Week 2 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Buccaneers vs Saints

A pair of NFC South rivals meet head-to-head in Week 2 as the New Orleans Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds list the Buccaneers as 2.5-point road favorites in a game that's full of stars on both sides of the football.

If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's our start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 2 NFC South showdown.

Julio Jones Fantasy

Start Julio Jones, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The injury to starting wide receiver Chris Godwin pushes veteran Julio Jones into a bigger role in Week 2. He proved in Week 1 that he can still beat cornerbacks deep and posted 69 yards on 3 catches (5 targets). That bodes well for his chances of balling out against the Saints. Quarterback Tom Brady threw for 589 yards and 4 touchdowns in two games against New Orleans last year, so a similar reliance on the passing game means Jones could see upwards of 5 or more targets again on Sunday. After all, the Saints did give up the eighth-most yards to opposing wide receivers in 2021. Jones is a viable FLEX option.

Michael Thomas Fantasy

Start Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints: It didn't even take one game for wide receiver Michael Thomas to adjust to being back in the NFL after not playing at all in 2021. The three-time Pro Bowler hauled in 5 of his 8 targets on Sunday for 57 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finished as Week 1's No. 8 WR in PPR-scoring leagues and has a shot to replicate that success in Week 2. Thomas has posted 899 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 74 receptions across nine career games against Tampa Bay. That's good for an average of 20.9 PPR fantasy points per contest. The 29-year-old should be a starting WR every week moving forward as quarterback Jameis Winston's top target.

Leonard Fournette Fantasy

Sit Leonard Fournette, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This is a tough one because not many fantasy managers are going to be able to afford sitting Leonard Fournette this week. However, it is important to temper expectations after a strong Week 1 showing, as Fournette runs into a horrible matchup in Week 2. The Saints posted the NFL's best rush defense DVOA rating last season and gave up only 60 rushing yards on 17 carries to Fournette across two head-to-head matchups in 2021. Yes, New Orleans was torched by the run in Week 1, but Fournette's recent track record against them plus Tampa Bay's preference to pass makes him a name to avoid on the DFS market.

Chris Olave Fantasy

Sit Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints: Everyone was wondering what the target share in New Orleans would look like and Week 1 showed that Chris Olave is likely the No. 3 option for Winston in the passing attack. His 3 targets came nowhere close to Thomas' mark of 8 or Jarvis Landry's total of 9. Thomas was also the only WR to see a single target in the red zone. It's worth noting that the Buccaneers dominated in pass coverage in Week 1, allowing only 198 yards through the air on 21 completions against the Dallas Cowboys. They also posted the 10th-best pass defense DVOA rating in 2021, so Olave should stay on your bench for now.

New users earn an instant FREE entry when you sign up for FanDuel DFS! Sign Up Now!

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.