Getty Antonio Brown had been sidelined with an ankle injury.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Wide Receivers for Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season. In this week’s column, we examine whether or not Antonio Brown has re-established himself as a plug-and-play option in Tampa. Plus, there looks to be plenty of targets up for grabs in Denver following Jerry Jeudy’s injury.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Tyreek Hill will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of their caliber check out our weekly fantasy football wide receiver rankings.
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WR: Start ‘Em
Antonio Brown vs. ATL
Chris Godwin will likely lead Tampa in receptions this season. However, don’t be surprised if AB pushes for the team lead in yards and potentially out-produces Mike Evans as a whole. Fresh off a 121-yard outing (24.2 average), Brown gets a Falcons defense that allowed six receptions of 15-plus yards in Week 1 (h/t Yahoo Sports). Also, no team allowed more yards (209.4 per game) and fantasy points (44.7 per game) to wideouts in 2020 than Atlanta did.
Mike Willams vs. DAL
As long as Justin Herbert keeps slinging it, Williams will be a viable play — especially against Dallas’ secondary. Williams saw 12 of Herbert’s 47 pass attempts come his way in Week 1. Similar volume in Week 2 isn’t out of the question against a Cowboys defense that had 50 passes attempted on them in their opener, of which they allowed 379 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Julio Jones at SEA
The fact of the matter is, Julio’s not going to be a weekly must-start, WR1-lock in Tennessee. Still, he’s more than a viable matchup-based play and he’s got an intriguing one this Sunday. Seattle allowed the sixth-most receiving yards to receivers in 2020 and surrendered more fantasy points to the position than any other team in football over the first week of 2021. Look for Jones and the Titans’ offense to get rolling in Week 2 after a slow start to the year.
Sleepers: Tim Patrick at JAC
Jerry Jeudy is on injured reserve, leaving targets to be had in Denver — most of which will likely be consumed by Patrick. The 27-year-old hauled in all four of his targets last week and ranked second behind Jeudy in targets a season ago with 79. The Jaguars were just shredded by Tyrod Taylor of all people to the tune of nearly 300 yards passing. This should be great news for Patrick owners, as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater looked to have great command of Denver’s offense in his debut last Sunday. Note: Courtland Sutton is also worth monitoring here.
WR: Sit ‘Em
Tyler Boyd at CHI
There looks to be a changing of the guard underway at the receiving position in Cincinnati, and Boyd is the one being pushed aside. Ja’Marr Chase out-snapped Boyd by 16 plays in Week 1, while Tee Higgins continued to flash his red-zone prowess, an area Boyd has never excelled in — 19 receiving touchdowns in 72 career games. The Bears allowed the eighth-fewest points to the position in 2020. And while they were shredded by Matthew Stafford in the opener, Boyd’s ceiling continues to lower as he’s now scored in single-digits in four of his last five games.
Marquise Brown vs. KC
Brown caught all six of his targets in the opener, including a touchdown. He’s now averaged a receiving touchdown per game over his last seven contests. However, he’s eclipsed 50 yards in just three of those games. The Chiefs allowed just 140.3 yards per game to the position a season ago — second-fewest in the NFL. They also surrendered the ninth-fewest points to wideouts for the Week 1 slate of games.
Buyers Beware: Corey Davis vs. NE
Davis looked worth every bit of his $37.5 million price tag in his Jets debut, scoring twice and nearly notching 100 yards receiving. However, the Pats allowed just 202 yards passing in Week 1 and have allowed just four receiving touchdowns to receivers since Week 12 of last year.
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Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Wide Receivers: Week 2