Chargers vs Chiefs Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Mike Williams, Juju Smith-Schuster, Austin Ekeler, Josh Palmer, Isiah Pacheco, Gerald Everett

Welcome to Week 2! Last week, we went 2-0 with our picks against the spread and on the over/under. Let’s not slow down as we head into arguably the best matchup of the week for fantasy football fans.

After shaking off the remaining ghosts from last season, Justin Herbert and company head over to Arrowhead. With many of the favorites struggling to find success in Week 1, Patrick Mahomes handily took care of business. And by handily, I mean the poster boy of the NFL embarrassed the Cardinals for five touchdowns and 360 yards. Meanwhile, Herbert held his own, completing 26 of 34 attempts for 280 yards and three touchdowns against the division rival Raiders. Commonly listed alongside each other as the best QBs in the league, this will be a delight to watch.

However, this matchup is a lot more than the QBs. This also might be an interesting matchup with a lot of fourth-down gambles as the Chiefs are missing Harrison Butker and the Chargers have head coach Brandon Staley. With fantasy stars all around, there is no shortage of content for this article. Thank you for joining me again this week. Once again, my name is Ellis Johnson, and this is your RotoBaller Thursday Night Football Preview.

Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs - 8:20 pm ET 

Notable Injuries:

• Keenan Allen (WR, LAC) - Hamstring - Out
• Donald Parham Jr. (TE, LAC) - Hamstring - Out
• Harrison Butker (K, KC) - Ankle - Out

Must-Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Justin Herbert (QB, LAC)

This is a slam dunk. As mentioned above, he is coming off a very successful Week 1 performance, which pairs nicely with his QB2 finish in 2021. Herbert is a star, and if he manages to string together some playoff wins, he could very well challenge Mahomes and Allen for the best QB in football. 

Going to Arrowhead typically strikes fear in the hearts of fantasy players. Although it can always be high scoring, this stadium is intimidating. Well, at least it’s intimidating for some. In Herbert’s two career games in KC, he has thrived under the bright lights, passing for seven touchdowns, zero interceptions, and 583 yards. There is no reason to shy away from the young gun-slinger, and he’s my QB1 for this week.

Patrick Mahomes (QB, KC)

After what Mahomes did last week, saying Herbert is my QB1 right before talking about Mahomes might be a little disrespectful. After all, he just torched the Cardinals on the road for five touchdowns and over 350 yards. Although the Cardinals' defense is not nearly the same as this Chargers team who was all over Derek Carr in Week 1.

With the additions of J.C Jackson and Khalil Mack to put alongside Joey Bosa, this team is a threat to any QB. In fact, Mack managed to rack up three sacks in his debut last week. On the other hand, this is the Chiefs we’re talking about. Even without Tyreek Hill, Mahomes didn’t miss a beat. Don't worry, he’s a top option this week as well.

Travis Kelce (TE, KC)

He’s the best tight end in fantasy. All this offseason love for Mark Andrews was cute while it lasted, but we all know who’s on top. Even at 33, Kelce is a monster. No disrespect to Mark Andrews, but Lamar isn’t quite Mahomes, and the Ravens aren’t nearly the passing attack of the Chiefs. 

Kelce is the clear top option on one of the league's best offenses. In last week’s blowout, Kelce caught eight of nine targets for over 120 yards and a score. If Mahomes needs a play, it’s no surprise who the ball is going to. Many of these Chargers might still be haunted by when Kelce caught that spectacular long touchdown to win the game in overtime last year. My guess is these fears won’t be settled on Thursday.

Austin Ekeler (RB, LAC)

You probably aren’t considering removing him from your lineup, but you’re probably not thrilled after last week. I’m hoping this will build your confidence and make you excited to play one of the nicest guys in fantasy football.

Last week, Ekeler was inefficient, rushing 14 times for 36 yards and catching all four targets for another 36 yards. This should be his absolute floor for the season. Not only is this game likely high scoring, but with Keenan Allen missing due to injury, this should increase Ekeler’s target share. Give me every bit of Ekeler in a high-scoring matchup with locked-in target volume - he’s a top-three play for me this week.

Mike Williams (WR, LAC)

Much like Ekeler, you most likely aren’t considering benching Mike Williams, but you can’t be thrilled after last week. Despite being one of the most popular breakout picks all offseason, Williams managed to pull a classic disappearing act. Catching only two of four targets for 10 yards was a little worrisome.

