Sit/Start Week 2: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Monday, September 21st at 8:15 PM ET

Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

Betting Odds: NO -6.5, 51.5 Total via Oddsshark

Network: ESPN

New Orleans Saints

Quarterback

Drew Brees (Start, QB1)

I don’t want to overreact to one game, but Drew Brees was not impressive against the Buccaneers. His arm looked closer to the end of the season/postseason Brees than what we are accustomed to early in the season. Brees had a 51.8  QBR and a minus 7.9 CPOE (competition percentage over expectation via NextGenStats). That is shocking from Brees, who was second in the NFL last season in CPOE with 6.3 over expectation. Now, as I said, it’s one game and the Buccaneers’ defense is underrated, so I do not want to get ahead of myself. But the warning signs are there. Brees is a start option against a weak Raiders defense, but if he doesn’t perform this week then we may want to jump ship.

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara (Start, RB1),  Latavius Murray (Sit, Deep Flex)

With Brees struggling, the Saints tried to lean on the running game but the Buccaneers defense proved stout there again this season. Alvin Kamara only managed 16 yards on 12 carries (though he did have a touchdown) and Latavius Murray had 48 yards on 16 carries. Kamara salvaged his day through his receiving work (shocker) and caught five of eight targets for 51 yards and a touchdown. Kamara also saw three red-zone carries and two red-zone targets, which is fantastic. The Raiders defense is much worse than the Buccaneers and they just struggled to contain Christian McCaffery (who doesn’t?), so I am expecting a bigger game for Kamara. It may be even better than anticipated if Michael Thomas cannot play due to his high ankle sprain. Murray could be a deep flex play this week because the Saints could go up big and look to run the ball in the second half.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Emmanuel Sanders (Start, Flex), Tre’Quan Smith (Sit), Jared Cook (Start, TE1)

So yeah, about that high ankle sprain. Michael Thomas twisted his ankle during the game last week but he did not leave the game. It is being reported that Thomas will miss a few weeks because the injury is worse than expected. The direct beneficiaries of Thomas’ injury are Kamara (discussed above) Emmanuel Sanders, and Jared Cook. Sanders’ box score from last week does not look all that productive but he had a league-high four red-zone targets. Sanders is now the de facto number one receiver so his role outside the red-zone will be larger. Cook led the team in receiving yards last week with 80. He showed last season that he can be the number two option on the team and Brees will need to rely on him more without Thomas. Both Sanders and Cook are startable against the weak Raiders secondary. Tre’Quan Smith has not been consistent enough to warrant much attention right now, but we should monitor his usage without Thomas in the lineup.

Las Vegas Raiders

Quarterback

Derek Carr (Sit)

The Panthers’ defense might end up being the worst in the NFL, but Derek Carr played well last week. His QBR was 81.3 and he had an 8.8 CPOE. As long as Carr continues to take a few deep shots here and there to keep opposing defenses honest, this Raiders offense will be able to move the ball effectively all year. Carr will be a solid streaming option throughout the year, but not against this formidable Saints defense that kept Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offense in check.

Running Backs

Josh Jacobs (Start, RB2)

Is… is it actually happening? John Gruden had been talking up passing the ball to Josh Jacobs more throughout the offseason but the Raiders’ actions showed different intentions. They extended Jalen Richard, signed Devontae Booker, drafted Lynn Bowden Jr. as an RB (but traded him to the Dolphins), and signed Theo Riddick for a couple of weeks in camp (now cut). All of those backs specialize in catching the ball, which made it difficult to see Jacobs playing on passing downs. But last week, Jacobs set career highs in routes (17), targets (six), and catches (four). If that continues along with his locked-in rushing workload, Jacobs can easily end the year as an RB1. This is a tough matchup against the Saints, but hopefully, Jacobs will be out there again for some passing work.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Henry Ruggs III (Sit), Hunter Renfrow (Sit), Bryan Edwards (Sit), Darren Waller (Start, TE1)

Henry Ruggs III left the game last week with an ankle injury but returned to finish the game. Even with the injury, he led the WR group in targets (five) though that wasn’t the highest of bars to clear. Darren Waller actually led the team with eight targets and Jacobs was second with six. Bryan Edwards led all receivers in snaps but only mustered one target on the day and Hunter Renfrow also only managed to garner two targets. Currently, we should not be starting any of the Raiders WRs as it looks like the passing game will be flowing through Waller again. Ruggs is still a hold though to see how his role evolves throughout the year. Waller is a solid TE1 but it looks like his ceiling will be limited again due to lack of red-zone usage. TEs earn most of their points through scores and Waller had zero red-zone targets after totaling three touchdowns a year ago.

-Frank Costanzo (@FrankQBList on Twitter, Zzzonked92 on Reddit)