As always, Start 'Em, Sit 'Em is geared toward helping fantasy managers make difficult roster decisions. You won't see "start Jahmyr Gibbs" here. Instead, I'm exploring the players closer to the perceived fringe and aiming to optimize your lineup for a win each week. Importantly, the new "Start of the Week" and "Sit of the Week" are the calls I have deemed the most notable in each category, not necessarily the most essential players to start or sit.
Also, you'll see quite a few references in this year's column to NFL Pro, spotlighting insights provided through Next Gen Stats data dashboards, matchup evaluations, All-22 film and the uniquely trained Fantasy AI Assistant. You can get access to all of those tools yourself with an NFL+ Premium subscription!
P.S. Feel free to follow me on X (@MattOkada) or Instagram (@mattokadaNFL) and hit me with your questions, congratulations or complaints throughout the year.
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
The MVP front-runner is borderline too automatic for this column. Featuring him here one last time feels justified after he had a slightly down performance against the Seahawks, throwing his second INT of the season and scoring just 16.16 fantasy points. Purdy has been elite, ranking top five in passer rating, completion percentage over expected, success rate and EPA/dropback. He’s thrown a league-high 13 touchdown passes and draws arguably his best matchup of the year against the Commanders, who have allowed at least 24 fantasy points to all but one QB (Daniel Jones) they’ve faced this season. Purdy is an unquestionable must-start and will make a push to be the QB1 on the week.
Notable starts
While Love has been up and down this season (and, frankly, most of his career), he rides an extremely hot performance -- 25.28 fantasy points against the Bears -- into an enticing matchup with the Cowboys, who have allowed 21.5 points per game to quarterbacks.
The Cardinals have allowed 18-plus fantasy points to four straight QBs, including 31.28 to Brock Purdy and 28.94 to Jared Goff. Stafford has had a couple duds this season but has otherwise been excellent for fantasy. He’ll be excellent again against Arizona.
Following his Week 5 bye, Young ranks first in passing yards per game (317.0) and fourth in fantasy points per game (22.66) among quarterbacks. Philly has allowed multiple offensive touchdowns to four of the five QBs it's faced this season, and Young should make it five of six on Sunday.
Cousins might hit quite a few benches this week after a disappointing game against the Patriots, but that would be a mistake. He’s tied for second in the NFL with 12 TD passes and draws a juicy matchup with the Bills, who’ve allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to QBs, including 26-plus to three straight.
Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week
Nix has recorded one game with 15-plus fantasy points this season, and that total was boosted by his QB sneak touchdown with 47 second left in the Rams game. His 5.8 yards per attempt and -4.1% completion rate over expected are both bottom four among qualified quarterbacks, while his 37.2% success rate is dead last. And if all that weren’t enough, Nix now faces a Seahawks defense allowing 12.5 fantasy points per game to QBs (fifth-fewest) and a league-low 5.5 yards per attempt. He’s unstartable in Week 5 and can be dropped for a streamer or a more productive replacement like Kirk Cousins.
Notable sits
After five straight games with fewer than 14 fantasy points, it’s time to chalk Herbert up as a fantasy bust and move on. He’s thrown more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (five) and belongs on the waiver wire, not in your starting lineup -- especially against Kansas City.
A "sit" selection last week, Darnold finds himself back here after posting 8.3 fantasy points against the 49ers . He has just one good fantasy outing so far -- against the QB-friendly Commanders -- and that’s unlikely to change with this week's contest versus the Broncos’ defense.
Prescott has been spotty for fantasy and atrocious against pressure (SEE: 4.0 yards per attempt, 46.0 passer rating, -0.36 EPA/dropback). Green Bay sports the league’s fifth-highest pressure rate and only one QB has tagged the defense for 16-plus fantasy points (Carson Wentz in Week 1). Prescott’s a risky play in Week 6.
Benching Mahomes off a bye is admittedly bold, and he’s nowhere near “must-sit” territory à la Bo Nix, Justin Herbert and Sam Darnold. But the Chargers have been a stingy fantasy matchup, and this feels more like a Kenneth Walker III blowout game. I’d prefer all five start options over the Chiefs QB.
