Week 2 Thursday Night Football Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Chargers vs Chiefs

A pair of AFC West rivals meet head-to-head on Week 2's edition of Thursday Night football as the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Kansas City Chiefs. FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds list the Chiefs as 4.5-point favorites in a game that is expected to be filled with offensive fireworks.

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

Gerald Everett Fantasy

Start Gerald Everett, TE, Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have produced reliable fantasy football tight ends in the past such as Jared Cook and Hunter Henry. Gerald Everett could be the next one to add his name to that list. The 28-year-old finished as Week 1's No. 4 TE thanks to his stat line of 54 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions. It was intriguing to see him play in 66% of the offensive snaps. The Chiefs gave up a touchdown to tight end Zach Ertz in Week 1 and do not have much depth at the linebacker position. That means Everett has a good chance to replicate his success on Thursday night.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Fantasy

Start Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire was being selected as a borderline RB2 in fantasy football drafts this fall, but he showed in Week 1 that he has a chance to exceed expectations. The third-year pro posted 74 total yards on 10 touches and scored a pair of receiving touchdowns. He likely would've seen more work in the second half if Kansas City wasn't up by multiple scores, too. Edwards-Helaire draws a great matchup in Week 2 as the chargers gave up the third-most rushing yards (2,017) and second-most rushing touchdowns (19) to opposing RBs in 2021. LA also allowed 4.9 yards per carry against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.

Joshua Palmer Fantasy

Sit Joshua Palmer, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: The injury to starting wide receiver Keenan Allen opens the door for someone on the Chargers offense to see more targets. However, trusting Joshua Palmer to be that guy is risky. Palmer played in 75% of the offensive snaps in Week 1, yet only posted 5 yards on 3 receptions (5 targets). His routes stayed short as Mike Williams and DeAndre Carter took over the middle of the field, instead. The Chiefs gave up just 205 passing yards in Week 1 and held Palmer to only 15 yards on 1 catch across two matchups in 2021. Expect more of the same in Week 2.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling Fantasy

Sit Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Every fantasy manager is looking to grab a piece of the Chiefs' passing attack after quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns in Week 1. While it's a smart strategy, Marquez Valdes-Scantling hasn't done enough to warrant a FLEX start yet. The former Green Bay Packer hauled in all four of his targets for 44 yards against the Arizona Cardinals. Keep in mind Tight end Travis Kelce and Juju Smith-Schuster dominated the target share, though, and both Mecole Hardman and Jody Fortson scored a touchdown. The Chiefs' tendency to spread the ball around on offense limits any upside MVS has.

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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.