By: Ryan Hawks (@RyanWorldEater)
It’s not too late to set lineups for tomorrow morning’s games. There are plenty of matchups to exploit, and plenty to stay away from. Here is part two of World Eater’s start and sits, featuring running backs and tight ends.

World Eater Week Six Starts and Sits Part 2

Running Backs

Start

Marshawn Lynch vs Los Angeles Chargers

The Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers game has gotten a lot of attention this week for our starts and sits. Marshawn Lynch is one that has to be given some attention this week, because his hasn’t really lived up to some people’s beastly expectations.

While he may not be an every week starter, and will largely be touchdown dependent, this is a week where he is a must start. The Los Angeles Chargers run defense has been basically nonexistent this season. Running backs are averaging the sixth most fantasy points this season against the Bolts, and their run defense is ranked last in the league.

In addition to that, quarterback Derek Carr is coming back from missing a game with a back fracture, and the coaches likely want to keep him out of the way from the Charger’s ferocious pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.

If Lynch is on your squad, don’t end up crying after a loss by leaving him on the bench. This could be one of the few games this season we get to see some vintage beast mode.

Javorius Allen vs. Chicago Bears

The Baltimore Ravens backfield has been a mess this season. Terrence West began as the starter, with other guys like Alex Collins vying for the starting job all season. Javorius “Buck” Allen has been the most consistent all season, and it looks like the coaches are finally taking notice.

Allen looks to get the start this week against the Chicago Bears, who have lost a ton of defensive players to injury. West is out with a calf injury, so his only threat is Collins, who the coaches don’t completely trust yet due to ball security issues.

He also looks to have a solid floor, especially in PPR. On the season, he has 20 receptions, averaging a healthy five overall the last four weeks. He only has 3.5 YPC, but his usage and role as a receiver makes him a good play against the Bears this week.

Sit

Frank Gore vs. Tennessee Titans

Frank Gore has been chugging along as his old, reliable self this year, putting up respectable, but not fantastic numbers. He’s only had one game under eight points (week one), but also have never broken 12 yet.

His role will likely decrease from here though, with rookie Marlon Mack looking to steal a chunk of his touches. Last week, Mack burst onto the fantasy scene with 15.3 points in standard leagues. In his only other full game of the season, he had 10.5 points. Performance like that will get players starting jobs.

Frank the Tank might not fade completely into obscurity yet in the real world, but Mack might be the fantasy back to own on the Indianapolis Colts going forward. It’d be best to leave both on the bench this week to see how it all plays out.

Alvin Kamara vs Detroit Lions

Kamara is showing up as a trendy start this week after he scored over 15 fantasy points before the bye. His hype is through the roof right after Adrian Peterson was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. Many see his role to increase now that the running back committee has been reduced from three to two.

The facts are that it is still a RBBC, and Mark Ingram is still the starter. Peterson was only averaging about six carries a game anyway, which are likely to be split between both backs. Who knows how the touches will really be divided, and more could even go to Ingram.

Kamara looks to have a bright future in the NFL, but it is not smart to rely on a rookie player who is not even a starter in the NFL yet. Teams should give Kamara at least another week to see how the backfield split pans out.

Tight Ends

Start

Kyle Rudolph vs. Green Bay Packers

So far, Kyle Rudolph has been a colossal disappointment in fantasy this season. This is mostly due to both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen breaking out. Last week Rudolph finally had what his owners drafted him to do, putting up 16.5 points in standard scoring.

This was largely due to Diggs going out with a groin injury. Well, Diggs is missing time again this week, so Rudolph has a good chance of continuing to put up nice stat lines. Going up against Green Bay, Minnesota is going to have to put up points to stay in this game, so there should be plenty of targets going to Rudolph.

Some might want to shy away from this matchup, because the Packers have given up the second fewest points to tight ends this season. There shouldn’t be too much stock put into this, given that the only real threat the Packers have played at tight end has been Jimmy Graham week one.

With Dalvin Cook out of the picture, the Vikings will have to rely more on their passing game, so Rudolph’s performance last year could be the new norm.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins vs. New England Patriots

It’s time to kick the Austin Seferian-Jenkins hype train into full force. I’ve been high on Seferian-Jenkins since he got to the New York Jets, but off-the field issues kept him from reaching his potential. Now, he has rededicated himself to the game, and his role grows in the Jets offense every week.

Last week was the first week he put up reputable numbers, scoring 8.9 points in standard leagues, mostly because he scored a touchdown. He has a great chance to top those numbers this week against the New England Patriots lackluster defense. They have given up the fourth most points to tight ends this season.

This year, tight end options are as thin as ever, and with guys like Jimmy Graham on bye this week, Seferian-Jenkins makes for a great streaming choice. He is only 60% owned in yahoo leagues.

Snatch him up this week if possible, and teams might even find they want to keep him around for the long haul.

Sit

Martellus Bennett at Minnesota Vikings

While Kyle Rudolph going against the Packers is a good choice at tight end this week, the Packer’s own tight end, Martellus Bennett is not. In fact, Bennett is basically running on name value at this point in his career.

Many thought he would be an excellent complement to Rob Gronkowski in New England last year. Even when Gronk went down for the season, Bennett was a non-factor in the Patriot’s offense. Still, many took the bait when he moved over to play with Aaron Rodgers, and his potent passing attack.

He has gone on to average 38.8 yards per game and has yet to score a touchdown. It looks like a nice week for Bennett to finally break out. The Vikings have only held tight ends under 40 yards in a game once. Again, don’t take the bait.

Rodgers never really consistently targets his tight ends, and Bennett just doesn’t look like the game-changing tight end he used to. He’s still a good blocker, and the Packers are likely to just keep him as that, so he can have more time to throw to his plethora of wide receivers.

It’s time for teams to look for better options at tight end than Bennett, and not just for this game, for the rest of the season.

Eric Ebron at New Orleans Saints

Eric Ebron is a player that fantasy “experts” have been screaming is going to break out any week. Here at World Eater, we’ve never been bought in on that story. It looks like most are starting to come around, as Ebron is down to just 46% owned, a number that is plummeting by the day.

For those holding onto hope that he might turn it around, don’t. Ebron had one game this season where he had 10.2 points, catching five passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. Any team’s tight end will have a game or two like this each season.

His other games this season though? Horrible. He has a combined 5.1 points in his other four games. Perhaps we even need to create a new word for how bad he has been. Let’s call it Ebron-esque.

Teams need take this trash off their squad before he starts affecting other players. There are plenty of other options out there that have a good shot of outscoring Ebron’s entire season in one game.