Roasts & Ghosts is back! I’ve rebranded the classic fantasy football starts and sits to one that offers hopefully more assistance when setting your lineups. A roast is a player who is not only a clear start, but could be in for a monster game. A ghost meanwhile is a player who could just be a typical sit (not worth even starting) or might be a star player who gives you less than you were expecting.
However, that’s not all this season!
This year, for our Patreon members, I’ll be giving a roast, ghost, and a coast—a player who’s a solid, confident start—for every game each week. Make sure you join our Patreon ASAP so you don’t miss even more starts and sits content.
I have a roast and a ghost for each position to help you set your best lineups for Week 2. Let’s get it!
Roasts of the Week
QB Derek Carr vs Arizona Cardinals
Carr had a decent stat line against the Chargers Sunday, if you ignore all the turnovers. He threw for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns but had his fantasy day tanked by 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles. Carr was sacked five times in Week 1, tied for second-most in the league, which helps explain the turnovers. Against the Cardinals, Carr has a much more favorable matchup. The Cards were picked apart by Patrick Mahomes in Week 1, leading them to have the worst-ranked pass defense per NEFF rating. While I doubt Carr tosses 5 TDs, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him throw 300+ yards and 3 scores.
RB Devin Singletary vs Tennessee Titans
The Bills spread the wealth in their backfield Thursday night but Singletary looked like the best back. He led the backfield in attempts (8) and yards (48) on the ground and was the only back not to fumble. He also led in backfield share, seeing over 50% of the attempts. The Titans were dismantled on the ground in Week 1 by Saquon Barkley, giving up the most fantasy points to the position. The Bills don’t love to run the ball, but in a plus-matchup, Singletary could be in for one of his best weeks.
WR Darnell Mooney vs Green Bay Packers
We all know the Packers’ secondary was ripped apart in Week 1 by Justin Jefferson. But the Vikings’ wide receiver did most of his damage operating out of the slot. The Packers gave up 35.9 fantasy points to WRs in the slot last week which unsurprisingly is worst in the NFL. Mooney is easily the Bears’ best receiver and leads the team in slot snaps, running over 50% of his routes from there. While Justin Fields only targeted Mooney three times vs the 49ers, I chalk that up to playing in a monsoon. The two will connect often Sunday.
TE O.J. Howard vs Denver Broncos
I’m going big here to start the year. Howard shocked everyone in Week 1, scoring two touchdowns for the Texans. He also only saw two targets. So he’s 100% touchdown-or-bust. The good times might keep rolling in Week 2 however as the Broncos couldn’t cover any of Seattle’s tight ends Monday night. Between Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson, and Noah Fant, Denver gave up 102 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 26.2 .5PPR points to the position. Who says Howard can’t score again against this defense?
Ghosts of the Week
QB Tom Brady vs New Orleans Saints
Brady has played the Saints in the regular season four times since joining the Buccaneers. In those games he’s thrown a total of six touchdowns and eight interceptions. And only once has he thrown over 240 yards. Some teams know how to get the great Brady rattled, and the Saints have proven to be one of those teams. I’m fading Brady hard this week.
Also quickly, since I know people are going to see Patrick Mahomes’ name as my ghost for Chargers vs Chiefs, let me quickly explain. First off, he’s not averaging 35 points per game this season so he’s bound to come back to Earth somewhat. Mainly though, this Chargers defense looks legit and the pass rushing duo of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack is going to be a problem for offenses all season long.
RB James Conner vs Las Vegas Raiders
Conner had a wildly inefficient Week 1 which was only saved by a touchdown. The Cardinals’ back carried the ball 10 times for a meager 26 yards and added another 29 yards through the air on 5 catches. Oh, and he fumbled. That inefficiency isn’t going to fly for a presumed RB1. It’s going to be tough to get going however facing a Raiders’ run defense that ranks top 5 this season (per NEFF).
WR Kadarius Toney vs Carolina Panthers
This dude played 7 snaps lmao pic.twitter.com/QQffkisWQD
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 12, 2022
I feel like that’s all that needs to be said. The matchup for Toney this week isn’t particularly good or bad. He’s just a ghost because he literally might not be on the field for who knows why. Until we start seeing the Giants’ coaching staff use Toney with regularity, I’m sadly going to keep him on my bench. Don’t trade him though, because when/if Brian Daboll ever decides to give Toney a starting workload, oh boy he gonna be good.
TE Tyler Higbee vs Atlanta Falcons
Higbee led all tight ends in Week 1 with a staggering 26.8% target share. That’s almost four percentage points more than Travis Kelce (23.1%) who’s basically the Chiefs’ top one and two passing target. I can assure you that target share was not by design. The Rams’ offense was a mess to start the year, mostly because Matthew Stafford was under constant duress. With Stafford facing a much more favorable matchup in the Falcons, I expect Higbee to fall to the fourth or fifth option in the passing game, instead of the second.
Week 2 Rundown
LAC vs KC
Roast: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Coast: Mike Williams
Ghost: Patrick Mahomes
NE vs PIT
Roast: Chase Claypool
Coast: Jakobi Meyers
