Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Week 3 Predictions

Start Em Sit Em Week 3, Fantasy Football Predictions, Sleepers, Busts, Week 3 Picks

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Through two weeks in the NFL, Trevor Siemian is the top QB, Chris Thompson, Tarik Cohen and Jalen Richard have out-scored Le’Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott, and J.J. Nelson and Jermaine Kearse are Top-5 wide receivers.

Just like we all expected.

Fantasy football is a fickle game, and making the correct start/sit decisions each week can be just as important as your actual personnel. Here’s a look at some of my favorite sleepers and potential busts at each position for Week 3:


Start ‘Em

Start Em Sit Em Week 3, Fantasy Football Predictions, Sleepers, Busts, Week 3 Picks

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QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panters (vs. NO): Newton has been a massive disappointment, finishing as the QB19 in Week 1 and QB23 in Week 2, but this is the perfect matchup to get right. A week after making Sam Bradford look like Tom Brady, the Saints made the actual Tom Brady look like, well, Tom Brady again. They’re allowing an absurd 388.5 passing yards per game and 11.2 yards per attempt through two weeks, and while those numbers won’t stay quite that bad, it’s still enough to make Newton a must-start option even after two bad games.

RB Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions (vs. ATL): Death, taxes and teams attacking the Atlanta Falcons defense by throwing the ball to their running backs. After Atlanta finished 2016 last in RB receptions allowed per game (6.8), Tarik Cohen and Ty Montgomery have combined for 19 targets, 14 receptions, 112 receiving yards and two receiving scores in the first two games of the 2017 campaign. It’s worth noting that both of those guys are pass-catching specialists, but so is Riddick. I’m treating him as a Top-10 option in PPR leagues this week, making him an especially enticing (but likely popular) play in DraftKings at $5,100.

WR Rashard Higgins, Cleveland Browns (at IND): Corey Coleman is out with a broken hand, and Kenny Britt (five targets, two receptions and 15 yards through two weeks) is entrenched in what I can only describe as a money coma. Enter Higgins, who led Cleveland by a wide margin in targets (11), receptions (seven) and yards (95) in Week 2 and appears to have a hold on the No. 1 role in an offense that has thrown the ball 72 times through two weeks. The volume alone makes him a strong waiver-wire pickup for the season, but in terms of Week 3, there is considerable upside against a Colts defense that has already given up a pair of Top-10 WR weeks to Cooper Kupp and JJ Nelson.

TE Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts (vs. CLE): Jacoby Brissett’s first start as a Colt resulted in eight targets, eight receptions and 79 yards for Doyle, who was by far the team’s most productive offensive player on the day. That might say a little bit more about the Colts offense than it does Doyle, but he nonetheless looked great, he showed a strong rapport with Brissett, and he now gets to face a Browns defense that was burned for six catches, 41 yards and two touchdowns by Jesse James in Week 1 (finished as the overall TE1) and eight catches for 91 yards by Ben Watson in Week 2 (overall TE4). With so much volatility at the position, Doyle’s an easy start in Week 3.


Sit ‘Em

Start Em Sit Em Week 3, Fantasy Football Predictions, Sleepers, Busts, Week 3 Picks

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QB Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at MIN): Winston finished Week 2 as the QB22, and while things will eventually get better this season, this is a poor matchup, as he has to go on the road to face a Vikings defense that held Drew Brees to a QB17 finish in Week 1 and Ben Roethlisberger to QB10–which can be considered a relative success considering he typically puts up monster numbers at Pittsburgh–this weekend. Winston still needs to be started in two-QB leagues, but in standard formats, I’d much rather stream someone else.

RB CJ Anderson, Denver Broncos (at BUF): Alright, so unless you’re seriously stacked at RB, I’m not actually advising you sit Anderson. However, this is more of a way to say you should temper your expectations. Led by a dominant front 4 of Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams, Shaq Lawson and Jerry Hughes, the Bills have held Bilal Powell, Matt Forte, Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey to just 88 total rushing yards on 38 carries, a minuscule 2.32 yards per tote. While Anderson has been a Top-5 option thus far, treat him more as an RB2 in season-long leagues, or fade him in DFS.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (vs. DAL): Dealing with a declining Carson Palmer and an offense that is suddenly one-dimensional after the loss of David Johnson, Fitz finished as the WR21 in Week 1 and then WR69 in a tremendous matchup against the Colts in Week 2. He’s still likely to have volume on his side, and thus should be treated as someone with a WR3 floor, but if you’re looking for upside, it’s difficult to trust anyone in this offense right now, even at home against an inconsistent Dallas secondary.

TE Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks (at TEN): Throw two weeks, Graham has fewer catches (four) than Max Williams and DeAndre Washington, and fewer yards (nine) than Seattle’s third-string tight end, Nick Vannett. He has had a couple of bad drops, but the Seahawks have also been unable to take many deep shots downfield behind a putrid offensive line. It would be surprising if Graham didn’t get it together at some point, but after basically being shut out two weeks in a row, I’m going to need to see it happen before he gets back in any lineup.


Editor’s note: The Checkdown brings you live, interactive fantasy football advice every Sunday morning from 10 a.m.. to 1 p.m. Eastern on Heavy’s YouTube channel. Rick Rosen takes your questions and helps you fill out your lineup. Watch a replay of the Week 2 episode in the player below, and check out the live show right here on Sunday morning.