• Start Justin Herbert: The league’s most popular quarterback of the past month is having his most advantageous game of the past few weeks.

• To sit Nick Chubb: The all-time great running back hasn’t played as well as he did before his injury, and that’s unlikely to change this week.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our preseason fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Register now!

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

Deciding who to start or sit in fantasy football can be as simple as checking PFF Rankings and choosing the player with the highest rank. This starting sit column takes it a step further and examines why a typical starter might struggle in a given week or why an overlooked player might perform well. While the usual starters often remain the best choices, we also focus on the borderline players worth considering.

Click here to jump to a position:

QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K

QUARTERLY BACKS

START

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

After a slow start to the season, Herbert has entered the MVP conversation. His 85.6 PFF overall grade this season ranks fourth among quarterbacks with at least 500 snaps. He has earned at least a PFF grade of 74.0 in each of the past five games after allowing fewer than 63.0 points in his first five games. That has translated into fantasy success, including a top-10 finish in three of his past four games.

The Chargers face the Baltimore Ravenswho have given up the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year. Teams throw more against Baltimore than any other, both because of the game scripts and the Ravens’ strong defense. The quality of the Ravens’ pass defense also wasn’t as strong as in years past. They have allowed 7.7 yards per attempt and their team coverage rate is below league average.

This is the perfect storm for Herbert to not only finish in the top 10, but also post his first top-five fantasy finish of the season.