2022 NFL Fantasy Football Start/Sit – Week 2

After Week 1, are you happy with your team or are you contemplating throwing it in the garbage?

There were a handful of hyped up fantasy studs who failed to impress in Week 1 (I’m looking at you, Cam Akers). It’s hard to dump a player after just one game, but you should always be looking to improve your team. The waiver wire will be crazy and I want to give you a few options to target this week.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (hand) suffered an injury last week and will miss six-to-eight games. Which quarterback should you pick up as a replacement?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of QB Jameis Winston of the New Orleans Saints.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

  • QB Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) – Cousins looked great in their 23-7 win over the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota has an underrated offense and Cousins has some studs on the other end of his passes. He plays the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. Philly had a bad defensive outing against the Lions a week ago. I expect a big game from Cousins this week.
  • WR Julio Jones (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – The Bucs didn’t have to do much to get a 19-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Jones caught three of his five targets for 69 yards in the win.  Tampa Bay have lost WR Chris Godwin (hamstring) to injury for a few weeks, so Jones should continue his WR2 position for a short while. He’s a big body and should have success if the New Orleans Saints try to double-team WR Mike Evans.
  • TE Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars) – I was high on Engram going into this season and I’m still high on him now. Last week in the 28-22 loss at Washington, he caught all four of his targets for 28 yards. It wasn’t a stellar week, but Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence leaned on his tight ends a lot last season and he will continue to do so. They did upgrade their wide receiving corps this offseason, but Engram has excellent hands and is a great athlete. I wouldn’t bail on him so early.
  • RB Cordarrelle Patterson (Atlanta Falcons) – I’m also still riding the Patterson train this week. Last week in their 27-26 loss to the Saints, he gained 120 yards on 22 carries with a rushing touchdown, and caught three of his five targets for 16 yards. He’s a Swiss Army Knife for Atlanta’s offense and should have success against the Rams, whose offense looked a bit past their prime against the Bills in their opener.
  • QB Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints) – I wasn’t high on Winston coming into this season. I think it’s because he burned me early last season. He is passing more under head coach Dennis Allen. He has the same offensive coordinator, but it appears they have greater confidence in him this year. He also has a big improvement in his wide receivers with WR Michael Thomas back after a long, long road back from an ankle injury and they added WR Jarvis Landry and rookie WR Chris Olave this offseason. As long as Winston can limit his turnovers, he should be a top-ten fantasy quarterback this season.
  • Cincinnati Bengals Defense & Special Teams – The Bengals had an off week and lost to the Steelers 23-20 in overtime. The Bengals defense only got to Steelers QB Mitchell Trubisky once, but they did an excellent job limiting the Steelers scoring production. Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw four interceptions and lost a fumble, which put a string on Cincinnati’s defense. The Bengals face the Dallas Cowboys this week, who will have to start longtime backup QB Cooper Rush after Dak Prescott suffered a hand injury that will keep him out for around two months.
  • RB Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers) – (Deep League Suggesstion) – Steelers starting RB Najee Harris had to left last week’s game due to to a foot injury. They worried that he may have suffered another lisfranc injury, but he underwent testing after the game and the results came back negative. It appears that Harris will be good to go for the New England Patriots, but RB2 Jaylen Warren is a smart handcuff pickup if you own Harris in deeper leagues. He was the lone running back who received carries after Harris left the game.
  • WR Robbie Anderson (Carolina Panthers) – The Panthers offense was atrocious for the first three quarters in their 26-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. QB Baker Mayfield had fumble-itis and he wasn’t very accurate. Luckily, he settled down in the fourth quarter and leaned on Anderson who caught five of his eight targets for 102 yards and a touchdown. Anderson fits the mold of the kind of receiver that had success with Mayfield in the past. He faces the Giants this week, who allowed Titans QB Ryan Tannehill to throw 266 yards against last week.
  • RB Michael Carter (New York Jets) – I wasn’t very high on RB Breece Hall going into the year, even though he was ranked well-above Carter in everybody’s preseason rankings. Carter received more carries (10 vs 7) and did more with with them (6.0 ypc vs 3.8 ypc). Carter also caught seven of his nine targets for 40 yards. The Jets offense isn’t going to be very good with QB Joe Flacco at quarterback for the next couple games…but Carter should be a solid fantasy player on a bad team.
  • TE Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Chargers) – The Charters ran the ball quite a bit in their 24-19 win over the Raiders. Chargers QB Justin Herbert still had a great outing with 270 passing yards and three touchdowns. He found Everett in the end zone and he caught three of his four targets for 54 yards. Everett should be a big red zone target for the Chargers and shouldn’t be just a touchdown-or-bust fantasy tight end. He faces the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, who allowed a tight end touchdown last week.
  • WR Jerry Jeudy (Denver Broncos) – The Broncos new era didn’t get out to a great start with a 17-16 loss at Seattle. They were rested during the preseason and they looked rusty at times by committing 106 yards of penalties. Broncos QB Russell Wilson still threw for 340 yards and connected with Jeudy four times on seven targets for 102 yards and a score. They host the Houston Texans this week and I expect a much better overall outing from the team and Jeudy should be in line for another solid fantasy outing.
  • RB Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) – Niners starting running back Elijah Mitchell went down with a knee injury and Wilson is the next man up (again). Wilson has had success when called up over the last year or so. He has good hands and should get the bulk of the carries against Seattle.
  • Washington Commanders Defense & Special Teams – Washington had an average game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but still came out with the 28-22 win. They face the Lions this week, who put up 35 points against a bad Eagles defense. I don’t see the Lions scoring anywhere near the same amount this week. Washington should get a handful of sacks and could force a turnover or two.
  • QB Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons) – Mariota didn’t rack up many fantasy points for his passing in their 27-26 loss to the Saints, but I liked what I saw from him. Atlanta had a decent lead for most of the game, but their defense collapsed in the fourth quarter. The Falcons focused on running the ball and Mariota added an extra 72 yards on the ground. I might be in the minority with this recommendation, but I like Mariota against the Rams. I just didn’t like what I saw from the Rams defense in their opener.

