5 Chiefs players to start in fantasy football (and 2 to sit) in Week 2

Week 1 is in the books in the National Football League and half of all fantasy football teams everywhere are sitting with the dreaded 0-1 start due to poor decisions, bad draft picks, and/or lack of awareness.

Fortunately, now that every team has played 60 minutes on the field, it's easier to get a feel for who is a surefire start and who could be more useful on the bench as fantasy players make their decisions for Week 2.

We've got you covered here with plenty of fantasy football advice for both Kansas City Chiefs players and beyond, but let's begin with those who call Arrowhead Stadium their home.

Chiefs players worth starting

Rashee Rice - WR

The most obvious player that every fantasy football team manager would be lucky to have (and dumb to sit) is Kansas City's Rashee Rice.

In his first week of play after it was announced his court dates are set for later in the season, Rice proved he's WR1 material in real life and fantasy football with nine targets, seven receptions, 103 yards. And he did it all against one of the best defenses from last season.

With Xavier Worthy able to take the top off of defenses with his record-breaking speed, and Kelce always reliable to drag two defenders away, Rice seemed to be open over the middle on every offensive play.

Rice will likely have WR1 upside for the entirety of the 2024 season, but he proved it last week with 17.3 points (PPR included) and has a projection of 13-14 points against Cincinnati on most fantasy apps.

Xavier Worthy - WR

His first game in the NFL saw him haul in not one but two touchdowns and over 20 points as a fantasy football surprise. He showed it with a speedy rush (below) to the outside off a sweep, and by getting behind the defense later in the game for an easy score.

Now that Worthy has proven his speed and ability to get open are going to fit like a glove in Andy Reid's system, it would appear he's a definite start until he proves you shouldn't.

Currently, Worthy is only predicted to get 9-10 points in most PPR leagues, but now that he's made his mark on the NFL, it would be very Reid-like to patent it against a team that has become a new rivalry for Kansas City.

Also, with the Chiefs' newest addition to the wide receiver room (Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown) still unsure about his availability on Sunday, it's the perfect storm for another big day from Worthy and Rice.

Patrick Mahomes - QB

This one feels obvious, and if you have the 3x Super Bowl champion on your team, you don't need to hear any reason to keep him on your starting lineup. But, if you have an extremely favorable matchup with another QB it would depend on how confident you feel with their matchup over Kansas City's game.

Last year in Mahomes' last week of the regular season he went 21-for-29, 245 yards through the air and a laser pass for a touchdown to Pacheco late in the first quarter (below) which led to just around 11 fantasy points depending on which app you use.

The year before, Mahomes only completed 15 of his 21 passes for 233 yards but he ran in a touchdown for some extra points (something he hasn't done in a regular season game since Week 16 of 2022).

Mahomes' upside is the lower-to-mid 30s when it comes to fantasy, but as we saw last year (when the Chiefs were already securely in the playoffs) he has a floor of mid-teens.

Travis Kelce - TE

Another obvious entry, but it's important to reiterate that even though Kelce had a lackluster performance fantasy-wise, he is consistently capable of breaking out for double-digit points and even a total in the mid-to-high 20s.

Kelce has had 10 multi-touchdown games in his career, but none have come against Cincinnati. That could easily change on Sunday, and you would look like an idiot if he did so on your bench.

Isiah Pacheco - RB

One final easy decision, your RB2 on most fantasy rosters. Pacheco has scored at least one rushing touchdown in his last four games going back to last season and it always feels like he's guaranteed at least one shot per game from within the five-yard line to punch one in.

The Bengals also allowed the fifth-most rushing yards (170) during week one and allowed the seventh-most last season (126.2). Pacheco is a sturdy 15-20 fantasy points per game lock whenever he's healthy and on the field.

Chiefs players worth sitting

Chiefs defense

To everybody's surprise, the Chiefs' defense ranked dead last in yards allowed (452) after the first week, 35 yards more than the next-worst teams. Granted, they were playing without one of their stars—Charles Omenihu—on the line and they were up against the reigning MVP who can make any defense look silly.

Chris Jones was able to get pressure on Lamar Jackson throughout the entire game, often forcing him into a scramble that gained positive yardage, but never officially got him more than once.
Against almost any quarterback not named Jackson it would have been a multi-sack game for Jones, but that was one of the only highlights from the defense's first outing.

Leo Chenal played great before leaving the game early, and a few other strong performances kept the Chiefs in the lead. However, there were some big holes that a quarterback like Joe Burrow will be able to expose with ease.

The only positives for the Chiefs' defense are the lack of production from Ja'Marr Chase in his first game—hanging under the umbrella of a lengthy contract dispute—and the possibility of no Tee Higgins who missed week one as well.

Also, it goes without saying that Cincinnati's early-season woes are well-recorded but that doesn't mean they are going to automatically go into Arrowhead and lay an egg to go 0-2. If any game was a surprise and the definition of a flash-in-a-pan, it was the Bengals' loss to New England. Don't expect them to play that poorly two weeks in a row.

Skyy Moore - WR

With the emergence of Worthy and his week one fireworks, it would be a great time to dump any stock one might have in Moore no matter how many people are in your league. Even as a last-round pick, there is not much upside with so much talent sitting above him on the depth chart and fantasy boards.