Commanders fantasy football starts and sits for Week 2 vs. NY Giants

The Week 1 loss told us a lot about how the fantasy football season may go for Washington Commanders players. However, there were a lot of overreactions, as there always are. Therefore, it’s important to establish week to week who you should start and sit, without reactionary thoughts taking over.

The New York Giants got shredded by Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, so this should be an easier matchup across the board for Commanders players. With that being said, let’s look at some starts and sits, starting with the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

All fantasy stats are courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

Starts

Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels exploded onto the fantasy football scene in his rookie debut, putting up 28.16 points in four-point passing touchdown formats, which was good for QB3 on the week. It was evident that his rushing upside could be an asset, but he rushed even more than expected.

With that being said, Dan Quinn stated how he wants Daniels to look to pass first and not scramble as much. This is good for real life, but not ideal for his fantasy outcome. Nonetheless, he carried the ball 16 times in Week 1. With designed runs and a few scrambles, even if the signal-caller does tone it down, he should be able to average 10 carries a game.

The Giants defense allowed Darnold to be the QB14 for Week 1. That’s not a QB1 in most leagues, but he did this with only three carries for three yards. With Daniels’ rushing upside being a lot higher than that and the New York secondary being subpar, expect the No. 2 pick to have another elite fantasy week. Start him in all scoring formats.

Brian Robinson Jr.

An inefficient day for Brian Robinson Jr. in Week 1 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still brought him to an RB15 finish with 17.9 points in PPR (points per reception) formats. He was able to sneak into the end-zone and also earned four targets, catching three of them.

The Giants’ run defense should be easier to run on, even with Dexter Lawrence II at nose tackle. Aaron Jones is a better running back than Robinson. He was able to average 6.7 yards per carry against New York’s defense.

Robinson should have a more efficient day with a chance at a touchdown being the goal line back, He will also still earn targets as Daniels checks down frequently as a rookie. Start him in your flex spots this week. If you are struggling at running back, he could even slide in as a decent RB2.

Austin Ekeler

Austin Ekeler won’t be super involved with Robinson being the lead back, but he is still the primary receiving option out of the backfield. He finished Week 1 with four receptions from as many targets and 52 receiving yards. Expect the veteran free-agent signing to continue this trend against the Giants. Start him as a flex option this week.

Terry McLaurin

Terry McLaurin started the season in a bad spot for fantasy, finishing Week 1 with just two receptions from four targets for 17 receiving yards. The concern is valid, as Kliff Kingsbury might just hurt his value all season.

With that being said, expect Daniels to look McLaurin’s way a lot more frequently going forward. With the first-year pro being told to run a bit less and go through progressions, this should bode well for the veteran wideout on his 29th birthday.

The Giants’ secondary is also heavily lacking talent. It’s okay to throw away McLaurin’s lackluster Week 1 and start him with confidence as a WR2.

Sits

Noah Brown

Noah Brown will be playing in his first contest since being signed a couple of weeks ago by the Commanders. He is a talented receiver, so he could end up being the WR2 for the team rather quickly. However, don’t expect him to be a viable flex option in his first week in a different environment.

Luke McCaffrey

Luke McCaffrey seemed to get involved a bit on short screen-plays in the Kingsbury offense. He caught all three of his targets, but only for 18 receiving yards.

He should have a better game against the Giants, but it will still be very short yardage targets. McCaffrey likely won’t put up a good enough performance to be a flex option unless it’s an extremely deep league.

Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus

Both Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus pretty much split snaps in Week 1. Neither got involved enough to inspire fantasy football confidence.

Brown had zero targets and Zaccheaus only caught one pass for 15 receiving yards. With Noah Brown now entering the competition, neither should be close to fantasy relevance this week.

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