Week 3 Start/Sit, 2020 Fantasy Football

So far I have enjoyed the challenge of putting out a weekly start/sit article. A lot of these are foreshadowed in my weekly rankings (13th in accuracy for FantasyPros last week)! But also, writing this column has helped me take a closer look at my rankings the day after I publish them and it makes me notice that what I put out on Wednesday is far from a finished product. If you use my rankings, be sure to check back on Sunday because they will look a lot different. I love gambling on football. I’ve been doing it for years and I still have a roof over my head so I guess it’s not going too bad. I do a lot of digging from Thursday-Saturday when looking at game lines and totals and it helps find the errors in my ways from a fantasy aspect earlier in the week. If you’d like a second opinion on my start and sit options, be sure to check out Rudy’s projections each week! Now would be as good as a time as any to use that 7-day free trial. Let’s get to the plays for week 3.

Start

Matthew Stafford

It has been a slow start for Stafford, but Sunday should be his coming out party. Kenny Golladay is expected to play, Marvin Jones Jr. plays better when he isn’t the center of attention, and T.J. Hockenson is already off to a great start. Arizona is 8th in the NFL in passing yards given up, but so far they have faced Dwayne Haskins and Jimmy Garappolo. Stafford has started slow, but he did throw a couple of touchdown passes against the Packers. Arizona shouldn’t struggle to score against Detroit, so Stafford will have a lot of work to do to keep up.

Joshua Kelley

In week 1, Kelley shocked some people (not us at Razzball) with 12 carries for 60 yards. In week 2, the Chargers doubled down by giving him 23 carries and he gained a modest 64 yards, BUT he also caught two passes for 49 yards. The Panthers is a smash matchup for any running back, but it could be huge for the Chargers who have liked to keep the ball on the ground through the first 2 weeks. Carolina is 19th in rushing yards allowed and have already given up 5 touchdowns to running backs.

Jerick McKinnon

Raheem Mostert shouldn’t miss too much time, but McKinnon and Jeffrey Wilson will be handling the backfield duties in week 3. Jeffrey Wilson could end up taking a bulk of the carries, but McKinnon will likely be the beneficiary of catches out of the backfield while also taking handoffs. In week 1, Benny Snell ran all over the Giants and in week 2 David Montgomery found the end zone as well. The Giants have given up 138 yards per game on the ground so far and the talent they have played against at RB isn’t elite by any means. McKinnon is an easy plug and play.

CeeDee Lamb

The Seahawks have been extremely bad against the pass so far in 2020 and CeeDee Lamb has picked up being an NFL WR rather quickly. Through 2 games, Lamb has caught 14 out of 15 of his targets and already had his first 100 yard game in week 2. Amari Cooper is still the big draw for opposing secondaries so there should be plenty of room for CeeDee to continue his hot start.

Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman is still it in New England even without Tom Brady. Edelman is averaging 9 targets per game and is coming off an 8 catch for 179 yard performance. Las Vegas isn’t a whole lot better against the pass than Seattle was last week so we can expect Belichick to expose the holes in the defense to try and get New England back on the right track. Cam Newton should have a monster week this week and that leaves no choice but for Edelman to follow suit.

Mike Gesicki

The Mike Gesicki hype is real and he had his true break out week on Sunday against the Bills. Jacksonville is 30th against tight ends this season and Gesicki is coming in averaging 8 targets per game. My week 1 Gesicki recommendation didn’t exactly go according to plan, but I’m pretty confident that he has a big game tonight.

Sit

Drew Brees

The Saints have historically been slow starters over the past 7 years, but there could definitely be more to it with Drew Brees. He is missing a lot of easy throws, maybe he is actually starting to show his age. I’m not even sure that it changes things if Michael Thomas is somehow able to play on Sunday night. Green Bay is in the top half of passing defenses through two weeks. Nothing points to me being encouraged by Brees this week.

David Johnson

I know that there is a shortage of dependable running backs after 3 really good starters went down in week 2, but you should really consider other options for week 3 if you were considering starting DJ. The Steelers have given up 66.5 rushing yards per game so far this season and haven’t given up a rushing touchdown. Johnson had a somewhat strong week 1 showing but really struggled week 2 against Baltimore and I expect the struggles to continue in week 3 from Houston’s offense as a whole.

T.Y. Hilton

I know it’s tempting to want to start T.Y. Hilton against the Jets, but I really would like to see it before putting him in lineups. His stats through 2 weeks aren’t even sniffing playable and that includes a matchup against a very bad Minnesota secondary. Hilton had a bad touchdown drop against Minnesota and there is also more competition for targets in Indy than in years past. Also, Rivers’ historic love of tight ends is still proving true with his new team.

Jared Cook

I had Jared Cook as a start last week and I feel like if he was going to have a break out week without Michael Thomas in the lineup, it would have been against the Raiders. He did have a touchdown grab, but the volume seemed to favor Alvin Kamara and Tre’Quan Smith. This is equally a fade of Drew Brees who I already mentioned, so it goes hand in hand.