Week 2 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Candidates: Quarterbacks
Wondering who to start and sit at quarterback this week? Below are two top-notch start and two sit options at the quarterback position for Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season.
Week 1 Review – half-PPR scoring
Starts
- QB Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams vs. Buffalo Bills – 10.80 (QB29)
- QB Justin Fields, Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers – 14.64 (QB23)
Sits
- QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings – 4.70 (QB32)
- QB Baker Mayfield, Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns – 19.00 (QB13
Quarterbacks - Starts
Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) @ Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings’ new head coach Kevin O’Connell has ushered in a new era for the Minnesota offense by creating a far more quarterback-friendly environment than ex-head coach Mike Zimmer had previously.
| Team | 3+ WR % (Rank) | No Huddle (Rank) | Pass Rate Over Expectation (Rank) | Avg. Defenders in Box (Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Minnesota Vikings | 68.8% (12th) | 13.3% (8th) | 4.3% (11th) | 6.15 (11th) |
| 2021 Minnesota Vikings | 54.4% (26th) | 5.4% (24th) | -2.3% (11th) | 6.41 (22nd) |
All data above comes from 4for4’s NFL Team Stats Explorer.
O’Connell kept Green Bay’s vaunted defense breathless last week, repeatedly skipping the huddle en route to a 23-7 victory. The significant increase in three wide-receiver sets, combined with the 11th softest number of average defenders in the box, kept Cousins cozy. The offensive line did their part, producing the league’s 10th-best quarterback pressure rate, 2.9%, a promising sign ahead of this week’s opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, whose defensive unit was held in check by the Detroit Lions’ blockers.
*4for4’s full QB rankings can be found here.
Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons) @ Los Angeles Rams
Marcus Mariota has found fresh fantasy life as the starting quarterback in Atlanta, his Week 1 performance keyed by 12 rushing attempts, 8.2 attempts more than the 3.8 he averaged as a starter in Tennessee from 2015-2019. The veteran quarterback excitingly tallied 50% of Atlanta’s rushes both in the red zone and inside the opponent’s five-yard line last week, unlocking serious fantasy potential moving forward. It is important to note that committee running back Damien Williams missed time with a rib injury but Mariota’s 72 rushing yards and one touchdown landed him top-three at the position, which will hardly dissuade head coach Arthur Smith from utilizing Mariota’s mobility in the coming weeks. Atlanta’s Week 2 foe, the Los Angeles Rams, were tagged for 122 rushing yards last week, 14th most in the league.
Quarterback – Sits
Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons' fantasy defense/special teams unit made the streaming defense article this week as a deep streaming pick, and that was in large part due Los Angeles’ offensive line woes. Both starting center Brian Allen and starting left tackle Joseph Noteboom suffered in-game knee injuries for Los Angeles last week. Although Noteboom is expected to play in Week 2, he will be doing so at less than 100%, while Allen is likely out for the rest of September.
Stafford was under pressure on 30% of his dropbacks last week, tied for sixth most in the NFL, per 4for4’s NFL Team Stat Explorer. The Rams’ explosive pass play rate tumbled from their 2021 top-two rate of 10.3%, down to a bottom-three, 4.5%. Atlanta’s defensive front is definitively not on par with Buffalo’, but head coach Arthur Smith was able to generate a top-12 quarterback pressure rate by blitzing 1-2 linebackers at top-six rates in both categories. The fact that Atlanta has two top-tier cornerbacks in A.J. Terrell and Casey Hayward does not help.
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) @ San Francisco 49ers
Geno Smith and his Seattle Seahawks pulled off a primetime upset of the Denver Broncos, a move that will surely inflate his fantasy potential in the minds of Monday Night Football viewers. While Smith was able to work his way to the second-highest completion percentage over expectation, 12.0%, he did so by dinking and dunking his way to the T-17th ranked average depth of target, 5.1 yards, per 4for4’s NFL Player Stat Explorer.
Seattle’s offensive line is playing far better than expected but the San Francisco 49ers welcome Seattle to the Bay Area with their eighth-ranked front seven in quarterback pressure rating.
