Rush Nation it’s time for everyone’s must read article every week, Start/Sits. Because it’s almost Thursday Night Football time and you now have all your Waiver Wire adds for this week, it’s time to get into it. We ignore the obvious Start/Sits, meaning we give you some answers to more difficult decisions.

Starts:

Jared Goff

Jared Goff laid an egg for you last week. Depending on your scoring he only scored a maximum of 1pt last week. As a result, I saw many people drop Goff this week. Whilst I can understand cutting him at some point, cutting him before playing the Falcons and the Bengals is cutting your nose off to spite your face. Jared Goff is a must start this week and is currently ranked at number 8 in our weekly Quarterback Rankings. Had he had a couple of good games coming in, he might have gone up slightly higher than this in the rankings. 

The reason for this is they face the really bad Falcons defense this week. This defense is giving up the 3rd most points to Quarterbacks in Fantasy Football this week. They have also given up the most Touchdowns this season and three consecutive top 5 fantasy performances to Quarterbacks. The defense really stinks and the Rams have the weapons to exploit a bad defense. Whilst there has been some struggles, this is the perfect get right game for Goff and the Rams offense. Start/Sits suggest starting all your Rams.

Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman

Whilst the Kansas City Chiefs have had a tough time on defense as of late, they have been absolutely terrible against the run. So you must start both Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. The Chiefs have given up a league leading 788 yards to Running Backs on the ground this season. In total, the Chiefs defense is giving up 1,057 total scrimmage yards to Running Backs. In the last 4 games, the Chiefs defense has given up over 180 rushing yards in all four games. As the run game suits how Denver run their offense, you can certainly start both Running Backs. Lindsay is almost a must start most games and is certainly heading to be a top 24 Running Back this year for the second year in a row. 

Freeman however, has been a solid floor play, but we have yet to see his ceiling. That is purely because he has failed to find the end zone. That could potentially change this weekend. So get both RBs into your lineups and enjoy early points on a Thursday night.

Josh Jacobs

Jacobs has been a bit hold and cold this season, but he is coming off a bye and also the game of his career in London vs the Bears. The rookie is on pace to net 1,228 yards from scrimmage this season and is starting to look more like the player we expected when we drafted him in the 5th round of drafts. 

This week he faces the 4th worst run defense in the NFL in the shape of the Green Bay Packers. No defense has given up more Touchdowns (8) to Running Backs than the Packers. If the Raiders can get down to the goal-line against the Packers, Josh Jacobs could be in line for a big day. He is a strong start this week and should not need a Start/Sits conversation in your head this week.

Courtland Sutton

Courtland Sutton is having a breakout season. He has displaced Emmanuel Sanders as the main man in Denver. In addition to this, he is also sitting in the top 12 Wide Receivers in PPR scoring so far this season.

I have already mentioned the Chiefs defense and how bad they have been this season. However, they are far worse against the run that the pass. But that doesn’t mean Sutton isn’t a good option this week. For starters, he has a 24.9% target share, which is a great number to plug into your number. Volume is king in fantasy football. In addition to this, he is also on the field for over 90% of snaps this season. 

Plug in this volume, alongside playing a defense that is susceptible to the big play and you have a recipe for success in Courtland Sutton. Therefore, start Sutton this week.

Dawson Knox

Knox isn’t anything special as a Tight End. However, there are two things going for Knox this week and why he appears in this Start/Sits column.

Firstly, he is playing Miami this week. Any offensive player facing Miami is an automatic must start in nearly every case. And secondly, there are hardly any Tight End’s left to stream. We have lost a number of Tight Ends this season, with Will Dissly adding to the count last week. The fantasy world is now at the point where Luke Wilson is a thing, as is Darren Fells. Both are not good Tight Ends. However, with injuries and byes, these guys are now under consideration to start in fantasy lineups. If you were smart and jumped on Knox, he is a start this week unless you have an elite option.

Sits

Philip Rivers

Phil Rivers is a potential Hall of Fame Quarterback. However, he is certainly struggling this season. Even more so, his last two starts have been pretty terrible. He has had five turnovers in the last 2 games (4 INTs and a Fumble) with only 2 Touchdowns. He looks all out of sorts.

