Getty Wide receiver Russell Gage #83 of the Atlanta Falcons.
With kickoff right around the corner we present you with the last-minute fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em advice and sleepers to target at every offensive position for Week 3 of the NFL season.
* 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 rankings.
Start-Sit [QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]
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Quarterbacks
Start Em: Ryan Tannehill at MIN
Tannehill torched Jacksonville for four touchdowns in Week 2, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to fantasy owners considering he’s averaged nearly 23.0 fantasy points per game since taking over the starting job in Tennessee. Minnesota has allowed the fourth-most passing yards in football and an average of 21-plus fantasy points per game to opposing QBs.
Sit Em: Nick Mullens at NYG
Mullens, who will draw the start for San Francisco today, has had fantasy success in the past, averaging 19.4 ppg over five of his eight starts back in 2018. Still, don’t get cute. He’ll be without his top two pass-catchers and two of his top-three running backs when facing off against the Giants’ surprisingly second-ranked pass defense.
Sleeper: Dwayne Haskins at CLE
Haskins has yet to crack 13 fantasy points in a game this season. That trend could change today vs. the Browns, who have allowed the second-most pass attempts and fourth-most fantasy points to QBs in 2020.
Running Backs
Start Em: Kenyan Drake vs. DET
Drake hasn’t been the fantasy stud many owners drafted him to be this year, ranking as the RB22 over the first two weeks of play. With that said, Arizona continues to feed him the rock, averaging 20 touches per game. Expect Drake to finally convert those touches to points against a Lions defense who just surrendered 45.6 points to Aaron Jones one week ago.
Sit Em: Giants RBs vs. SF
The Giants backfield is a crapshoot at the moment. Devonta Freeman and Dion Lewis were two of the most added players in fantasy this week. There’s also Wayne Gallman who is expected to get some run vs. the Niners. Even with Saquon Barkley in the lineup for five of Big Blue’s eight quarters this season, they currently rank dead last in run offense. San Francisco has allowed just one rushing touchdown to opposing RBs this year.
Sleeper: Joshua Kelley vs. CAR
Kelley actually comes in tied with teammate Austin Ekeler with the sixth-most rushing attempts in football. The ex-UCLA standout has now scored 12.0-plus points in each of the first two weeks. The Panthers allow 46.0 ppg to the running back position.
Wide Receivers
Start Em: Russell Gage vs. CHI
Detroit has seen three opposing wideouts receive seven-plus targets against them this year. In a loaded receiving corps, Gage has managed to receive the ninth-most targets in football. His role may very well see an increase today with Julio Jones deemed a game-time decision. Whether Jones suits up or not, there’s a chance he’s limited.
Sit Em: Marvin Jones at ARI
Jones remains hit-or-miss from a fantasy perspective. Expect more miss than hit today with Kenny Golladay returning to Detroit’s lineup against a defense that has yet to surrender a receiving touchdown to an opposing wideout this year.
Sleeper: CJ Board vs. SF
We’re digging deep here. Board is expected to see an uptick in usage with Sterling Shepard on IR. Board is currently tied with Golden Tate for the third-most targets amongst Giants receivers. The 49ers allow the 11th-most fantasy points to WRs, including 13.5 points to both Braxton Berrios and Chris Hogan last week.
Tight Ends
Start Em: Jonnu Smith at MIN
A.J. Brown will once again not suit up for the Titans, leaving Smith as Ryan Tannehill’s most reliable target. Fantasy’s third-highest scoring tight end, Smith faces off with a Minnesota defense who surrendered 111 receiving yards and 16-plus points to Mo Allie-Cox in Week 2.
Sit Em: Dalton Schultz at SEA
Schultz received a hefty workload in Week 2, being targeted 10 times. That number seems unsustainable for a player who checks in behind Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb and Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas’ pecking order for pass-catchers. Seattle hasn’t had a tight end top 6.80 fantasy points against them all season.
Sleeper: Drew Sample at PHI
With C.J. Uzomah landing on IR, the tight end job in Cinci is Sample’s to man. He showed well a week ago, hauling in seven of his nine targets on his way to an 11.5 point fantasy outing. Sample’s quarterback, Joe Burrow, entered Week 3 leading the NFL in passing attempts. No opposing starting tight end has finished worse than TE7 when facing Philadelphia this season.
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- *Check out our other Week 3 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems to further optimize your lineups
- Start-Sit [QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]