NFLFantasy Football: Week 2 starts and sits

It’s not that surprising to see Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady disappoint in fantasy football, but last week was a bigger disappointment than expected. The Cowboys defense may be their only saving grace right now on an otherwise disastrous team, and they showed that last week, holding Brady to just 212 yards, one touchdown, and an interception, totaling just 10.38 fantasy points. That’s why he’s at the top of our sit ‘em list for fantasy football week 2. Here are the players you should definitely sit, and some who you should definitely start.

Fantasy Football Week 2 Start ‘ems

Kirk Cousins

The Vikings play the Eagles this week, and the Eagles defense just allowed Jared Goff and the Lions to score 35 points on them in Week 1. Cousins and the Vikings faced a much tougher Packers team last week and Cousins threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns on them (plus one almost-TD to Jefferson, who was just barely one foot out of bounds on the catch).

Antonio Gibson

I apologize for my presumptuous preseason comments that picking Gibson early on was a mistake. It turns out, I was wrong. Though it looked like he’d be out-targeted by fellow RB Brian Robinson, that was not the case last week when the Commanders played the Lions. He was targeted eight times, catching seven for a team-high 72 yards and seeing 14 carries for 58 yards. Assuming that continues, Gibson was not the poor pick I thought he was. Indeed, he will be a solid RB1 for your league this season. This week, the Commanders play the Lions, who allowed four rushing touchdowns to the Eagles last week. Gibson should be a safe start for Week 2.

Gabriel Davis

The Bills wide receiver lived up to his sleeper expectations in their season opener against the Rams. He played 57 of 58 snaps, was targeted five times (of just 31 that Josh Allen threw) and caught four of them for 88 yards and a touchdown in the Bills win over the defending Super Bowl champs. Though he won’t see as much action as fellow receiver Stefon Diggs, he should still be an impactful fantasy starter. This week, the Bills play the Tennessee Titans, who allowed Giants RB Saquon Barkley close to 200 yards against them last week.

Dalton Schultz

Besides the Cowboys defense, Dalton Schultz is the only Cowboys player I would recommend starting after last week’s disastrous start to the season. Even without Dak Prescott, he should continue to get targets. Last week, he was targeted nine times, twice by Prescott’s backup Cooper Rush, who played just the last minutes of the game. He ended up with 13.2 points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and this week, the Cowboys play the Bengals, who last year allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends. The Bengals also allowed TE Pat Freirmuth almost 13 points last week. For now, Schultz is one of the only reliable Dallas starts.

Fantasy Football Week 2 Sit ‘Ems

Tom Brady

This week, Tom Brady and the Bucs will face the New Orleans Saints. Brady has a history of struggling against the Saints defense. He is 4-5 against them in his career, losing all four regular-season games to them as a Buccaneer with just six total touchdowns and a whopping eight interceptions in that time. Last year, he was shut out completely, not scoring a single touchdown. The Saints defense knows how to apply the pressure and they have sacked Brady 13 times in the past two seasons. In 2020, they pressured Brady 22 times, more than any other team that season, and 15 times in the shutout loss last year. I wouldn’t take my chances this year, especially not after last week.

Cam Akers

If you started Akers last week, you were deeply disappointed. He played just 12 snaps for three touches…and zero fantasy points. Akers is clearly in the dog house with Rams coach Sean McVay, who said he needs to see more “urgency” from the running back. Akers was one of the early-to-go running backs, making this pick all the more regretful. It’s not bad enough to drop him completely just yet. We have to keep in mind that he’s still recovering from an Achilles injury and a rough preseason. But until he proves his worth again, I’d recommend keeping him on the bench.

Amari Cooper

He may have been the Cowboys WR1, but with the Browns, it looks like he won’t be utilized in quite the same way. In Cleveland’s season opener against the Panthers, Cooper was only targeted six times of the 34 times that Jacoby Brissett threw, catching just three for 17 yards. The Jets defense had a decent Week 1 and will be paying attention to Cooper and though he may improve a bit, that’s not saying much for a WR who got just 4.7 points in last week’s game.

Dawson Knox

It’s going to be hard to get anywhere with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis leading the way in Buffalo. Last week, Josh Allen targeted Knox just two times for one catch and five yards for a measly 1.5 points in fantasy. Knox is a good tight end when he does see targets, and he should not be written off for Week 1′s lack of action. But if you have another option at TE, bench Knox for now until we see that he starts getting more targets against different defenses.