He is not completing passes at the same rate of high accuracy you would associate with Philip Rivers, with Sunday’s loss being the second time in six games  his passing accuracy has dropped below 60%.

This week, he faces the Tennessee Titans. And whilst the Titans are struggling on offense, their defence is a top 8 defence against Quarterbacks in terms of least fantasy points allowed to Quarterbacks. The Titans are only giving up 1.33TDs a game at the moment and only 238 yards. Therefore, sit Rivers this week and find a streaming option that is better suited.

David Montgomery 

Montgomery has not been the Running Back we all expected this season. He only has a season high 67 yards rushing in a game this season and only 2 Touchdowns in 1 game. However, it’s the receiving game where he has been the most disappointing. Montgomery has only had a season high 27 yards receiving, which was in Week One. 

This week he is going up against the much feared Saints defence. New Orleans are the 7th best defence against Fantasy Running Backs and have only given up three rushing Touchdowns to Running Backs this season, and no receiving Touchdowns. 

With uncertainty over who the starting Quarterback is this week, I would just stay away from this game and bench David Montgomery.

Adrian Peterson

Peterson might end up in the Hall of Fame in the next few years, but he is on a bad football team right now. Whilst he had a good week last week, he was playing Miami. This week, he is up against one of the best defenses in the NFL, the 49ers.

 The Redskins might have got a win last week. However, against the unbeaten 49ers, they are going to struggle to get drives going and get points on the board. The 49ers are the second best defense against Fantasy Running Backs, and they have played a game less than those around them in the rankings. They are yet to give up a Touchdown to a Running Back this season and are only giving up 93.4 rushing yards a game to Running Backs. Therefore, if you have anyone else on your bench, follow this Start/Sits advice and sit Adrian Peterson.

Kenyon Drake

Drake has been disappointing for the second season in a row. He has not delivered. Although he is coming off a game where he had 70 yards from scrimmage, he is losing touches. Earlier in the season, he was losing snaps to Kalen Ballage. Now he is losing not only touches, but starts to Mark Walton.

There are rumours that Drake is on the trade block and that he could also be traded. However, I doubt that happens before Sunday. So, even if Drake is a starter this week, it doesn’t mean that you start him. The Dolphins match-up against the Bills, who are a top 10 defence against the run for Fantasy Running Backs, is not one you want to be committing lineup spots to. The Bills have shown time and time this season they can stop the run and stifle offenses. Therefore, it’s probably best to sit Drake this week and follow this Start/Sits advice.

Allen Robinson

Allen Robinson makes his second appearance in this Start/Sit column. He has been reasonably consistent this year, however he has a terrible matchup this week. We are also completely unsure who is Quarterback is this week. But regardless of whether it is Trubisky or Daniel, neither have the weapons to really make a dent in this excellent Saints defence.

Marshon Lattimore has been playing at another level this season. He has pretty much blanked DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, and Amari Cooper so far this season. In their match-up against the Saints this week, Robinson will be covered by Lattimore. In our Lock Down column you will read about this in more detail. However, Robinson is a must sit this week for sure.

Terry McLaurin

Scary Terry is the last sit in this weeks Start/Sits column. And this might shock some of you. However, this is purely due to match-up. McLaurin has the scary 49ers defense this week. The 49ers defense is ranked the 4th best against Wide Receivers for Fantasy Football. They are only giving up 127 receiving yards a game to Wide receivers and 0.8 receiving Touchdowns a game. Now, unlike the Patriots, they have put up these numbers again the Browns, the Rams, the Buccaneers, the Steelers and the Bengals. I would make a case all those offenses are better than the Redskins. 

This is not a slight on the player. I am a big fan of Terry McLaurin. However, for this week, it’s important to follow this Start/Sits advice and sit him.

That’s everything for this week. Please do leave comments for more Start/Sits. Also, please do check out all our other content here on 5yardrush.co.uk and make sure you are subscribed and are downloading our podcast, which you can get in your ears 3 times a week.

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