Welcome to our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Running Back edition for Week 3 of the NFL season. In this column, we feature a one-time top scorer at the position looking to replace Saquon Barkley in New York. Plus, an undrafted free agent out of Duval making fans quickly forget about a former top-five NFL Draft pick.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Christian McCaffrey will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of that caliber check out our weekly fantasy football running back rankings.
Start-Sit [QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]
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RB: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Austin Ekeler vs. CAR
On the heels of hauling in 92 receptions in 2019 (second-most amongst running backs), Ekeler’s usage as a receiver this season (five receptions) has been a tad bit disappointing. That should likely change against a Panthers team that has allowed 19 receptions to opposing running backs over the first two weeks of 2020 (most in NFL).
Jonathan Taylor vs. NYJ
The Colts backfield is officially Jonathan Taylor’s to own. While Nyheim Hines may eat into his receptions from time to time, Taylor outsnapped the next closest Indianapolis running back by 32 snaps in Week 2. This coming week, Taylor gets a dream matchup against a Jets defense that allowed Raheem Mostert and Jet McKinnon to torch them this past Sunday to the tune of 169 combined rushing yards and two touchdowns on an eye-popping 15.4 yards per carry.
James Robinson vs. MIA
Robinson is quickly making outsiders eat their words for the Jaguars’ decision to boot Leonard Fournette to the curb. The NFL’s eighth-leading rusher through the first two weeks, Robinson is fresh off his first 100-yard career performance and is the 14th-highest scoring fantasy player at his position. Expect Robinson to add to those numbers against a Dolphins team that allows an average of 164 rushing yards per game, fourth-most in the NFL.
Kenyan Drake vs. DET
While solid, Drake hasn’t been the dominant fantasy play thus far that he was towards the latter end of last season. That may very well change in Week 3 against the Lions. Detroit was carved up by Aaron Jones last Sunday, as the Packers running back finished with 45.6 fantasy points after a 230-plus yard three-touchdown performance. Starting RBs have averaged 18 touches against Green Bay this year. Drake has averaged 20 touches per game over the first two weeks.
Sleeper: Joshua Kelley vs. CAR
Austin Ekeler is tied with six players for the sixth-most rushing attempts in football. One of those players he’s tied with just happens to be his teammate, rookie Joshua Kelley. Kelley has now carried the ball 35 times over the past two weeks, averaging 12.7 points per game (RB23). The Panthers allow an absurd 46.0 ppg to opposing RBs, meaning there should be more than enough production to go around for both he and Ekeler on Sunday.
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RB: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Mike Davis at LAC
Davis will be a favorite on the waiver wire this week. While we are all well aware he won’t replace Christian McCaffrey as a clear-cut RB1-option in fantasy lineups, we’re also uncertain if he’s even playable. Yes, his target share in Week 2 was impressive, but Davis received just one carry vs. the Bucs. The Chargers defense has faced off against both Joe Mixon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first two weeks of play and still has yet to surrender 70-plus total yards, nor a single touchdown to the position.
Frank Gore at IND
Gore was the clear go-to option in the Jets backfield last week with Le’Veon Bell out of the lineup. Yet, despite a healthy 21 touches in Week 2, he finished as the 50th-highest scoring fantasy back. The Colts defense is quietly playing lights out against opposing running backs, allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the NFL and the fifth-fewest fantasy points to the position. Also, don’t be surprised to see both Kalen Ballage and La’Mical Perine receive more looks with an extra week of practice under their belts.
Buyers Beware: David Johnson at PIT
Johnson receives the honor of our being named our Buyers Beware selection for the second consecutive week. If you listened the first week, you shimmied yourself out of a 7.0 point stinker. Johnson is met with yet another menacing matchup in Week 3 vs. the Steelers, who own the league’s top rush defense and surrender the 4th-fewest points to the position this season.
Wait & See: Devonta Freeman vs. SF
Chances are if you wind up with the newest Giants running back on your roster, it’s because you threw a lot of FAAB money his way. The desire for immediate return on investment and a matchup with an injury-riddled 49ers defense may tempt many owners. With that said, as Leonard Fournette owners can likely attest to, simply wait a week to let Freeman get acquainted with his new team. Not to mention, San Francisco has allowed just one touchdown and no more than 63 rushing yards in a single-game to opposing running backs this season. (For a deeper dive, check out Freeman’s season-long fantasy outlook here)
- *Check out our other Week 3 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems to further optimize your lineups
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Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Running Backs: Week 3