Fantasy Football Start/Sit Decisions | Are Jordan Love and Jayden Reed Players You Can Trust the Rest of the Season?

The Green Bay Packers have some life after big-time wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions.

A big part of the reason for the team’s recent surge has been the play of quarterback Jordan Love and wide receiver Jayden Reed. Love has been fantasy QB6 over that time, while Reed is tied for WR8.

Is their recent play sustainable and can each player be trusted in your starting lineup as the fantasy season winds down? Let’s discuss.

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Recent Play for Love and Reed

Love has actually been trending upward for about the past month or so, but the past two games, he’s looked like the future of the Packers at the position.

In week 11, Love completed 27-of-40 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers. Love was 22-of-32 for 268 yards and three scores against the Detroit Lions in week 12. He added 39 rushing yards on three carries against the Lions.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Reed has also played better since Love has started to.

Reed caught four of his six targets against the Chargers, going for 46 yards. He added 46 rushing yards and a touchdown on three carries. Reed hauled in half of his eight targets for 34 yards and a score against the Lions, while rushing twice for an additional 16 yards.

Reed’s receiving numbers aren’t all that great, but he’s been a solid fantasy play because of his overall touches and scores. Reed has scored six touchdowns already this season, so this isn’t something new.

Fantasy Outlook for the Green Bay Duo

The Packers have a tough matchup looming with the Kansas City Chiefs, but after that, they have a number of winnable games against average or poor defenses.

In Week 14, the Packers play the New York Giants. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit Lambeau Field in week 15 before the Pack hits the road to face the Carolina Panthers. Week 17 is a road matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. If your fantasy league plays in week 18, the Packers take on the Chicago Bears.

There’s some favorable matchups in that stretch, and FantasySP’s strength of schedule page backs that up. Love has a remaining schedule grade of B+, while Reed and the wideouts have an A.

The Packers have struggled to run the ball so far this season, and with Aaron Jones dinged up, Love and the passing game might be called upon to keep their playoff hopes alive. Reed has to fight for targets and snaps with Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks, but the Packers seem persistent on getting Reed the ball - whether it be as a receiver or in the running game - so his touches should be up there every single week.

How to Proceed with Love and Reed

To start off, let’s look at what our charts say. Love is currently owned in 76% of leagues, while Reed is at 74% owned. 

I've seen enough over the last month to trust both players enough to at least have them on my bench. Add them to your team if they are available in your league.

Now in terms of starting them, week 13 looks like a tough matchup on paper, but the Chiefs did just allow the Las Vegas Raiders to put up 358 total yards of offense (235 net passing) on them last week. I’d lean against starting Love and Reed, but I’m also OK starting both if your other matchups are worse.

At this point, I’d lean toward starting Love and Reed against the Giants and Buccaneers, again depending on your other player’s matchups. The Panthers are surprisingly a tough matchup on paper, but if their season continues to slip away, this matchup could look a lot different for Love and Reed by the time the game is played. I’d also be fine with starting Love and Reed against the Vikings and Bears.

So more often than not down the stretch, I’m at least somewhat comfortable starting Love and Reed. It really all depends on what kind of other matchups you have available on your fantasy team. 

At the very least, Love and Reed need to be rostered in your league and stashed on your bench. If they continue their recent level of play, Love and Reed are going to become stronger and stronger starting options, and should work their way into more starting lineups as time passes.