Editor’s Note: This was originally written on Thursday, October 6th, 2022, but posted on the 11th.

Welcome to the second 2022 edition of Fantasy Football: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems. Many students here at BHS are involved in fantasy football leagues. Many also fail to receive guidance on the important weekly decisions that may change the outcome of their matchups. I, along with guest analysts, will break down a handful of players at each position weekly and give you advice. Any readers with specific players they would like covered are encouraged to email to myself (at the end of this article) or other analysts. 

Here’s last week’s results: 

My Previous Starts:

QB: Joe Burrow, T-QB8 (25 Points). That’s a win. Not a groundbreaking performance, but he limited the turnovers, and got clean, seamless points in an easy win. Just at the average for QB PPG vs. Miami.

RB: Alvin Kamara, N/A (0 Points), and Austin Ekeler, T-RB1 (34 Points). Kamara looked to be active on Thursday when the article was published. He ended up not playing in London. So that doesn’t even count. Ekeler, on the other hand, was a monster. Had 3 total touchdowns, and over 100 total yards on 19 touches. You drafted him to do this, and he did, finally. Win.

WR: Gabe Davis, T-WR75 (2 Points). Sorry. Big miss here. He had one catch for 15 yards, an awful performance. The Bills had 3 WRs outscore him in a result that has bewildered me. Davis is a truly volatile performer, and this has emphatically shown this. Big loss.

TE: David Njoku, T-TE11 (11 points). Njoku had a solid game. 7 targets, 6 total touches, 73 yards. This was stunted by a lost fumble, but Njoku continued to look viable. 3 of the tight ends ahead of him were backups with performances led by touchdowns. Njoku showed consistency without scoring a touchdown, and stayed just about on his yearly par. This is a win, but by the skin of my teeth.

My Previous Sits: 

QB: Lamar Jackson, T-QB18 (16 points). Jackson underperformed, and that makes me happy. My co-analyst James Mertz told me off-paper that “Lamar would get 15 points with his feet, along with more points through the air”. He was wrong. Lamar had his lowest performance of the year by over ten points. Hope you benched him for someone like Jared Goff or Geno Smith. 

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, T-RB9 (22 points). Another big miss. That’s what I deserve for betting against my team. He conquered the endzone twice, making that 5 TDs through 4 games. He also had 20 touches and nearly 100 yards, while splitting work with backups in a game where my Chiefs lead throughout. The game script and the Chiefs offense’s domination allowed Clyde to do his thing.

WR: Hunter Renfrow, N/A (0 Points) and Allen Robinson II, T-WR75 (2 Points)

Renfrow, similarly to Kamara, was questionable throughout the week and on Thursday when I published. He, too, did not end up playing on Sunday. Robinson was active, but from what we saw, he could’ve been inactive and nothing would have changed. The Rams offense has been stagnant, and that is because Robinson has not commanded the attention that Odell Beckham did down the stretch last year. Instead, Cooper Kupp has two or three defenders draped over him every play, and Robinson still catches 2 of his 6 targets, for an astounding 7 yards. I hope you sat him. 

TE: George Kittle, T-TE33 (4 Points)

Kittle again disappointed. If you do not have Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, good luck at tight end. Kittle registered a total of 24 yards on his 2 catches, not nearly enough to make a final Monday Night push into fantasy relevance this week. 

6/8 for last week. 

So now, heading into Week 5, here’s my advice:

Start ‘Ems (Who you should START this week)

QB: Jacoby Brissett (Cleveland)

Brissett is not a league winning quarterback by any regard. He’s a guy you should be starting if you drafted a struggling quarterback or an injured one, and are scrambling for a fill-in. The Browns QB is a very conservative and intelligent quarterback. Through his four starts, he has averaged 16.5 points, He will exceed that total by a sizable margin versus the porous Chargers defense. The Chargers have allowed the 2nd most points to QBs through the first four weeks at 24.8 PPG (Points Per Game), and against mostly lackluster opponents. Brissett should have a nice week through the air and on the run. 

