Although “Thursday Night Football” won’t officially start on Amazon Prime Video until next week, there’s still Week 1 Thursday night NFL action to kick off the 2022 regular season with the Bills traveling to face the Super Bowl 56 champion Rams in Los Angeles (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). As always, you want to start the week with the right fantasy start ’em, sit ’em decisions by either deploying players who can give you a nice early lead going into the Sunday or avoiding players who are bound to bust in prime time.
Wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp are among the obvious high fantasy draft picks who will be started in every league, but what do you do with everyone else, including the RBs, D/STs, and a banged-up Matthew Stafford?
MORE TNF: FanDuel lineup | DraftKings lineup
Here’s breaking down the entire start ’em sit ’em picture for Thursday night, including a couple DFS lineup suggestions for FanDuel and DraftKings:
WEEK 1 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start ’em, sit ’em
Bills: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Josh Allen
This is far from the ideal opening spot you want for the consensus No. 1 fantasy QB, but you took him because his running and aggressive passing make him an every-week play. Allen will still have a high combined production floor in matchups like these, but don’t expect a massive outing.
WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
Start: RB Devin Singletary | Sit: RBs James Cook and Zack Moss
Singletary is the clear lead back with the rookie Cook slated for some passing-down work and Moss sticking as a swing backup. This situation might get murkier as Cook settles and the season progresses, but for now, Singletary is a pure volume play vs. a tough defense.
Start: WR Stefon Diggs
Diggs might see a good chunk of Jalen Ramsey, but the Bills excel at moving him around and scheming him open, relying on the uncanny timing and chemistry between him and Allen to keep the connection consistent. Ramsey is also coming off offseason shoulder surgery and might not be fully his shutdown self. Diggs, like Allen, won’t go off, but a line such as 6-80-1 is attainable.
WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
Start: WR Gabriel Davis
Davis might also see some Ramsey in coverage outside, but if not he would see Troy Hill. Hill is 31 and didn’t play well for the Browns last year before returning to the Rams. Davis is set up for a breakout season as a young upgrade from Emmanuel Sanders and can produce like a WR2 over the long term, but you should settle for WR3 results this week.
Sit: WR Isaiah McKenzie
McKenzie has been buzzing along with Davis in training camp as he gets a chance to eat up the vacated slot targets of Cole Beasley. However, in a neutral-to-bad matchup with nickelback David Long Jr. McKenzie is not a recommended play. Davis has the better chance to produce.
Sit: TE Dawson Knox
The Rams were pretty good in covering the tight end last season, and Knox is sliding down a bit in the pecking order with Davis and McKenzie ready for more prominent roles behind Diggs. He has the big new contract and is playable in larger leagues, but you should have a better option in shallow leagues.
WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
Start: Bills D/ST
The revenge game for Von Miller could work out nicely without needing to face former teammate Andrew Whitworth at left tackle. The Bills’ secondary is without Tre’Davious White (knee), but their linebackers are active playmakers and can get a turnover or two from Matthew Stafford behind the pressure.
Start: K Tyler Bass
Bass is a no-brainer start because he’s attached to the Bills’ offense. Any defensive stops should give him multiple field-goal chances to open the year.
WEEK 1 DFS: Best values | Best stacks
Rams: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Sit: QB Matthew Stafford
Stafford is coming off an elbow injury that caused mild concern. There’s also thought the time off in the preseason could make him rusty for a brutal matchup for one of the league’s top pass defenses. He’s been drafted as a borderline QB1 and should be considered a QB2 this week.
Sit: RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr.
Akers and Henderson have battled lower-body injuries, and although Sean McVay hasn’t expressed concern about either’s availability, it’s unknown how the workload might be split early in a tricky matchup where the Rams might be forced to drop back and throw more with mixed results from Stafford.
Start: WR Cooper Kupp
Kupp had a historic season racking up monster numbers as the dominant WR1 overall last season. He might cool off a little with age and past wear, but even a big drop-off keeps him as an absolute stud. The Bills will do their best to slow him down with double-teams minus White, but Stafford and McVay will make sure Kupp gets his.
Start: WR Allen Robinson
The Rams will be fine if Kupp draws the huge coverage attention because it will allow them to deploy their veteran No. 2 against inexperienced corners. Robinson is bound to be a key red-zone threat playing off Kupp, too, all season long. A-Rob starts well with good volume, given the knee injury to Van Jefferson has thinned out the depth of the Rams’ receiving corps early.
Sit: TE Tyler Higbee
The Bills have Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano to cover on the second level and have safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer to clean up behind them. There’s no way Higbee is getting free often, and the Rams won’t force it to him with McVay.
Sit: Rams D/ST
With Ramsey and Aaron Donald, now helped by Bobby Wagner instead of Miller, the Rams are playable in most weeks against average-to-weak offensive opponents. The elite and explosive Bills with Allen do not qualify as such.
Start: K Matt Gay
The Rams’ kicker in the McVay Era has been reliable to get the necessary points you want from the position. Gay might be busier than usual with the offense stalling a bit.
Bills vs. Rams: FanDuel single-game lineup
- MVP (1.5X): WR Stefon Diggs $14,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Allen Robinson $12,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Gabe Davis $11,500
- AnyFLEX: K Matt Gay $9,000
- AnyFLEX: RB Devin Singletary $10,500
Here’s going Bills-heavy around Allen while taking advantage of the Rams’ complementary values in catchup mode with Stafford.
Bills vs. Rams: DraftKings Showdown lineup
- Captain (1.5X): QB Josh Allen $18,000
- FLEX: WR Stefon Diggs $9,000
- FLEX: WR Gabe Davis $7,200
- FLEX: RB Devin Singletary $7,000
- FLEX: WR Allen Robinson $6,200
- FLEX: WR Ben Skowronek $1,800
The strategy for DK is a little different, attaching the lineup to Allen and punting on the the last spot, hoping Skowronek can do enough for return filling in for Jefferson.
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