Week 2 Starts/Sits
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Now, on to the picks…
🟢 START: Cam Skattebo (NYG) @ LAR
Skattebo enters Week 2 as a legitimate high-floor option after New York leaned on him inside a power-rushing scheme that's built for exactly this matchup.
Skattebo turned 18 carries into 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 1
Brian Daboll and Greg Roman ran 22-personnel (2 RB, 2 TE) on 23.5% of snaps (the highest rate in the league) and Skattebo averaged 6.3 YPC inside the tackles out of those sets, with 5.5 yards after contact
The Rams surrendered a league-worst 73% rush success rate in Week 1, giving up 133 yards on the ground at 5.54 YPC
Don't let the light Week 1 target total scare you off… this offense is built to pound the rock, and the Rams' front seven just showed it can't stop it. Skattebo profiles as a high-floor RB2 with real touchdown equity this week.
🔴 SIT: Quinshon Judkins (CLE) @ TB
Judkins looks like a game-script casualty in Week 2, and the underlying usage backs that up. Unfortunately for him, the game script may not be favorable much this season.
Judkins managed just 12 carries for 33 yards (2.8 YPC) in Week 1
He was fully removed from third-down and two-minute drill work, with Raheem Sanders taking that role instead
Tampa Bay stacked eight-plus defenders in the box on a league-leading 50% of snaps in Week 1
Cleveland opens as an 8.5-point underdog, and that kind of spread all but guarantees negative game script… meaning more dropbacks and fewer touches for Judkins. Bench him with confidence this week.
🟢 START: Bhayshul Tuten (JAX) @ DEN
Tuten's efficiency numbers suggest he's about to break out against a defense that just got torched.
Tuten forced 7 missed tackles on only 15 carries in Week 1; tied for the NFL lead
7 of his 15 carries hit 15+ mph, a clear burst/speed indicator
Denver's run defense allowed 197 total rushing yards at 6.35 YPC to Kenneth Walker III in Week 1
Chris Rodriguez Jr. sharing the backfield hasn't stopped Tuten from producing at an elite per-touch rate, and Denver just proved it's vulnerable to explosive runs. That's a dangerous combination for a defense that hasn't fixed the problem.
🔴 SIT: Travis Etienne Jr. (NO) @ BAL
Etienne's touch equity has quietly and surprisingly evaporated, and the matchup only makes things tougher in Week 2.
Etienne split carries 9-9 with Kendre Miller in Week 1, a surprise split that not many analysts saw coming. If that continues, Etienne drafters won’t be happy.
Miller, not Etienne, got the lone carry inside the 5-yard line, and scored on it, vulturing what would have saved Eteinne’s day.
Baltimore's Minter-led defense already bottled up Jonathan Taylor's backfield this season
New Orleans travels to Baltimore as 8.5-point road underdogs, and without a repeat of his 7-reception performance, Etienne doesn't have a clear path to fantasy value. The touchdown vacuum alone makes him too risky to trust in lineups this week.
🟢 START: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WAS) @ DAL
Bill’s role and matchup fit combine to make him a strong RB2/Flex play in a game that should be high-scoring.
JCM led Washington with a 17 touches and scored a touchdown in Week 1
On runs bounced outside the tackles, JCM averaged a massive 7.2 YPC
Dallas allowed 27.3 fantasy points and 4.3 YPC to New York's backfield in Week 1
Washington's interior line is banged up, but that plays right into JCM's game… his best work comes on the perimeter, not between the tackles. With the game total sitting at 50.5 and JCM holding the edge over Rachaad White near the goal line, he's set up for another productive workload.
🔴 SIT: Tony Pollard (TEN) vs. PHI
Pollard's role is trending in the wrong direction, and Tennessee's outlook this week doesn't help.
Pollard totaled just 4.4 PPR points on 7 carries for 35 yards in Week 1
Tyjae Spears played 12 of 17 fourth-quarter snaps and split third-down work evenly with Pollard
Tennessee carries a lowly 16-point implied team total as 7.5-point home underdogs against Philadelphia
When the Titans fall behind, Spears is the one on the field for the passing-down and trailing-script snaps, which are the situations that produce fantasy points. That leaves Pollard as a low-volume, bench-worthy option this week.
That's the Friday list: three plays to trust, three to fade. Good luck out there this week.
-Joe
P.S. copy proven winners with us in Skool every day. Profit in your first 90 days, or your money back.