Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

In episode105 Sully brings you his Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit recommendations.

Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

Hello Heat Seekers, welcome to episode 105 of Sully’s 2 Cents Fantasy Football Podcast, I am you host Rob Sullivan. Sully’s 2 Cents Fantasy Football Podcast is a proud member of the RotoHeat family of podcasts.

Well, Week two was unlike anything I have ever seen in terms of injuries. If you managed to win your matchup last weak, congratulations. If you managed to come out of it remotely healthy go buy a lottery ticket. Seriously go, go right now run!

The San Francisco 49ers apparently sold their soul for a trip to the Super Bowl last season and it appears Beelzebub, has called in the marker. George Kittle missed Week 2 with a knee sprain, they placed Richard Sherman on IR before their game in New Jersey versus the New York Jets as well. During their week 2 contest they lost, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB’s Raheem Mostert, and Tevin Coleman, DE Nick Bosa, and Solomon Thomas. In addition Dee Ford was out with a neck injury and I haven’t even begun to address their WR situation.

The team arranged for an MRI truck to handle all these injures and it broke down, hell when they were heading to New York, The plane that was supposed take them there somehow someone crashed into it on the runway, and dented it, forcing a delay as they arranged for a new plane.

The team was very critical of the field conditions in the Meadowlands and their reward for enduring all this last week is a game, you guessed it in the Meadowlands once again, this time against the Giants.

In addition we had Saquon Barkley, and Courtland Sutton go down for the season, Christian McCaffrey for 4-6 weeks. Denver QB Drew Lock out a minimum of 3 weeks and likely 6, Devante Adams has a hamstring injury as does Julio Jones, and D.J. Chark a chest injury. There are injuries to key non skill position players as well like Washington’s Brandon Scherff, their best offensive linemen, and Miami CB Byron Jones. These injuries impact our starting lineups huge. Bonus start sit here fade Antonio Gibson and fire up Gardner Minshew, and as a result of Chark being ruled out, Keelan Cole as well.

So week two of the Listener League is complete and the marque matchup was Sully’s 2 Cents favorite duo, Blair Dickey and Josh Crab going head to head. Both we 1-0 coming in and Josh came out on top 181.31 to 147.88. I fell to 1-1. The League uses the same points structure as the Scott Fish Bowl and it very complex at the QB position. Points for completions, negative points for incompletions and sacks as well as the usual turnovers and so forth. I started Drew Lock and Daniel Jones and they combined to get me -5.9 points. I was somehow still in it but my buddy Cory Garbolinsky came out on top by 17 points on the strength of Alvin Kamara’s 38.4 Monday Night. Dis I mention that I drafted Saquon Barkley and Courtland Sutton there. Needless to say, I have some work to do.

The RotoHeat Guillotine League is thru two weeks and we are now down to 15 teams, thankfully I am one of them. It is such a fun league I highly recommend the Guillotine League for you all if you haven’t played in one. Alright enough about my fantasy leagues, nobody tuned into this to hear about my fantasy teams. If you did I was 20-6 in Week 1 and 16-10 in week 2.

Today we are talking start sit for week two. As I mentioned last two weeks, I won’t be telling you to start Alvin Kamara and sit Lynn Bowden Jr., those are no brainer decisions. I will be sharing with you all two to start and two to sit at four skilled positions that I feel are real-life decisions that you may have to make.

The previous two weeks I told you to trust your draft and start the guys you drafted early. If you still can keep ding it, if you were impacted by injuries its time to get creative and focus a little more on matchups.

I had some hits and misses last week. Told you to start Josh Allena and Matt Ryan, both were top 6 QB’s, and to site Carson Wentz and Matthew Stafford. Wentz was QB 24 and Stafford was QB19. Start Jonathan Taylor and Raheem Mostert worked out as did sitting Sony Michel and Jordan Howard.

I suggested T.Y. Hilton and Marquise Brown as WR starts and they finished WR87 and WR52 respectfully. I also told y’all to sit Mike Gesicki who totaled 27 PPR points and as the TE3. Overall it was a pretty good week. Time to do even better this week.

Alright, let’s get into my Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit recommendations. We kick it off at the quarterback position.

Quarterback

Start

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 20: Cam Newton #1 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 20, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

Cam Newton – New England Patriots
Sully’s Rank: QB9

Cam has been awesome through two weeks. The surprising part for me, is Cam Newton has shown that he can beat you with his legs and arm, which is exciting. He ran for 75 yards and two scores in Week 1 against Miami, and he had 397 passing yards in Week 2 at Seattle. The nice thing is he also had 47 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks, and it doesn’t appear like he’s slowing down any time soon. He has top-five potential this week against the Raiders — and every week for the foreseeable future. We talked about Cam being the perfect late round QB this offseason, this is why!