Thankfully, we have seen this before with Williams and he has managed to bounce back. Plus, without Allen, Herbert will have to rely on him as a top target. Williams, much like Herbert,  has a history of success in arrowhead as well as a history of haunting the Chiefs when Allen has missed. Over the last two years, he has combined for 230 yards and three touchdowns in his two games in KC. He’s a top-10 play for me this week, and I suspect there’ll be some jaw-dropping catches on the way.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB, KC)

Why not continue to spread the love and tell you why CEH is a must-start? Despite starting his career in an underwhelming fashion for fantasy, CEH was always a decent runner. However, more importantly, he is a great pass catcher. 

In the offseason, I wrote about the dismissal of Hill’s departure impacting the running back position. Particularly, it’s well known that when a top WR leaves, the targets typically increase for the RB the following year. Plus, Darrell Williams managed an excellent season in 2021 with 450 receiving yards and 47 receptions. Now that both Williams and Hill have left, CEH is in line for a resurgent season.

Thankfully, this all came true in Week 1. CEH was excellent, especially in the receiving game. Catching all three of his targets for 32 yards and two scores, he was the clear lead back for this offense. Although he only had seven carries, I think a lot of this was a result of the game getting out of hand quickly. I can’t imagine the Chargers don’t hang, if not lead this game, making CEH set up for another big week.

Solid Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Gerald Everett (TE, LAC)

Considering the tight end landscape, I think Everett might be one of the better plays this week. In his debut with the Chargers, he caught three of four targets for 54 yards and a score. What was really interesting about this matchup is that the Chargers relied heavily on all of their tight ends. This is a little concerning as I can’t think of many things grosser than a tight end by committee, but I think they saw a mismatch specific to the Raiders. 

This matchup should be high flying and without Allen, Herbert might look Everett’s way more often. He is a great bet to score again this week, which makes him a solid start for Week 2.

Flex Considerations for Fantasy Football Lineups

Josh Palmer (WR, LAC)

I wanted to emphasize my belief in him and put him as a solid start, but he is most likely sliding into the flex spot on your team. I’m not saying you should go wild and play him as a top-24 option, but he is one of the better upside plays this week, specifically if Allen is not playing. 

Out of Brampton, Ontario, Palmer has been great to start his career. He was getting praised all off-season and entered the season as the clear third WR. Despite DeAndre Carter finding the endzone, each of Palmer, Carter, Williams, and Allen had four targets. Palmer has the talent, and trust of Herbert to have a very solid fantasy week in Week 2. In fact, I’ll bring back an old segment of mine and say the Pie Shop is open for Palmer this week. 

*Pie Shop: An Australian term (often used in Rugby League) to describe who will score a Try (or in this case touchdown) this week.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR, KC)

Considering the team scored over 40 points, I was a little disappointed in both of these players. It was nice to see Juju lead the receivers with eight targets, but he did lose a fumble. He should be the top WR, but I think the WRs on this team are cloudy at best. The other side of this is MVS, who caught all four of his targets for 44 yards. Interestingly, despite having fewer targets, MVS led all receivers in snaps. Both players had a solid debut on their new team, and aren’t bad flex plays this week. I would rank the three receivers in this section as Palmer, Juju, and MVS.

Consider Sitting for Fantasy Football Lineups

Isiah Pacheco (RB, KC)

Personally, I don’t want to play Pacheco. It is worth noticing that he did lead the team with 12 carries (five more than CEH), but almost all of his carries came in the fourth quarter in what many call, garbage time. He is the clear backup to CEH and will compete with Jerick McKinnon for looks. Although promising for dynasty managers, don’t get caught up in the hype in redraft leagues.

Mecole Hardman and DeAndre Carter (WR, KC and LAC)

I’m grouping these two together as both were depth plays that happened to score touchdowns last week. Before we get too excited, this week, I wouldn’t trust either. I think Hardman looked solid, but he is the clear fifth receiving option behind CEH, Kelce, Juju, and MVS. As for DeAndre Carter, he has had surprising fantasy relevance over the years, primarily with Washington. Although I prefer him to Hardman, he isn’t more than a salary cap filler in DFS.

Ellis’ Picks

Chargers +4.0 (1-0), Over 54.5 (1-0)

We started the year on fire hitting the Under and the Bills to cover the spread in Week 1. I hope to continue this trend in this week’s heavyweight tilt. I think these teams are quite evenly matched, and both performed well in their season openers. Not to take anything away from Mahomes and company, but I think some of it was on the Cardinals playing really poor defense.

The Chargers will no doubt struggle to slow down the Chiefs, but this defense looked great against the Raiders. Initially, I was thinking that the line is set a little high for a divisional match. However, without Butker on one side, and fourth-down gambler Brandon Staley on the other side, there might be a lot more touchdowns with very few field goals. 

Career record: Spread (23-14), Over/Under (22-15)

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