound up with 4 catches and 92 yards. The Seahawks pass-catcher finished with 19.20 DSE fantasy points, which was good enough for WR13 for the week.
❌Tyler Boyd, CIN – Football is a 60-minute game; if it were a 56-minute game, I would have gotten a green checkmark as he only had 5 receptions for 46 yards to that point in the game. On the game’s final drive, Boyd got 2 more receptions for 26 yards and scored a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game. The Cincinnati receiver ended the game with 20.20 fantasy points (a 7-72-1 stat line) and finished as the 10th best WR for Week Two.
TE Must Start
↔️Hunter Henry, LAC – I suggested Henry would finish with double-digit fantasy points, and he did (14.30 in DSE scoring). However, there were so many outstanding and surprising TE performances across the league this week (Higbee, Waller, J. Smith, J. Reed, etc.) that 83 yards on 6 receptions meant the Charger only finished TE11. Starting Henry neither helped nor hurt you as a fantasy GM.
TE Must Sit
⭕️Jack Doyle, IND – The Colts TE came up lame just 2 days before kickoff with ankle and knee ailments. He was ruled out and did not dress for the game.
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