Find success in Week 3 with these start/sit decisions for the offensive side of the ball!
The second week of NFL action was all over the place. More unfortunate injuries plagued the week 2 slate: Jarvis Landry, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyrod Taylor, and the 49ers' RBs amongst others. Some players were able to bounce back from down week 1 performances like Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Courtland Sutton, and Aaron Rodgers. While some fell back down to earth after big week 1 performances such as Antonio Brown, Melvin Gordon, and Corey Davis.
There were also a few players who left fantasy GMs wanting more such as Antonio Gibson, Joe Mixon, and A.J. Brown. We loved to see the studly performances from Derrick Henry and Aaron Jones but hated to see the mega-dud performances from Alvin Kamara and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Week 3 is here whether we are ready for it or not. Below are some helpful weekly reminders for what to consider for lineup optimization!
Weekly Start/Sit Decision Reminders
Be sure to always be mindful of weekly injury reports and gameday inactive announcements as this could pivot a weak starter into a strong starter! For this week especially; keep an eye on Rams RB Darrell Henderson's availability as he suffered a rib injury during his week 2 matchup, if he is unlikely to play RB Sony Michel gets a big boost!
Always have a backup plan in mind for the mid-afternoon, Sunday, and Monday night game players who hold the questionable tag throughout the week!
Be sure to always leave the FLEX spot(s) free of Thursday night players! Now let's review the start/sit system that will be used in this article series all season long!
The “Trust, If You Must, and Bust” System:
“Trust” = Strong start, a player who should be started in all formats!
“If You Must” = Weak start, a player who is good enough to be a starter, but faces a tough matchup or holds an unclear opportunity in a good offense. Some caution should be used while the risk is recognized, as this is often league format dependent.
If you play in a shallow league, I would lean towards benching this player if you have a decent replacement option. In a deep league, I would lean towards starting, since the options may be more scarce. Either way, expectations should be managed.
“Bust” = Keep on your bench, at least for now. These players should be avoided since stronger options at the relative position should be considered first. These are players who fit into one of the following categories:
- A player in a tough matchup or currently holds ambiguous weekly opportunities in the offense.
- A strong bench stash for season-long purposes but currently in a “wait and see” period. Wait and see if their role expands for starter caliber consideration. For example, this type of player may be a strong backup RB behind a stud in an elite offense or could be in line for a big workload if the starter misses time.
- Currently lacking a clear offensive opportunity in either a projected good or bad offense
- Is too volatile on a week-to-week basis. There is no need to play boom or bust type players if you can help it.
Week 3 Slate:
Thursday Night Football
Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans
Panthers
Trust – RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore, WR Robby Anderson
If You Must – QB Sam Darnold
Bust - WR Terrace Marshall
Texans
Trust – WR Brandin Cooks
Bust – RB David Johnson, RB Phillip Lindsay, RB Mark Ingram, QB Davis Mills
Sunday Early Afternoon Slate
Washington Football Team at Buffalo Bills
Football Team
Trust – RB Antonio Gibson, WR Terry McLaurin, TE Logan Thomas
If You Must – QB Taylor Heinicke, RB J.D. McKissic
Bills
Trust – QB Josh Allen, WR Stefon Diggs
If You Must – RB Devin Singletary, WR Cole Beasley, WR Emmanuel Sanders
Bust - TE Dawson Knox, RB Zack Moss, WR Gabriel Davis
Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns
Bears
Trust – RB David Montgomery, WR Allen Robinson
