Well Rush Nation, I am back with some more starts and sits. We learned a lot in Week One, and it is time to put that knowledge into practice with some much needed guidance around starts and sits.

And that is why I write this column. To give you all the information so you can make the right decisions. 

So, without further ado, let’s look at those Starts and Sits for Week Two.

STARTS

JUSTIN HERBERT- QB LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

This is the week to really cash in on Justin Herbert. I have him as QB4 on the week. This week, he gets Dallas and their historically terrible defense. Fire up Herbert, and the rest of his crew, as he is going to put up some very big numbers this week.

JAMEIS WINSTON- QB NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Winston lit up a neutral site in Florida against the Green Bay Packers last week. 5TDs and a top 5 QB performance with a Wide Receiver corps that is bettered by half a dozen or more college teams. Winston faces Carolina this week, and I expect that whilst he won’t put up the same numbers as last week, it will still be a top 12 showing, or close to, by the end of the weekend.

DAVID MONTGOMERY- RB CHICAGO BEARS

Montgomery is in line for another large workload this week. Only this time, he plays the Bengal’s. Whilst the Bengals did hold Dalvin Cook to modest numbers last week, I cannot expect the same thing this week. Whilst Dalton will hold this offense up, we can still expect him to rely on Montgomery to move the chains, and power through at the goal line. My RB12 on the week, feel confident in Monty this week.

CHASE EDMONDS.- RB ARIZONA CARDINALS

Edmonds looks angry last week and looked like a man on a mission. He held off the threat of Kenyan Drake, and now he’s holding off the threat of James Conner. Edmonds needs the competition in order to keep that fire burning inside. This week he has Minnesota, fresh off giving up a ton of yards to Joe Mixon last week. Feel confident in Edmonds delivering at least RB2 numbers this week, and maybe more, as Arizona will plan to use him to control the game

BRANDIN COOKS- WR HOUSTON TEXANS

Brandin Cooks had an extremely good week one against the Jags. And, whilst this will be a tougher match-up vs Cleveland this week, he is the only person in this Houston offense we can  contemplate putting in our lineups this week. He is the only talent on this roster that you can say has played at the elite level of this game. Expect Cooks, purely from a volume perspective, end up as a WR2.

JARVIS LANDRY- WR CLEVELAND BROWNS

With OBJ out again this week, Landry will continue to profit, as he has done through most of the absences of OBJ’s time in Cleveland. Whilst he would prefer to play with his former high school teammate, he will certainly enjoy getting his hand on a lot of balls this week. Expect a WR2 performance this week. 

ROB GRONKOWSKI- TE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

After last week’s performance, the Brady and Gronk partnership is back in full force. Targets, Redzone targets and touchdowns. Against the Falcons, expect more of the same again this week.

SITS

MATT RYAN- QB ATLANTA FALCONS

Matty Ice has been bad for a while now. And things won’t get easier this week as he has to face the reigning champs, and the best pass rush in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons looked under-prepared last week, and they looked off the pace. I expect the Bucs to take away the threat of Ridley to a degree. Expect Ryan to have a tough one, and sit him to fight another day. The easiest sit in this starts and sits column.

TREVOR LAWRENCE- QB JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

A very up and down debut, with 3TDs and 3 INTs. However, what became clear is the Jaguars seem to be a long way away from being a highly functional offense. As a result, I would be sitting Lawrence against this ferocious Denver defense. I currently have him at QB24 this week.

JAMES ROBINSON- RB JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

For Lawrence read Robinson. The Jaguars looked like a mess last week. And Urban Meyer decided to give even more touches to Carlos Hyde than should be legally allowed. However, whilst the Jags are finding their feet, they will have better days ahead then on Sunday. Fade Robinson this week and live to fight another day.

MIKE DAVIS- RB ATLANTA FALCONS

I originally had Josh Jacob’s in here. And then, right before I was about to hit submit, he got ruled out for Week Two. So instead, I am going to go with Mike Davis. Tampa has the best run defense in the NFL and it’s rare anyone gets 100 scrimmage yards against them from the Running Back position. Add in the negative game script and the poor start in Week One, you have the ultimate recipe for disaster.

JULIO JONES- WR TENNESSEE TITANS

A strange name to put into this starts and sits column. However, he fell out with Mike Vrabel last week. And, he also looked pretty washed up. However, whilst I am sure Julio Jones will have something still to offer to this Tennessee Titans team, I cannot see him doing this this week. I expect he will pay a little for his antics and performance last week. Especially, as I think others are trusted more at this stage.

JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER- WR PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Juju this week is going to be more of a case of odd man out, as opposed to something he has or hasn’t done. The Steelers have a lot of mouths to feed in this offense. And they have a sizable challenge playing against the Raiders. With Claypool being targeted for the big plays, Johnson getting the lions share of targets, and Harris getting more and more work, I think Juju’s role will be slightly limited this week. I have him currently outside of WR3 range. He is, at best, a flex play for me this week. So be careful.

MIKE GESICKI- TE MIAMI DOLPHINS

Tua does not target Tight Ends all that often. I had Gesicki a lot in this column last season when Tua was starting. As a result, nothing has changed. Everything is still the same, and that means we need to be sitting Gesicki on our benches yet again. Especially against the Patriots. I am sure he will have one or two decent games this season. However, it won’t be enough to salvage his draft capital.

That will do it for this week. Make sure to check out the Waiver Wire column, and other work on the website. However, until next week, when I will be back with more Starts and Sits, Keep Rushing!

– Murf (@Murf_NFL)