Week 2 Monday Night Football Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Vikings vs Eagles

A pair of teams looking to stay undefeated meet head-to-head on Monday Night Football in Week 2 as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Minnesota Vikings. FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds list the Eagles as 2.5-point home favorites in a game that is 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 showdown.

Kirk Cousins Fantasy

Start Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins has never been the most exciting quarterback to roster in fantasy football, but he has been one of the most consistent. In fact, he has finished as a top-12 QB in each of the last two years. The arsenal of weapons he has at his disposal gives him that kind of upside every single week. The veteran finished as a top-12 QB in Week 1 and has a great opportunity to do so again in Week 2. In his career, Cousins has averaged 306.2 passing yards per game across nine contests against the Eagles. He's also thrown 21 touchdowns compared to 6 interceptions during that span. Start Cousins with confidence.

Miles Sanders Fantasy

Start Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: The Vikings were able to shut the Green Bay Packers down in the passing game in Week 1, but their rush defense left a lot to be desired. Minnesota gave up the ninth-most PPR fantasy points to opposing RBs in Week 1 and allowed a whopping 6.2 yards per attempts (No. 28 in NFL). That bodes well for Miles Sanders' chances of balling out. Sanders rushed for 96 yards and 1 touchdown on 13 carries against the Detroit Lions and added 9 yards on 2 receptions as well. His touch count should stay steady around 12-15 per game, which gives him RB2 upside in this matchup.

Irv Smith Jr. Fantasy

Sit Irv Smith Jr., TE, Minnesota Vikings: A lot of fantasy managers that waited to draft a tight end this fall ended up taking a flyer on Irv Smith Jr. with one of their last few selections. After all, he flashed some upside in his last healthy season (2020) by averaging 12.2 yards per reception and scoring 5 touchdowns. The 24-year-old only played in 31% of Minnesota's offensive snaps in Week 1, though, as it became clear he is still working his way back from a thumb injury. The Eagles don't present as a tough matchup by any means, but the possibility of Smith being on a snap count again makes the idea of starting him too risky.

DeVonta Smith Fantasy

Sit DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: This sit recommendation is not going to say that fantasy managers should expect DeVonta Smith to be shut out from the stat sheet entirely in Week 2 again as he was in Week 1. What it is going to say is that he has taken a back seat to A.J. Brown in the passing game. While Smith played in 96% of Philly's offensive snaps in Week 1, he failed to haul in any of his 4 targets. That is not good news considering the matchup he draws on Monday night. Minnesota gave up the fifth-fewest PPR fantasy points to opposing WRs in Week 1, so it's best to keep Smith on the bench here.

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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.