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You have lineup questions, we have lineup answers — at least we hope so. Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is here to help fantasy managers make difficult roster decisions. And you know what is a good move? Starting CeeDee Lamb. But that’s too obvious, so you won’t see such simple analysis here. Instead, we’re exploring more debatable situations. And if you can’t find a player you are looking for, please check out the latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats come from NFL Pro, Next Gen Stats or NFL Research.
Start ‘Em
Mason followed up his impressive Week 1 with another 100-yard game in Minnesota. He also found pay dirt, finishing with over 17 fantasy points. He may not put up receiving numbers like Christian McCaffrey, but who can complain about the results? Other 49ers RBs have played a total of four snaps. The volume of work is enough to have him in play every week, but he is especially in play this week against a Rams defense that has allowed the highest rush EPA to opposing RBs. Just call him “Must Start Mason” until CMC returns, which would be Week 6 at the earliest.
Stevenson is one of four RBs with more than 45 carries this season. He’s also averaging four targets per game and is tied for the league lead with three goal-line carries. The usage is absolutely elite and he should be started weekly. The matchup may scare some, but it shouldn’t. The Jets have allowed the sixth-highest rate of runs of 10-plus yards. We saw Jordan Mason carve them up in Week 1 and Tony Pollard put up a strong 15 fantasy points against them in Week 2. On a short week, I would expect to see plenty of Stevenson.
Volume wins the day in fantasy and the bulk of it has gone to Robinson in Washington’s backfield. He has received 29 of the 39 RB carries and has even run more routes than Austin Ekeler. Robinson is coming off his career-best performance as a runner — gaining 133 yards on 17 carries against the Giants — and has topped 14 fantasy points in each contest this season. With the amount of volume he has seen on a weekly basis, he is a strong RB2 for fantasy purposes — especially against the Bengals, who have allowed the sixth-highest rush EPA.
With Kenneth Walker III sidelined, Charbonnet played 96 percent of the snaps against the Patriots. He had 14 carries, 32 routes, five targets, scored a touchdown and finished with 18 fantasy points. If the Seahawks continue to look to Charbonnet at that rate, he needs to be started in your weekly lineup. Plus, the matchup against the Dolphins is favorable. James Cook just ran all over Anthony Weaver’s unit, and with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sidelined, this could be a positive game script for Charbonnet. But if Walker ends up playing, Walker is the must-start option.
It’s been an extremely rough start for White, who has 68 yards on 22 carries through two games, but he’s faced tough defenses in games where the Raiders were often trailing. Both of those things should change this week against the Panthers. They have allowed the most yards before contact per attempt this season and the seventh-highest rush EPA to the position. Plus, if Vegas has a lead for a change, we should see White get plenty of burn down the stretch. The Vegas run game has looked rough through two weeks, but the Panthers are a perfect get-right opportunity.
Sit ‘Em
Pittsburgh may have a new offensive play-caller at the helm in Arthur Smith, but we’re seeing the same old results for Harris. He has yet to score nine fantasy points in a game this season. Harris has seen the bulk of the ground work, but Jaylen Warren continues to be a bigger threat in the passing game. We do know Harris is the RB the Steelers will use to grind out the clock when leading, but I’m not so sure they will be in that position this week against the Chargers, who have allowed the second-lowest rush EPA to RBs. Given that he is all floor, and that is lowered this week, I would avoid Harris in fantasy.
The Bears offense has underwhelmed, and it is dragging everyone in it down. The offensive line gets most of the blame, especially on the interior. Swift has logged 24 carries this season, averaging 2 yards per attempt, and an alarming -4 yards before contact. That means he has to run through contact just to get to the line of scrimmage. The Bears got him involved in the passing game last week and he still failed to score nine fantasy points. The floor is entirely too low right now, and we have yet to see any upside. Until we do, Swift should stay on the bench.
Pass game usage helped prop Williams to a fringe RB2 finish in Week 2, but that is no way to live. He needed five catches just to break double-digit fantasy points. There is far too little ground production at the moment. Through two games, Williams has run for a measly 40 yards. We continue to see the Broncos involve Jaleel McLaughlin, who received a bulk of the RB catches in Week 1. The floor and ceiling are both too low to start Williams against a tough run defense like Tampa Bay’s. Get away from Williams in this one.
Singletary is coming off a strong performance in which he ran for 95 yards and a touchdown. He’s had a safe floor through two weeks, but that is likely to change against a stingy Browns defense. We have seen this type of unit wreak havoc on Daniel Jones and the Giants in the past, and without a touchdown on Sunday, Singletary is likely to return to single digits in fantasy points. The only Giants player I want to risk putting in a fantasy lineup this week is Malik Nabers.
We saw a lot more D’Onta Foreman in Week 2 than anticipated. He and Ford nearly played the same amount of snaps (27 for Ford, 25 for Foreman), but it was Foreman who saw more work on the ground. He had 14 carries to Ford’s seven. A 36-yard run saved Ford’s day, but nine opportunities while splitting work with another back is too risky to trust. And that was in a game the Browns were leading. It feels like we could get a similar game script this week, so I am once again anticipating a healthy dose of Foreman — which is enough for me to get away from Ford.
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