Green Bay Packers
Start ‘em
First the bad news: Aaron Rodgers got dismantled on the road against a fabulous Minnesota Vikings defense. The good news is that it is likely the low point of Rodgers’ season, and the even better news is he has a prime opportunity to quell concerns against a Lions defense at his home field. Though Rodgers hasn’t been the boon to fantasy lineups his owners had in mind when they drafted him, he is still firmly in the QB1 conversation due to an upside that cannot be discredited. His main target, Jordy Nelson, can also be considered a fringe WR1/WR2 because of this, although he will have to deal with cornerback Darius Slay, who has been stellar.
Start ‘em?
Even with the upside present, there are still issues with an underperforming Packers offense. Murmurs of mitigating this by committing to the running game have surfaced, meaning the return of Eddie Lacy to the top tier of fantasy running backs could be afoot. Lacy’s concern is no longer what shape he is in, it’s that he has just 26 carries to start the season. With DeAndre Levy and Ziggy Ansah sidelined, Lacy is a sneaky bet to put up RB1 numbers in standard leagues.
Randall Cobb could see a bump in targets if Nelson is struggling to get open against Slay as previously mentioned, and from the slot, Cobb remains more than capable of doing damage. But with just 99 yards through two weeks, fantasy owners can rightfully be apprehensive about penning him into lineups. Cobb is a WR3/flex until the Packers’ offense reverts to its once dominant form.
Sit ‘em
Davante Adams, Richard Rodgers and Jared Cook remain too far down in the pecking order to garner fantasy consideration.
Detroit Lions
Start ‘em
It would be hard to find fantasy owners more frustrated than Matthew Stafford’s in Week 2, after having three touchdown passes nullified by penalties in a 16-15 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Stafford remains a solid QB1 option in a game that has the Packers favored by 7.5 points, indicating that the game script could cause Stafford and company to air it out frequently. With their backfield depleted due to the loss of Ameer Abdullah, Stafford, Marvin Jones, Theo Riddick and Golden Tate all deserve starting consideration.
Start ‘em?
More on that backfield—Dwayne Washington will now be called upon for early-down duties and goal-line work while Riddick handles the receiving duties. The Joique Bell role has been a fruitful one from a fantasy perspective, and Washington could see that kind of upside. He is worth the gamble as a flex option in standard formats.
Eric Ebron also deserves a look as a fringe TE1/TE2. He is a volatile choice as usual, but few tight ends aren’t.
Sit ‘em
Anquan Boldin could benefit from a negative game script, but is difficult to trust in such a deep position across the board. Fantasy owners likely aren’t this desperate so early in the season.