RB: Rhamondre Stevenson (New England)

Stevenson registered his season high in carries, and tied his season high in targets and catches last week in the Patriots overtime loss to the Packers. His running back counterpart Damien Harris has also been a reliable fantasy option, but his touchdown dependence led me to start Stevenson this week. The Patriots are going up against the Lions, who have maybe the worst defense ever, no exaggeration. They have given up an average of 5 touchdowns a game. I cannot imagine a scenario where Stevenson does not put up over 100 total yards and a touchdown or two. Infamous Patriots fan and fellow sports correspondent James Mertz said of Stevenson, “The Pats will run the ball deep down the throat of the terrible lions defense. Both Harris and Stevenson will get [a large sum of] points”. 

WR: Michael Gallup (Dallas)

Gallup had a career year in 2021 that was stunted by his torn ACL. In his season debut last week, he made the most of his limited snaps (39/61 snaps). He caught a touchdown, and will be more prominently featured in the passing game this week. The Rams defense has allowed the most points a game to WRs this year so far, and Gallup will slot in as the Cowboys second option behind Ceedee Lamb. For teams struggling with injuries or in deeper formats, Gallup is a strong FLEX play this week. 

TE: Tyler Conklin (New York A)

Conklin emerged out of nowhere into fantasy relevance last year in Minnesota. This year, he was again not on many people’s radars. But he has produced consistently and places 8th in total points from TEs this year. Coming off of his lowest scoring week, I expect a big bounce back from Conklin. Facing a Miami defense which has allowed a league-high 21.7 PPG to tight ends. If you do not have Kelce or Andrews, and this guy is sitting on someone’s trade block or on the waiver wire, snatch him up and throw him into your starting TE spot.

Sit ‘Ems (Who you should SIT this week)

QB: Kyler Murray (Arizona)

Murray has been a bigtime fantasy contributor for a while now. This week, he will not be one though. The dual threat has led the Cardinals to a 2-2 record, but this week they face the undefeated Eagles. The same Eagles who have allowed the 3rd least PPG to QBs (10.3 PPG) through the first month of the season. Murray was held to 0 TD vs the Rams two weeks ago, and I can see a similar result vs the Eagles. 

RB: Tyler Allgeier (Atlanta)

As of Wednesday afternoon, Allgeier is the most picked up player across Yahoo’s Fantasy leagues. Over 300k people have added him to their rosters. I think adding him was smart, but you should not start him. The 5’11, 220 lb halfback was selected by the Falcons in the 5th round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He had minimal experience behind Cordarelle Patterson before Patterson’s injury last week. Allgeier stepped into the run-heavy offense and performed well as their leadback. The 8.4 YPC (Yards Per Carry) he put up last week will not be repeated. Going up against a dominant run defense in Tampa Bay will be detrimental towards Allgeier in his first NFL start. An experienced runner against a strong team is a must sit for me. 

WR: Tyler Lockett (Seattle)

The Seahawks have been a surprisingly competitive team under Geno Smith, and Lockett has been a big reason why. He is yet to reach the endzone, but has accumulated high catch and yards numbers. Jake McAuliffe, fellow sports editor, commented on Lockett’s lack of endzone appearances, saying, “[These] game[s] with no TDs [are] not a good sign”. I believe he will have a classic Tyler Lockett dud this week vs the Saints, who have allowed the least PPG vs WRs in the league. 

TE: Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh)

I believe in Freiermuth as much as the next man. He has been good this year, as many had hoped for him entering this season. But with rookie Kenny Pickett now at starter for Pittsburgh, and the Steelers matching up against the Bills, who have been the best in the league at defending TEs so far this season (3.4 PPG for TEs), I wouldn’t play Freiermuth. If you don’t have another option at TE, this may be unavoidable, but it will be tough for Freiermuth to contribute to your fantasy squad in the unfavorable conditions he will face in Buffalo on Sunday.

Thank you for tuning in. If you have requests for next edition, email me at [email protected]. Good luck this week to all!