Here we are again for your weekly dose of fantasy goodness. My Start/Sit players for Week 3. I hope everyone did well last week (If you didn’t I told you stay away from Le’Veon Bell!) and I’ll put together another great list of options on who to start and a list of those players you should shy away from.
A quick note that will help everyone, start looking two weeks in advance for whoever the Miami Tanks are playing. Everyone in a season long league is going to pick up that week’s matchup. But if you go a week ahead, you’ll have a leg up on the rest of your league. Daily wise, there’s no reason to pick any other defense except the Tanks opponent. Seriously, don’t over think it there. It’s not going to cost you anything of value, and you’ll need those points to win any contest. In all actuality, as a general rule, getting any position players for whoever is playing Miami is a good idea. (So don’t yell at me for not including any Cowboys this week). Again, they are literally trying to lose games, they don’t want to win. They will give up a historical amount of points this season.
Alrighty, let’s get down to the nitty gritty! Here are your Start/Sit players for Week 3.
Start Them
Quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson, Kirk Cousins, Jameis Winston
I know, I know. Let me get to the first two so I can talk all down about my last selection this week. Lamar Jackson is playing the best that he ever has so far this season, and is playing in the game of the week against Kansas City. The weather at Arrowhead this weekend is going to be on the rainy side. Sloppy field conditions will mean that Jackson will be the beneficiary of more running plays. Pair that with a bottom half defense, and a game that will be a shootout. Lamar is a safe play this week (even though Baltimore isn’t going to win, but the points are there for the taking).
Kirk Cousins is playing against a demoralized (the Chiefs tend to do that to teams) defense in the Raiders this week. He is also playing with a revitalized Dalvin Cook. Being the absolute neanderthal that he is, Jon Gruden is more than likely going to stack the box in an attempt to reduce Cook’s impact on the game. This will free things up for Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs to work their magic. This should get Cousins to rack up around 300 yards and a few touchdowns this week.
Alright, let’s address the elephant on the page. Jameis Winston has had an absolutely awful year so far. However, this is probably one of the only weeks where he has a favorable matchup in the Giants, who are currently in some sort of combination of a rebuild/transition/mourning of Eli Manning’s career. Plus, their defense is just bad. Mike Evans I’m sure has been talking to Bruce Arians about getting more involved, and Tampa Bay needs to get back on track.
I think this week will be an absolute air raid for the Bucs, and Winston is a valuable contrarian play. Notice I didn’t say he will be good the rest of the season, but I like him this week. Just this week. I cannot stress enough that this is a one week projection. Are we all ok now? Flame me on Twitter (@Rellihan51) if you need to vent a little. Let’s move along.
Running Backs: Frank Gore, David Johnson, Aaron Jones
Hey, remember him?? Yes, Frank Gore is still playing football and is still looking more than capable to be a excellent sleeper pick for Week 3. Devin Singletary has been ruled out for their tilt against the Bungles on Sunday. This means he (and his unbreakable adamantium skeleton) are in line to get the bulk of the carries. He showed that he can still get it done, with 68 yards and a score (an absolute truckstick at that) last week, and has a favorable defensive matchup. Buffalo is going to look to control the game. That means there is a really good chance of Gore having a productive week.
David Johnson is coming off a very difficult week against a tough defense in Baltimore, but he’s got the opposite situation this week in Carolina. The Panthers are in complete disarray right now. They are going to have their hands full trying to figure out an offensive game plan. If Arizona and Kyler Murray want to win, they will need to keep the pressure on and control the game. Johnson is going to be a key factor in that. Look for him to be utilized early and often, and don’t be surprised if this game gets ugly on the scoreboard in favor of the Cardinals.
After a whole season, it seems that the Packers have gotten the memo that Aaron Jones is a good football player and worthy of actually being involved in the offense. Coming off a 100+ and a score performance against Minnesota last week, he’s getting a great chance to repeat and build on that for Week 3 against a struggling Denver team. While Rodgers continues to feud with head coach Matt LaFleur, it seems they both can agree on that Jones is a trusted part of the game plan from now on.
Wide Receivers/Tight End: Josh Gordon, Nelson Agholor, Terry McLaurin, Will Dissly (TE)
As I (and really anyone with any sort of football IQ or common sense) suspected, the Antonio Clown experiment has already crashed and burned. Which means Josh Gordon is going to slide back into his natural role in the Patriots offense. He will be the top target down the field, with Edelman working his usual underneath routes. On top of that, they’re playing the Jets and with how ruthless Belichick looked against the Tanks, I can see them running the score up against another hapless opponent. (Yet another stupid easy game in their rose petal laden path to the 1 or 2 seed for the playoffs. Thanks Goodell).
Nelson Agholor is trending to be first on the depth chart Week 3 for the Eagles going up against Detroit. This is due to the massive amount of injuries they sustained last week. He’s still a super cheap option on daily fantasy. (seriously go listen to my brother Max’s fantasy podcast every week, the guy has stats and rationale for days. End shameless plug.) Carson Wentz is still going to air it out for the majority of the game since the backfield is just a log jam by committee.
If you haven’t heard of Scary Terry, you need to get him immediately if he’s available. He’s just about over 200 yards on the year and has a score in each of his first two games. McLaurin is the dynamic playmaker that Washington has needed at the wide receiver position for a long time. He is quickly trending to a fantasy star this season. I understand he’s going against a stout Chicago defense, but the ball needs to go somewhere. So far, it has been going Scary Terry’s way.
