Start the Studs Who Let You Down

It didn’t look pretty to start, but that was a fun Thursday night football game! The Eagles took home the win, improving to 2-0 while the Vikings fell to 0-2. Looks like the 11-0 in 1-score games last season is starting to come back and haunt them. Both of their losses in 2022 have been within a touchdown. And despite how I saw all off-season “Negative point differential? Who cares? 14-3 is still 14-3.” Sure, it was, you still have to actually win. But maybe, just maybe, it was a lucky team that wasn’t as good as their record implied and you’re seeing the regression hit.

Now that I’m off of my soap box, we’re gonna dive into the fantasy side of things for Thursday night, plus go into some of the things I’m watching for Week 2.

Thursday Night Fantasy Recap

Kirk Cousins actually played well in Primetime! Like, really well. Justin Jefferson continued to dominate and Jordan Addison caught another TD. If you were thinking of making a move for this kid, your window is pretty much shut. Addison is pretty much in WR3 territory from here on out.

Alexander Mattison has been a disappointment for fantasy so far this season. Through two games he’s had 19 carries for 62 yards and six receptions for 21 yards. Averaging less than 3.3 yards per touch is, um, not good. He’s yet to be challenged for touches, so he has that going for him.

D’Andre Swift was the story of the Eagles, going for 175 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. While I am still a Kenneth Gainwell fan, let me be clear I never disliked Swift, aight? 😂 I still think because of his familiarity with the team, Gainwell keeps a good workload. But Swift has played himself into a role. I don’t think the Eagles wanted to give him that many carries if they had a choice, but man he looked good. Talent was never in doubt, it’s been availability.

Things to look out for in Week 2

• How does Mark Andrews impact the new Ravens offense? How will Zay Flowers be used with Andrews back? I want to see this offense move smoother and more efficiently than what we saw against Houston.

• ✈️ How will the Jets, specifically Zach Wilson, fare against the Cowboys? This team was a Super Bowl contender with Rodgers at the helm, but he’s out for the year. Can Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Dalvin Cook still manage to produce like we hoped with Wilson at QB?

• I’m a little wary of the Commanders this week because of the Denver defense, but I still think Robinson, Dotson, and McLaurin are solid starts. Just temper expectations.

• 🐅 Start your Bengals, as if that needed to be said. Yeah Tee Higgins let you down, as did everyone else, but you know they’re too good to stay down long.

• Tyjae Spears out-snapped Derrick Henry in Week 1, but I’m not worried. Henry is still Henry and against the Chargers who have struggled against the run in recent days, he’s a surefire start.

• You cannot, I repeat, cannot start Drake London against the Packers. What you can do is watch and see if his target share increases. He’s a good player stuck in a bad passing offense.

• You can start your Falcons running backs. Tyler Allgeier won’t score twice a week every week, but the workload is there for him and Bijan to produce.

• ⚡️ Stash Joshua Kelley. Heck, you could probably start him in your flex too. I’ve not been much of a Kelley fan in years past, but under Kellen Moore’s system he looks like he could thrive.

• 🐻 If Justin Fields and the Bears struggle once again against Tampa, panic. I think it’s a get right spot for him, but we need to see more.

• Unless I need to, I’m not starting Rachaad White. Unless he separates himself from Sean Tucker, he’s not in my lineup if I can help it.

• Start your Giants. On the other side, start James Conner aaaannnnddd, that’s it.

• 🐏 Puka Nacua still projects to be the Rams No.1 target against Sn Fransisco if he plays. I’m starting him if he plays. If not, Tutu Atwell and Tyler Higbee are next up for targets. I thought Van Jefferson was going to be the top guy, I was wrong. You gotta stay fluid in fantasy football,l and Nacua looks like the way to go with Kupp out.

• Start your Niners coming off of a big week against Pittsburgh.

• ⛪️ Jamaal Williams should have a bounce back week against Carolina after struggling with the Titans run defense. Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed all look startable.

• I’m starting Najee Harris if I have to, as the Browns run defense looks improved. George Pickens could get Denzel Ward, so that’s a bit scary. Calvin Austin is a name worth stashing and playing in DFS IMO.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading, don’t forget to set your lineups, and check out the discord if you’re not in it already! Let’s take home the win this week!