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Week 2 Start/Sit: Not your average Joe (Flacco)

brandon funston

As we head into the second weekend of the 2016 NFL season, here are 12 players to give extra consideration to when filling out your lineups – six that are looking better than usual, and a half dozen that are looking worse:

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The Ravens passing game should be in good shape on Sunday
The Baltimore Ravens passing game is looking up in Week 2. (Getty)

STARTS

QB – Joe Flacco, Bal ($29) – This one doesn’t require too much explanation. All you need to know is that Flacco faces a Cleveland defense that allowed a 101.8 QB Rating (third-highest of the week) against rookie Carson Wentz, who was seeing live action for the first time since a very uneven NFL debut performance in Philly’s first preseason game. Flacco should push 300 yards and net at least a couple of aerial scores.

RB – Danny Woodhead, SD ($19) – With WR Keenan Allen lost for the season (ACL) midway through Week 1, Woodhead ended up totaling a career-best 16 carries to go with five catches and a TD grab. He’s been a top 20 fantasy RB (in default formats) in each of his past two full seasons, averaging 78.5 receptions and 8.5 TDs. And he looks like he’ll be a centerpiece of the Chargers offense in Allen’s absence. He’s headed into the weekend’s meeting with Jacksonville as a starter in only 50 percent of Yahoo lineups, which is too low for someone that has top 15 RB upside from here on out.

RB – T.J. Yeldon, Jac ($20) – You want to trash Yeldon’s talent, fine by me. But even a JAG (Just A Guy) like Yeldon will have a hard time failing given his sizable role in the Jags’ offense and the (lack of) quality of his opponents’ defense (San Diego). Yeldon’s healthy 25-touch workload last week delivered 69 YFS and a TD, not overwhelming numbers, but good enough to finish No. 18 in fantasy points among Week 1 running backs. Repeating those numbers shouldn’t be too difficult for Yeldon in Week 2, which means that he needs to be started in many more leagues – he’s currently the 29th-most started RB, at just under 30 percent.

WR – Will Fuller, Hou ($17) – After a splashy preseason (144 yards, two touchdowns) that had his QB Brock Osweiler gushing about his skills, Fuller went out in his first NFL regular season game in Week 1 and posted top 10 fantasy WR numbers (107 yards, TD). Most notable about his debut might be his 11 targets, tops on the Texans, and three more than teammate DeAndre Hopkins. It’s worth further exploring the budding bro-mance between Osweiler and Fuller, currently the 39th-most started at WR for Week 2, as the Texans host the Chiefs on Sunday.

WR – Mike Wallace, Bal ($15) – Teddy Bridgewater isn’t exactly god’s gift to WR fantasy production. So it was unfair to judge Wallace too harshly for a lost season in Minnesota in ’15. Take a look at Wallace’s overall finishes at the WR position in the five seasons prior to landing in Minnesota a year ago: 18th in ’14, 25th in ’13, 24th in ’12, 9th in ’11 and 5th in ’10. That’s five straight top 25 campaigns. And paired with Joe Flacco’s big arm, there’s certainly plenty of reasons to believe that Wallace’s downfield talents are about to produce at/near a top 25 level once again, especially this week against a Cleveland defense that allowed 185 yards and two touchdowns to Philly receivers a week ago.

TE – Gary Barnidge, Cle ($18) – All you need to know about Barnidge, who was held without a catch in Week 1, is that Josh McCown is back behind center for the Browns after Robert Griffin III suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the opener. In McCown’s final seven starts of ’15, Barnidge was Top 6 at TE in six of them, and No. 11 in the other contest. If that’s not enough of a reason for you to start Barnidge, then also consider that he combined for 15 catches, 230 yards and a TD in his two meetings with Baltimore (Week 2 opponent) last season.

SITS

QB – Russell Wilson, Sea ($33) – Forget about how bad the entire Rams’ team looked in Week 1 at San Francisco. This group always gets sky-high for its meetings with Seattle, and it always abuses Seattle’s sub-par offensive line with its defensive beasts up front. With Wilson dealing with a sore ankle and an offensive line lacking in talent and cohesion, it’s hard to conjure hope of a top 15 QB return in Week 2.

RB – Doug Martin, TB ($20) – Arizona allowed just 3.3 YPC to New England backs in a Week 1 loss. Martin did only slightly better than that (3.4 YPC), going 18-for-62 on the ground with no scores in an opening week victory at Atlanta. Going on the road to face a grumpy, and extremely talented, Cardinals defense isn’t going to be an easy place for Martin to kick his ’16 season into a higher gear. Expect another modest fantasy output for Martin, who will endure a rocky road early on as the Rams, Broncos and Panthers are on deck before a Week 6 bye.

RB – Devonta Freeman, Atl ($23) – If Week 1 is any indication, Freeman now belongs in a full-blown platoon with Tevin Coleman. Without a heavy workload to count upon, Freeman looks a lot less interesting on the road this weekend against an Oakland defense that allowed 3.8 yards per carry to the New Orleans Saints’ RBs in Week 1, a game in which an opposing RB failed to reach 80 rushing yards against Oakland for the seventh straight time. I’m playing a strong hunch that the Raiders will give Atlanta’s offense fits on Sunday, and I’m downgrading Freeman because of it.

WR – Dez Bryant, Dal ($25) – One catch for five yards in his first game with rookie QB Dak Prescott certainly doesn’t inspire confidence for Bryant’s Week 2 success, especially as he’s expected to draw shadow coverage from Washington’s top cover corner Josh Norman after the team paid the price for not giving Antonio Brown the same treatment in Week 1. After the failed chemistry between Prescott and Bryant in the opener, Bryant owners should now be in a bench-and-see approach with their Pro Bowl wideout.

WR – Randall Cobb, Min ($19) – The history card does not support Cobb’s deployment this weekend as he’s averaged a mere 5.0 fantasy PPG in his eight career meetings against Minnesota, scoring a combined two touchdowns and never tallying more than 62 yards – he has been under 40 yards in six of the eight meetings. Coming off a 6-for-58 receiving line in Week 1, Cobb is the 19th-most started WR heading into Week 2 weekend, which is at least 10 spots too high for my money.

TE – Coby Fleener, NO ($16) – I do think that Fleener is going to ultimately be a very useful fantasy TE commodity this season, but that’s despite no sign at all from the preseason or Week 1 (one catch, six yards) to indicate that that is the direction he’s headed. Fleener has struggled mightily to acclimate in New Orleans, whether it be his chemistry with Drew Brees, his grasp of the playbook or his ability to hang onto the football. Like Bryant, he should be on a bench-and-see program for fantasy purposes. But few have taken that tact this week, as Fleener currently sits as the fifth-most started TE for Week 2.