Week 2 Must-Starts
Matt Harmon and Tank Williams run through a pair of players fantasy managers should start with confidence in week 2.
Video transcript
ANDY BEHRENS: With lots of flex decisions every week, let's look at some players who have solidified their place in fantasy rosters. "Finally, It's Easy" presented by Autotrader. Just like Autotrader makes it easy to buy a car, these players are easy picks to plug into your lineup each and every week. Matt, Tank, let's send it over to you for your must-starts moving forward.
MATT HARMON: Oh, Tank Williams, it's good to see you, buddy. And fortunately, I don't think we got any 49ers to talk about today. But I do have another wide receiver that I was really high on coming into this year to talk about, and it's Christian Kirk. Man, look, I know coming into the year, it was, oh Christian Kirk is overpaid by the Jaguars, look at that stupid contract they gave him. Who cares?
Number one, it's not your money. Number two, it doesn't matter what he's being paid, it matters the great usage that he's getting out there right now. Ran a route on 91% of the team dropbacks in week one. 35% of the team air yards. 31.6% of the team targets, Tank. He was almost exclusively a slot receiver. 86% of his snaps came on the inside. Kirk is just going to catch a ton of balls on those layup routes from the slot, but he can also work downfield as a vertical option against zone coverage.
Honestly, Tank, if we see this usage from Christian Kirk again in week two, I'm ready to say that he could be like a top 20 player in PPR the rest of the way. I don't think that you're benching Christian Kirk at any point no matter what you think about that contract, man. Tank, he is going to be electric the rest of the year.
TANK WILLIAMS: No, I'm with you. And the one thing I really like about Kirk, and it's something that you hit on, is that they're targeting him in the short and intermediate routes, and he's their deep threat. And he's getting a ton of targets. Like, you can't ask for anything better out of wide receiver. But I'm also going to talk about another wide receiver who switched teams and who got peppered like a monster last week as well. And that's Jarvis Landry.
Like, this dude moved over to the Saints. We already talked a lot about Michael Thomas. Landry comes over to the Saints, he out targets Michael Thomas. Nine targets, seven receptions, 114 yards against the Falcons. Like, no one expected of that. I know my man, Scotty didn't, and a lot of us didn't as well. And when you look at it, like, Jarvis Landry couldn't get out of Cleveland fast enough. Baker Mayfield wasn't able to get the ball to him. He was a little banged up last year as well.
But now he gets into a Saints system where people just can't try to focus on him. You have to try to take away Alvin Kamara. You have to try to take away Michael Thomas. You have Chris Olave that's a deep threat. So that's going to allow him nothing but space and opportunity to make plays over the middle of the field. So I really like Jarvis Landry. He may not see nine targets each and every game, but he's going to be heavily integrated into that Saints offense, and I think he's someone that you can depend on this year, unlike years in the past.
MATT HARMON: Man, these are two guys that people just wanted to throw to the side, but I'm with you, Tank. I like Jarvis Landry as well. I think he is like a wide receiver three almost every single week. Remember, Autotrader has the largest selection of new and used vehicles. Shop based on your personalized budget and get your car delivered straight to your door. Visit autotrader.com today.