As for my tight end selection this week, it’s a surprise in Will Dissly. He scored twice last week, and Seattle is going against a Brees-less Saints team. If Chris Carson struggles to get going, and Tyler Lockett is covered up, it looks like Russell Wilson is comfortable going to Dissly in the red zone and the Seahawks like to get creative at home.
Sit Them
Quarterbacks: Baker Mayfield, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers
The Browns lost David Njoku for the season last week. Aside from the catch and run from Odell Beckham, Jr., looked rather unproductive and lacking explosive plays. Going up against a top five secondary in the Rams this week, that doesn’t really bode well for Baker either. It’ll be interesting to see if Cleveland is able to get anything going, but I don’t like the matchup at all for Week 3.
Minus two garbage time touchdowns and Julio Jones being a complete freak of nature on his touchdown catch last week, Matt Ryan would have a 2 to 5 TD/INT ratio. He’s been uncharacteristically erratic with the ball. That may just be a part of the natural aging process (not everyone has a warlock doctor like Tom Brady). Going against the Colts this week, I really see him struggling. Indianapolis has only allowed teams to get into the red zone 5 times so far this year. If they stick to their hard hitting ways and tackle (actually tackle, like using your arms and wrapping up. I feel like this should be a rarity in the NFL but is sadly is.) they’ll put up a fight this week against Atlanta.
I really just don’t see Philip Rivers having any sort of spectacular line this week against Houston. That doesn’t mean that the Chargers don’t have a chance to win the game. I just think that Austin Ekeler is going to be what makes this offense go. Los Angeles has shown no real ability to score in the red zone. (Without it not counting from penalties) Houston is also excellent on not giving up big pass plays. Throughout the season, there will be much better opponents to start Rivers against.
Running Backs: Devonta Freeman, Alvin Kamara, Kerryon Johnson
It’s officially time to panic and consider giving up on Devonta Freeman. He looked like he lacked confidence, he looked slow, and he was totally unproductive against Philadelphia last week. Sure, he caught some shovel passes and was in for the majority of the snaps, but he just doesn’t seem to be a vital part of that offense anymore. It’s disappointing, because he was at the top of his game, he was an exciting player to watch. Unless he has a great defensive matchup, I just don’t see him as a weekly starter.
I never thought that Alvin Kamara would make an appearance on this list this season. But sadly, injuries happen, and it will impact the Saints backfield big time. Without a score yet this season, and without Drew Brees for the foreseeable future, Kamara is going to be less of an impact in the passing game. Compound that with a stout run defense in Seattle, New Orleans is going to have to prove they can produce points without their starting quarterback. (With how the Steelers have handled it so far, I’m not keeping my hopes up).
It’s also time to start questioning if Kerryon Johnson is going to be a productive fantasy player in the Lions offense not only for Week 3, but for the season in general. If you take away a fluky 36 yard touchdown catch, Johnson hasn’t scored this season. He also hasn’t even cracked 50 yards rushing in a game yet, and that’s concerning. If the Eagles performance is at all indicative of what’s to come for opposing running backs this season, expect Johnson to be stifled once again.
Wide Receivers/Tight End: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Robert Woods, DJ Moore, Jared Cook (TE)
The Steelers offense is quickly trending to one of the worst in the league. A part of that is injuries, most notably the Roethlisberger season ending surgery, but another part is just a lack of identity. They don’t have one right now, and they don’t have confidence. Sure, if JuJu is able to work underneath routes, he may get some cheap catches and yards. Though I’m not sure if that would justify playing him against a surprisingly strong 49ers defensive unit. San Francisco has only surrendered 2 touchdowns in 7 redzone trips. I don’t see that changing this week against an offense that is lacking in the explosiveness department.
Robert Woods (and his fantasy owners) are really seeing the effect of a spread target share in a crowded receiving corps in Los Angeles. So far, it seems that Cooper Kupp and Bradin Cooks have been numbers one and two for Jared Goff and the Rams offense. This leaves Woods struggling to see many passes coming his way. It’s not necessarily his fault, and he could break out at any time. The problem is that nobody knows when. In actuality, if you don’t own multiple Rams receivers, its hard to justify not playing both or none at all with how the offense is going.
DJ Moore is a victim of a decaying Panthers offense so far this season. He has talent, but Carolina is without Cam Newton and that is allowing defenses to bottle up McCaffrey. I haven’t seen much of Kyle Allen, but I would imagine Ron Rivera would ease the backup into the game early on. If the game starts to get away from them, I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s almost all McCaffrey on the offensive side of the ball and multiple interceptions and a lousy completion percentage.
Normally, the tight end is a good security blanket for a backup quarterback. However, I don’t think Teddy Bridgewater is going to have that luxury. Jared Cook is an established talent at the tight end position. I don’t think that Seattle is going to allow him to any sort of big factor against them. Even if Michael Thomas draws (he should) double teams for the majority of the game, they’ll have some one responsible for neutralizing Cook.
That’s everything for Week 3, I hope that you all have great weeks and end up with a victory. Let me know who you all are starting that I didn’t have listed, who you disagree with me sitting, or any last second decisions you’re struggling with. I’ll always respond on Twitter to any questions/comments (don’t get into a trolling war with me, you will lose). I really appreciate everyone who has read every week so far. I look forward to writing for you all again for Week 4!
Remember to start whoever is playing Miami on defense.
Nick Rellihan (@Rellihan51)
