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The Bengals and Ravens will kickoff Week 2 in the NFL, which means you will have some decisions to make in fantasy football. Making a bad fantasy move on Thursday night will stick with you all weekend until that Sunday release comes and a player unexpectedly helps you out to boost your team. To help you avoid a bad start in fantasy this week, we’ve got the advice you need for the Bengals and Ravens players to sit and start in fantasy football.
Must starts
A.J. Green (Bengals WR): Green is known for having huge games against the Ravens. His highlight reel is littered with plays against Baltimore. He saw eight targets to Green from Andy Dalton last week, and that shouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon. There is no reason not to have Green in your lineup.
Joe Mixon (Bengals RB): Mixon had 22 touches last week for 149 total yards and a touchdown. He played more than 70 percent of the snaps, and just really impressive overall. Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor did an incredible job of finding ways to get Mixon out in open space to show off his vision on elusiveness. By volume alone, he is a must start.
Favorable match ups
Nick Boyle (Ravens TE): For those looking to stream a tight end this week after Delanie Walker was shutdown for the year, look no further. Cincinnati clearly hasn’t gotten any better at covering tight ends. Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron combined for 12 catches, 106 yards and 1 touchdown last week. Boyle may not do those kinds of numbers, but he is a great streamer option this week.
Good but not great
Tyler Eifert (Bengals TE): The Bengals were serious about their snap count restrictions with Eifert. C.J. Uzomah ended up seeing the most snaps at tight end last week, and it is that limited amount of opportunity that drops Eifert’s value here. The Ravens aren’t great at covering tight ends, and Eifert could make some noise, but it is hard to put him any higher than good but not great.
Ravens wide receivers: If I had to choose one receiver on the Ravens’ roster to play it would be John Brown. He has the big play ability that Michael Crabtree and Willie Snead IV don’t really have at this point. Still, none of these guys are more than a flex starter, and you’re really banking on one getting a touchdown. All three got a touchdown last week, but that trend won’t continue.
Ravens D/ST: Sacks get your defense points, and with the Bengals starting Bobby Hart at right tackle and Alex Redmond at right guard there could be quite a few of those. That could also lead to turnovers. Cincinnati should still be able to move the ball, but sacks and turnovers are reliable point scorers for fantasy defenses.
Bengals D/ST: Cincinnati isn’t the greatest defense to play this week, but if you can’t find a better option on the waiver wire, they are serviceable. You just have to hope they trot out more of what they showed in the second half last week than the first.
Alex Collins (Ravens RB): Collins had a very strange game in Week 1. He only got eight touches for less than 20 yards an a touchdown. We saw Kenneth Dixon lead the team with 13 carries, but he’s now on Injured/Reserve. Baltimore had Lamar Jackson run the ball seven times, too. It appeared Collins was going to be the workhorse for the Ravens, but this is a confusing start. It could be that the Ravens getting a huge lead early led them to resting their workhorse, but we will need to see him get a majority of carries before he can be moved up in value. With Dixon on IR though, Collins should play a lot more.
Just bench them
Andy Dalton (Bengals QB): There are so many safer and better options out there that you shouldn’t risk playing Dalton on a Thursday night. The quarterback position is the deepest in fantasy football, and unless you are in a two quarterback league Dalton isn’t worth the risk.
Bengals wide receivers not named Green: Last week I alluded to the fact John Ross could have some sneaky play weeks, but due to volume issues, he shouldn’t be in lineups week-to-week. Tyler Boyd suffers from these same issues. He did have five targets last week compared to Ross’ two, but neither eclipsed eight points, even in PPR formats against a good match up.