Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate weekly look at NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Fantasy superstars such as Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey will not be featured in this column. All player matchups are based on a PPR scoring system. For your final starting lineup decisions, check my weekly fantasy football lineup rankings.
Byes:Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
Sanders has been a stud since joining the 49ers, scoring a combined 36.7 fantasy points in his last two games. I'd get him into your lineups once again, as he faces a great matchup against the Seahawks. They've allowed two top-six wideouts in their last two games, so Jimmy Garoppolo should look for Sanders often on Monday.
Kirk is set up to have a solid stat line this week, as he'll face a Bucs defense that has struggled to stop slot receivers. In fact, their defense has given up eight touchdowns and nearly 27 fantasy points to slot men this season. Kirk has run 71.4 percent of his routes out of the slot, so he's a legitimate No. 2 fantasy wideout in this contest.
Pascal was a hot add off the waiver wire, and he's a solid choice when the Colts host the Dolphins this week. Miami has given up seven touchdowns and 14.4 yards per catch to receivers who line out wide, which is where Pascal has run 68.1 percent of his routes. With T.Y. Hilton out, he'll continue to see tons of targets in the pass attack.
Tate has produced 14 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games, and he's scored double digits in every game he's played this season. I like him to produce similar totals against the Jets, who have given up five touchdowns and over 100 receiving yards per game to the slot. Tate is a solid WR2/flex option in this Big Apple battle.
Gallup hasn't put up huge totals for fantasy fans in recent weeks, but he is averaging 31.3 routes and nearly seven targets per game. I like him as a No. 2 wide receiver or flex starter against the Vikings, who have surrendered 10 touchdown catches and the second-most fantasy points to opposing receivers lined out wide this season.
Start 'Em:DeVante Parker at Indianapolis Colts, D.J. Moore at Green Bay Packers
Sleepers:Jamison Crowder vs. New York Giants, Ted Ginn Jr. vs. Atlanta Falcons
Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week
Boyd has struggled in recent weeks, scoring fewer than nine fantasy points in two of his last three games. He's got a touch matchup next, as the Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey come to the Queen City. The last time these two team met (Week 6), Boyd was held to just 10 yards. If you have depth, Boyd should be sidelined this week.
Woods has done a Houdini act in the stat sheets this season, scoring fewer than 14 fantasy points in each of his last four games. This week, he faces a Steelers defense that's allowed just one wideout to finish better than 14th in fantasy points since Week 2. This should be a huge game for Cooper Kupp based on the matchups, but not Woods.
I've been all over Metcalf in recent weeks, but I fear a regression when he faces the 49ers. Their defense has allowed just 17.7 fantasy points per game to receivers lined out wide, which is where Metcalf has run 86 percent of his routes. What's more, Metcalf could lose some red-zone targets to newly-signed wideout Josh Gordon this week.
Landry has overcome two straight tough matchups to score a combined 28.6 fantasy points, but another daunting task is ahead when the Bills come to town. Their defense hasn't allowed a touchdown to the slot, not to mention the third-fewest fantasy points to the position. If you do start Landry, I would temper your expectations.
Samuel put up a nice stat line last week, scoring 16.4 points in a win over the Titans. He'll have a tough time duplicating that, however, as a tough road game in Green Bay awaits. The Packers have allowed just 4.1 catches and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to enemy slot wideouts, so Samuel is in a difficult spot this weekend.
Sit 'Em:Robby Anderson vs. New York Giants, Auden Tate vs. Baltimore Ravens
Busts:JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Los Angeles Rams, Sammy Watkins at Tennessee Titans
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!