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers
Sully’s Rank: QB12

Ben Roethlisberger was good in Week 2 against Denver with 19 Fantasy points. He now has scored 41 Fantasy points through two games, and sits at QB13 entering week 3. The Steelers face the Houston Texans this week and they look, well they look bad The Texans have started the season facing Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, which is far from ideal to say the least, Roethlisberger is a clearly not Mahomes or Lamar, that said, he should still have plenty of success, and he’s worth trusting as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in Week 3.

Sit

Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans
Sully’s Rank: QB14

Things will get better for Deshaun Watson, he is too talented of a quarterback for them not to. Starting the season with Kansas City and Baltimore was going to be tough, and he scored a combined 38 Fantasy points in those matchups. He gets another tough situation this week at the Steelers, and I expect him to struggle again. However, after this week, Watson faces Minnesota, Jacksonville and Tennessee, and the schedule improves significantly the rest of the year. The time to buy Deshaun Watson is immediately after week 3.

Baker Mayfield – Cleveland Browns
Sully’s Rank: QB21

In games where the Browns have the chance to play with a lead, you should expect minimal production from Mayfield, and Cleveland is a favorite this week at home against Washington. Mayfield will likely be handing off a lot to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt like he did against the Bengals in Week 2, and Mayfield attempted just 23 passes in that game. It will be hard to trust him or any quarterback when there is an expected low volume of passes. Baker Mayfield is only an option in Super-flex and two-quarterback leagues this week, and I don’t love him there either.

Running Back

Start

NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 20: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans stiff arms Andrew Wingard #42 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on September 20, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Jaguars 33-30. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans
Sully’s Rank: RB4

Through the opening two weeks of the season, Derrick Henry has not looked the back you though you were drafting in the first round of your drafts this season. In Week 1 he totaled a respectable 16.10 PPR points but he needed 34 touches to get you there, and he followed up last week with a lackluster 8.40 PPR points, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Well nothing cures what ails you like the Minnesota Vikings defense. The Packers rans for 158 yards in week 1, and Jonathan Taylor and the Colts piled up 151 of their own. Anthony Barr is out for the season and the Vikings are becoming the free space on the bingo card for you running backs. This is an absolute get right game for Derrick Henry, he is an absolute must start here.

Kenyan Drake – Arizona Cardinals
Sully’s Rank: RB10

While it’s been only two games, Drake isn’t ranked among the top 20 backs in PPR points. That’s bad news for those who drafted him in Rounds 1 or 2. Here’s the good news: He has a sweet matchup upcoming against the Lions. This unit has given up the third-most scrimmage touchdowns (21) and the third-most fantasy points (36.1 PPG) to opposing runners since last season. All one has to do is look at Aaron Jones’ stat line from a week ago. Similar to Derrick Henry, this is a get right game for Kenyan Drake.

Sit

Todd Gurley – Atlanta Falcons
Sully’s Rank: RB27

Chances are with all these injuries, you have to start Gurley this week, but you don’t have to like it. He’s averaging just 3.3 yards per rush thus far, and he hasn’t broken a single tackle in his first two games. Gurley also wasn’t used in the passing game last week, and both Brian Hill and Ito Smith were mixed into the backfield, and looked like better options. At this point, Gurley needs to find the end zone to have any value. At best, he’s a risk-reward, back-of-the-line No. 2 runner.

Ronald Jones – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sully’s Rank: RB52

Well, it took about a game and a half before Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians made the move from Jones to Leonard Fournette. Reports suggest Jones landed in the doghouse due to a botched handoff, but RoJo would never keep that job once the Bucs landed Fournette. He will still see some touches, but nothing like he saw in Week 1 when he led the backfield with 19. Bruce Arians is still trying to sell us that Ronald Jones is his lead back, I am not buying it and neither should you. At this point, Jones is a bench player in fantasy, barring injury to Leonard Fournette.

Wide Receiver

TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 20: Juston Burris #31 of the Carolina Panthers tackles Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium on September 20, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

Start

Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sully’s Rank: WR7

Mike Evans has scored a touchdown in every single game he’s played with Brady. I get it it has only been 2 games but the two work together. Evans is kind of like the new Gronk for Brady, a big, reliable target near the goal line. An injured Evans in Week 1 only had one catch and it was a red zone target that went for a score, in Week 2 he finished 10 targets, 7 grabs 104 yards and a touchdown. The matchup against the Broncos is good for the receivers as Denver has allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers this year (47.35). Evans is an easy top-10 play for me this week.