SIT’EM

  • RB Cam Akers (Los Angeles Rams) – I was down on Akers going into Week 1 and had him in this section. I don’t know why he was so hyped up because I liked RB Darrell Henderson Jr. much more, who has better hands. Henderson didn’t light the world on fire, but Akers was overhyped. I’d rather take a chance with Jeff Wilson Jr. or Jamaal Williams over Akers this week.
  • QB Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) – The Lions did score 35 points against the Eagles, but Goff didn’t have outstanding numbers. He will spam the ball to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and WR DJ Chark and TE T.J. Hockenson will get more targets once teams catch on and double St. Brown. Goff will get a lot of pressure from Washington front-seven and I don’t like him this week. I’d rather start Carson Wentz or Davis Mills over Goff.
  • WR Sterling Shepard (New York Giants) – It’s clear that the Giants are trying to use QB Daniel Jones more like the Titans use QB Ryan Tannehill. They will focus on the run and pass when needed. Shepard was only targeted four times in the 21-20 loss at Tennessee. I don’t see Shepard getting more than six targets a game right now. I’d rather start Christian Kirk or Devin Duvernay.
  • RB Dontrell Hilliard (Tennessee Titans) – Hilliard scored two receiving touchdowns in their 21-20 win over the Giants. He will be more of a factor in the passing game than RB Derrick Henry, but I look at Hilliard as a touchdown-or-bust flex option. I’d rather start Khalil Herbert or Michael Carter over Hilliard.
  • QB Mac Jones (New England Patriots) – Jones dealt with back spasms during his 20-7 loss to Miami. He had it checked out and it appears that Jones could start this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh lost their best defensive player LB T.J. Watt to a pectoral injury that will keep him out for 6-8 weeks. Pittsburgh still has some players that could step up and fill that void. I’d rather start Marcus Mariota or Carson Wentz this week.
  • WR Sammy Watkins (Green Bay Packers) – Watkins wasn’t a factor in Green Bay’s 23-7 loss at Minnesota. He caught three of three targets for just 18 yards. The Packers young receivers may have leaped above him in the progressions. I’d personally drop Watkins and pick up Isaiah McKenzie or Romeo Doubs.
  • TE Cole Kmet (Chicago Bears) – There have been rumors that Kmet may be in the doghouse in Chicago. He only received one target and did not catch the ball. You could blame it on the rainy, wet weather as QB Justin Fields only attempted 17 passes, but it could be more than that. I wouldn’t trust Kmet right now and I’d rather add Evan Engram or Dawson Knox.
  • Philadelphia Eagles Defense & Special Teams – The Eagles allowed the Detroit Lions to score 35 points last week. To be fair, they did play pretty well in the first-half, but they nearly lost the game after the Lions scored fourteen unanswered points in the fourth. The Eagles face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night and they will struggle. I’d rather go with the Washington Commanders Def/ST this week.
  • TE Cameron Brate (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – The Bucs just don’t utilize tight ends well in their offense. They purposely carved out a place for former TE Rob Gronkowski, but when he was out with injury last week, Brady had issues throwing to Brate. He never eclipsed 35 receiving yards in any game last year and I’m betting that he may duplicate that this year. I’d rather start Albert Okwuegbunam or Gerald Everett this week.
  • Arizona Cardinals Defense & Special Teams – Last week, the Cardinals allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to put up 44 points. I know the Chiefs offense are a top-three offense, so the Cardinals were expected to have a difficult time with them…but Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was throwing darts all over. The Cardinals face another good passing offense when they travel to Las Vegas. The Raiders new Derek Carr/Deante Adams combo will be dangerous and I’d avoid the Cardinals this week.
  • Amari Cooper (Cleveland Browns) – The Browns passing offense just isn’t going to be there until QB Deshaun Watson returns from suspension. Cooper only caught three of six targets for just 17 yards. He was out-targeted by teammates Donovan Peoples-Jones (11), who appears to be WR1 in Cleveland. I’d sit Cooper and would rather start Drake London or Jerry Jeudy.

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sweetbob-author-picAbout the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.