Fantasy Football Week 3 Start/Sit Advice

That’s more like it. Last week my starts combined for a total of 44 fantasy points in PPR and my sits. . . were sit-worthy.

Last Week Starts:

Ty Montgomery: 29 Pts
Chris Hogan: 18.8 Pts
Ravens D/St: 15 Pts
Tevin Coleman: 12.5 Pts

Coleman is my surprise in this group. I expected him to get more looks in the passing game, which didn’t materialize. However, he did get in the end zone so there’s that.

Last Week Sits:

Deshaun Watson: 17.7 Pts
Deandre Hopkins: 14.3 Pts
Marcus Mariota: 13 Pts
Lamar Miller: 11.7 Pts
A.J. Green: 11.7 Pts
Andy Dalton: 9.5 Pts
Tyler Eifert: 7.2 Pts
Joe Mixon: 5.1 Pts
Giovani Bernard: 4.6 Pts
Jeremy Hill: 2.9 Pts
Austin Hooper: 2.7 Pts

Deshaun Watson was my surprise from the sit group. His rushing touchdown was just about the only highlight of a night that consisted of me glancing up from my phone periodically as the two teams punted to each other.

I told everyone to avoid the Thursday night game last week, and for the most part, I stand by that. One thing is certain: the Bengals offense is terrible.

Without further ado, here are some start/sit players for week 3!

Kelvin Benjamin: Start

The Panthers and the Saints are facing off for the first time this season on Sunday. The Saints defense is notorious at this point for surrendering high fantasy days to opposing wide receivers and quarterbacks.

The Panthers are down their star tight end after Greg Olsen was lost for at least 8 weeks due to a broken foot sustained over the weekend. This should translate to an uptick in looks for Kelvin Benjamin in the passing game. He’s a high floor WR2 this weekend.

Trevor Siemian: Sit

Siemian has had a great season in fantasy so far, but I’m calling for a drop in production this week. The Broncos are going to be facing a tough Bills defense that has accounted for 7 sacks over the past two weeks.

Siemian has racked up 7 touchdowns in that same time frame, but he’s also thrown a couple of interceptions and lost a fumble. Additionally, the Broncos have been utilizing CJ Anderson heavily, which has cut into Siemian’s yardage totals.

The Bills can absolutely defend the run. If Siemian’s current stats are any indication, an increase in passing plays could lead to a lot more mistakes.

Jay Cutler: Start

The Jet’s have already given up 5 passing touchdowns and 4 rushing touchdowns this season. They’re not good. Cutler, on the other hand, showed a great rapport with Jarvis Landry on Sunday.

Devante Parker is waiting in the wings for a big game as the deep threat we all know he is. Jay Ajayi was great last week. There is a lot to like about the balance that this team has in the passing and run game. Cutler is a solid streaming target this week against the New York Jets.

Zach Miller: Start

Greg Olsen, Tyler Eifert, Jordan Reed, Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham.

The list above is two things; it’s a list of some of the top tight ends in the league, and it’s a list of injured tight ends heading into this week. Granted, some of the players mentioned above will see the field Sunday, but some won’t.

The Bears are facing the Steelers at home this week. The Steelers are not the same team on the road as they are at home, but they are still one of the most stacked offenses in the league. The Bears are one of the least stacked in the league.

If the Steelers take a commanding lead over the Bears, then Miller is in for a healthy dose of targets considering the lack of weapons in the passing game.

Jordan Howard: Sit

Howard re-injured his shoulder on Sunday and was seen on the sideline in a sling afterward. Howard was a full participant in Friday’s practice so he looks like a go for his matchup against the Steelers, but if the Steelers offense shows up to play all bets are off on Jordan Howard seeing a lot of carries.

On top of that, Howard is only averaging 2.7 yards a carry right now. Additionally, the Steelers have only allowed 148 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns to opposing offenses so far. Based on those numbers if Howard were a bell cow running back then we could expect somewhere around 74 yards and 1 touchdown, but Howard hasn’t been a bell cow back so far this season.

Tarik Cohen is averaging 6.6 yards a carry. He’s also the most targeted receiver on the roster and second in receiving yards by one yard. If the Steelers jump ahead there is no way John Fox opts to put Howard on the field over Cohen who has proven to be more effective.

There are too many things working against Jordan Howard this week for me to trust him in my starting lineup.

Hunter Henry: Start

As mentioned above, tight end options are slim pickings this week. Hunter Henry had a good game last week (7 Catches for 80 Yards) after logging zero fantasy points during the season opener.

If this is a sign of the Chargers intended usage for Henry moving forward then it’s a sign of good things to come. The Chiefs have been historically very good at covering the tight end position, but a large part of that was having a guy like Eric Berry on the squad.

Berry held Gronkowski to 2 receptions in week one. Last week, with Berry done for the season, Zach Ertz had 5 receptions for 97 Yards.

The tight end position is always kind of a gamble unless you’re starting a top-five player. Considering most of the top five players are injured, I’d say take a chance on Henry this week.

Demarco Murray: Sit

This is hard for me to type, but I’m not trusting Murray’s usage right now. His injury is one that has lingered on from preseason, and last week he ceded a lot of carries to Derrick Henry. I don’t see the Titans risking aggravating Murray’s hamstring injury even further by starting him against the Seahawks if they don’t have to.

They clearly don’t have to with a guy like Henry waiting in the wings. Henry rushed for 92 Yards and a touchdown last week. He looked great. He looked healthy. He looked more than capable of starting in place of Murray.

The smart move for the Titans would be to rest Murray this week and let Henry start. If you’re a Murray owner, I would monitor his situation and be prepared to start someone else over him if need be. Hopefully, you have Henry as a handcuff.

Jarvis Landry: Start

As with the pick above for his quarterback, Jay Cutler, I’m going to go with Landry for this game against the Jets. Last week he was a PPR dream receiver with 13 receptions for 78 yards, and really the only thing he was missing was touchdown dance.

Going up against a Jets defense that has practically been handing out touchdowns this season I think Landry is a safe bet to make it to the end zone. And assuming his target share in the offense continues it will be hard to find a safer receiving option this week.