CeeDee Lamb – Dallas Cowboys
Sully’s Rank: WR22

We all know how much I love talking about CeeDee Lamb. Sure didn’t take long for Lamb to get comfortable in this Cowboys offense. Lamb is the WR26 on the season, but saw an increased role against the Falcons and he ranks second on the team with 7.5 targets-per-game. Seattle has allowed the most points to fantasy receivers this season, and the damage has mostly come from the slot, where CeeDee has played the majority of his snaps. I have Amari Cooper in my top 5 this week and Lamb in my top 24. This game will be another shootout and I want to start as many players from both sides as I can . And yeah, that role just looks like it’s going to continue to grow.

Sit

Marquise Brown – Baltimore Ravens
Sully’s Rank: WR37

Brown is averaging 12.15 fantasy points per game this season. Which isn’t quite what we expected this year. Many of us thought it was going to be a big breakout season. I’m still hopeful for Hollywood Brown. Just not this week. The Chiefs have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to receivers dating back to 2019. The breakout is coming. And maybe if he does falter this week, he can be a WR that we label as a buy candidate entering week 4.

Marvin Jones Jr. – Detroit Lions
Sully’s Rank: WR44

The Cardinals have been pretty good against wide receivers this year, and that’s even with Terry McLaurin having a huge game in Week 2.(Side note I was so wrong about Terry McLaurin). Still, on average, the Cardinals have allowed the fewest points per game to receivers this year. And they have also allowed the second-fewest receiving yards per game to the position as well. And for the second-consecutive week Kenny Golladay missed the game. Golladay is trending towards playing and as RotoHeat’s own Brad Menendez (and our resident Lions fan), told us on this week’s Fantasy Inferno (live Wednesday Night’s at 9:30 EST on YouTube), that he expects the Lions to ease Golladay in. Full compliment of snaps or not I am out on Marvin Jones. IN the first two weeks sans Kenny Golladay, he sits at WR40 averaging 10.9 PPR points a game.

Tight End

Start

PITTSBURGH, CO – SEPTEMBER 20: Denver Broncos tight end Noah Fant (87) scores a touchdown from a Jeff Driskel pass in the third quarter against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush (55) at Heinz Field September 20, 2020. (Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)” Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

Noah Fant – Denver Broncos
Sully’s Rank: TE4

Fant is having an amazing start to the season. If only I had predicated a big season for his this year, oh wait that’s right I did. The athletic tight end ranks tied for eighth at the position in routes run. He has 10 catches on 11 targets, two for scores, and might now be considered the top option in the Broncos pass attack with Courtland Sutton (knee) out for the season. This week’s matchup against the Buccaneers is a good one too, as their defense has allowed an average of more than 13 points per game to enemy tight ends since last year. Even with Jeff Driskel at the helm I really like Fant here. It’s not like Drew Lock was lighting it up under center this season.

Jonnu Smith – Tennessee Titans
Sully’s Rank: TE6

Another mini victory lap for me this season to date is Jonnu Smith. He is a playmaker for the Titans, and it was evident last week on his 62-yard catch on the opening play of the game. He put up his second straight nice stat line, and a third is very possible against the Vikings. Last week, their defense allowed five catches, 111 yards, and 16.1 fantasy points to a backup tight end, Mo Alie-Cox, leading to a massive amount of waiver claims on Mr. Alie-Cox. I like him and he will be a nice add, but it will soon become evident that it was more the Vikings putrid defense than it was Mo Alie-Cox.

Sit

Chris Herndon – New York Jets
Sully’s Rank: TE23

I was pretty high on Herndon last week, and entering the season, but he did next to nothing even with Jets’ wideouts dropping like flies. It’s not his fault, as Herndon has been used as a blocker on 40% of his passing snaps. Like the vast majority of the New York Jets’ offensive players they long for the day Head Coach Adam Gase is fired. Add to the fact Indianapolis has allowed an average of just 4.7 catches and 44.3 yards per game to tight ends since the start of last season too, and Herndon could struggle to see enough targets to produce this weekend. Sit Chris Herndon, actually while we are at it sit ALL your New York Jets.

Austin Hooper – Cleveland Browns
Sully’s Rank: TE25

This week’s matchup against Washington is a good one, as their defense has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends since the start of last season. Here’s the problem: Hooper is just 24th at the position in routes run per game, and 25 players at the position have more targets. For those long time listeners of the show you will know that Austin Hooper was kryptonite for me in 2019. In 2020 he is nothing more than a TD dependent TE. The Browns will continue to be a two-back team that will lean on the run, so getting any consistent production out of Hooper is a stretch. At this point, he’s a No. 2 fantasy option who could be on the waiver wire soon.

Thank you for listening to Fantasy Football Week 3 Start and Sit

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