Week one has come and gone, and our Miami Dolphins started the season with a victory against the New England Patriots which means they are officially 1-0 on the year. Hopefully you followed (most) of my advice from last week’s article and, as a result, your fantasy team is also undefeated and riding high into week two! Let’s take a look at how we did, shall we?
Week One Starts: Chris Godwin, Raheem Mostert, DeVonta Smith
Godwin had a stellar game, going for 9 catches, 105 yards and one touchdown. Mostert was unfortunately injured against the Lions, but was averaging 10 yards per carry early on in that contest. I did mention his injury history while recommending you start him, so... womp, womp. DeVonta Smith turned in a great debut, finishing with 6 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Week One Sits: Randall Cobb, Kenny Golladay, Sony Michel
Cobb had one catch for 32 yards and one rush for one yard. Golladay managed four catches for 64 yards. Michel finished with one lone carry for a meager 2 yards.
Mostert was really the only miss out of the six players listed above, however if you take my Dolphins SITS/STARTS into consideration, I badly missed on my recommendation to start Mike Gesicki who was held catchless on just two targets. I did recommend that you bench Malcolm Brown and that turned out to be a good call, as he managed just 5 rushing attempts for 16 yards.
All in all, that’s a 6 for 8 record in week one. I’ll take it.
So, what are we waiting for?! Let’s jump right in and take a look at week two’s slate.
Start:
Tee Higgins – WR – Cincinnati Bengals
Tee Higgins had himself a nice week one, going for 4 receptions, 58 yards and a touchdown. He should be able to build on that stat-line, as he gets the Bears in week two, a team that was just torched by Cooper Kupp of the Rams to the tune of 7 catches, 108 yards and a long touchdown. The Bears had multiple blown coverages and now need to worry about the three headed monster of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Higgins. I predict a big day for Tee even though there are multiple ways to skin a cat in that Bengals offense.
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Aaron Jones – RB – Green Bay Packers
Aaron Jones didn’t have the sparkling week one that many hoped he would. In fact, he was downright abysmal. But, so was the rest of the Packers offense. That team is far too talented to continue to poop the bed like they did against the Saints. A meeting with the Detroit Lions could be just what the doctor ordered for Jones come week two. Detroit gave up 131 yards on 28 carries to the tune of 4.7 yards per rush against the 49ers. You drafted Aaron Jones in the first or second round of your draft, so you need him to produce. Don’t think about benching him after that week one pummeling. Start him with confidence this week and reap the rewards.
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Logan Thomas – TE – Washington Football Team
I hate starting players on Thursday Night Football. The short week means players are a bit banged up and gameplans are a little more vanilla than they would be on a Sunday or Monday. However, Thomas is coming off of a game where he caught three balls for 30 yards and a touchdown. The score saved his pedestrian statline, but that is something that Thomas has done frequently over his last few games – scoring 4 times in his past 7 regular season contests. The Giants just allowed 6 receptions for 62 yards to Noah Fant of the Denver Broncos, so Thomas could once again be in store for a good game.
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Sit:
James Conner – RB – Arizona Cardinals
Conner rushed 16 times for 53 yards, good for just a 3.3 yards per carry average against the Titans. He did not have a catch in the game. Arizona rushed out to an early lead and used Conner as the running back who iced the game late. I don’t expect the Cardinals to be able to repeat that same game script against the Minnesota Vikings in week two, and it doesn’t seem like Conner will be a factor in the passing game like he was during his time with the Steelers. I’m fading the veteran running back in week two.
Mecole Hardman – WR – Kansas City Chiefs
Hardman was reportedly ready for a larger role within the potent Kansas City Chiefs offense after the departure of Sammy Watkins this offseason. That did not materialize in KC’s week one matchup with the Cleveland Browns, despite Patrick Mahomes passing the ball 36 times. Hardman finished the game with just 3 catches for 19 yards, a far cry from the WR2 numbers some were predicting. Until he shows otherwise, Hardman is an every week SIT for me.
Trevor Lawrence – QB – Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence threw for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns in his solid NFL debut. He also added 3 interceptions. I think that’s going to be par for the course for Lawrence’s rookie season, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Let him sling the ball around, make mistakes and learn from them. But, for the purposes of your fantasy team this week, let Trevor ride the bench. Denver has a scary secondary, and Bradley Chubb is trending towards returning from injury, so Lawrence could be in for some hard times this upcoming Sunday.
*DOLPHINS DECISIONS*
Start:
Jaylen Waddle - WR
Will Fuller returns from suspension this week, so there is another mouth to feed in this Miami offense. Regardless, Waddle proved to be a shifty weapon for Tua Tagovailoa and this Miami Dolphins passing attack. Miami could be trying to play catch-up late, because despite their lackluster showing against Pittsburgh, Buffalo boasts a supercharged offense. Jaylen Waddle had 4 catches for 61 yards and his first NFL touchdown against New England. Expect Miami to throw the ball more against Buffalo, and with the rapport between Tua and Waddle already extremely evident, start Jaylen with confidence in your fantasy matchups this week, especially in PPR formats.
Sit:
Miami Dolphins – DEFENSE
The Dolphins can’t seem to crack the code when it comes to Josh Allen. He routinely torches Miami with his strong arm and his elusive rushing ability. While Allen didn’t have a great week one against Pittsburgh, playing the Steelers’ stingy defense had a great deal to do with that. Pittsburgh was able to consistently get pressure on Allen with their base defense, needing just a three or four man rush to get the QB off of his spot. Miami wasn’t able to do that against the Patriots last week, as most of their pressures came from blitzing linebackers. Allen has shown a keen ability to evade pressure, scramble within the pocket, and find the open man downfield, unless he just takes the ball and gains chunk yardage himself. After a poor week one showing, Buffalo will be eager to prove critics wrong and put up big numbers against the Dolphins.
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There you have it! That’s my advice for week two. Let me know how you did last week by tweeting at me at @MBrave13! Did you win? Did you lose? Was it my fault or did you go against my advice and muck it up for yourself? Either way, I’ll be back giving you my START/SITS for week three next week!
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