If You Must – QB Justin Fields, WR Darnell Mooney
Bust – TE Cole Kmet
Browns
Trust – RB Nick Chubb, RB Kareem Hunt
If You Must – QB Baker Mayfield, TE Austin Hooper, WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Bust - WR Rashard Higgins, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, TE Harrison Bryant
Baltimore Ravens at Detroit Lions
Ravens
Trust – QB Lamar Jackson, RB Ty'Son Williams, TE Mark Andrews, WR Marquise Brown
If You Must – WR Sammy Watkins, RB Latavius Murray
Lions
Trust – RB D'Andre Swift, TE T.J. Hockenson
If You Must – RB Jamaal Williams
Bust - WR Quintez Cephus, QB Jared Goff
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
Colts
Trust – RB Jonathan Taylor
If You Must – WR Michael Pittman, RB Nyheim Hines, WR Zach Pascal
Bust - TE Jack Doyle
Titans
Trust – RB Derrick Henry, WR A.J. Brown, WR Julio Jones, QB Ryan Tannehill
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Chargers
Trust – QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Keenan Allen, WR Mike Williams
If You Must – TE Jared Cook
Bust - RB Justin Jackson, RB Larry Rountree
Chiefs
Trust – QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce
If You Must – RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Bust - WR Mecole Hardman
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots
Saints
Trust – RB Alvin Kamara
If You Must – QB Jameis Winston
Patriots
Trust – RB Damien Harris
If You Must – RB James White, WR Jakobi Meyers, TE Jonnu Smith
Bust - QB Mac Jones, TE Hunter Henry, WR Nelson Agholor
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants
Falcons
Trust – WR Calvin Ridley, TE Kyle Pitts
If You Must – QB Matt Ryan, RB Mike Davis, RB Cordarrelle Patterson
Giants
Trust - RB Saquon Barkley, WR Sterling Shepard, WR Kenny Golladay, QB Daniel Jones
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Bengals
Trust – QB Joe Burrow, RB Joe Mixon, WR Ja'Marr Chase, WR Tyler Boyd
Steelers
Trust – RB Najee Harris, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Chase Claypool, QB Ben Roethlisberger
Bust - TE Pat Freiermuth
Arizona Cardinals at Jacksonville Jaguars
Cardinals
Trust – QB Kyler Murray, WR DeAndre Hopkins, RB Chase Edmonds
If You Must – RB James Conner, WR Christian Kirk, WR Rondale Moore
Jaguars
Trust – WR Marvin Jones
If You Must – QB Trevor Lawrence, WR DJ Chark, RB James Robinson
Bust - WR Laviska Shenault
Sunday Mid Afternoon Slate
New York Jets at Denver Broncos
Jets
Trust – WR Corey Davis
Bust - QB Zach Wilson, WR Elijah Moore, RB Michael Carter, RB Ty Johnson
Broncos
Trust – RB Melvin Gordon, WR Courtland Sutton, TE Noah Fant
If You Must – QB Teddy Bridgewater, RB Javonte Williams, WR Tim Patrick
Bust - WR KJ Hamler
Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders
Dolphins
If You Must – QB Jacoby Brissett, RB Myles Gaskin, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR DeVante Parker, WR Will Fuller, TE Mike Gesicki
Raiders
Trust – TE Darren Waller
If You Must – QB Derek Carr, WR Henry Ruggs
Bust - RB Kenyan Drake, WR Bryan Edwards, WR Hunter Renfrow,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams
Buccaneers
Trust – QB Tom Brady, WR Mike Evans, WR Chris Godwin, TE Rob Gronkowski
Bust - RB Ronald Jones, RB Leonard Fournette
Rams
Trust – QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp, WR Robert Woods, TE Tyler Higbee
If You Must – RB Sony Michel, RB Darrell Henderson
Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings
Seahawks
Trust – QB Russell Wilson, WR D.K. Metcalf, WR Tyler Lockett, RB Chris Carson
If You Must – TE Gerald Everett
Vikings
Trust - QB Kirk Cousins, RB Dalvin Cook, WR Justin Jefferson, WR Adam Thielen
If You Must – WR K.J. Osborn
Sunday Night Football
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
Packers
Trust – QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams, RB Aaron Jones, TE Robert Tonyan
Bust - RB AJ Dillon, WRs not named Davante Adams
49ers
Trust – TE George Kittle, WR Deebo Samuel
If You Must – RB Trey Sermon, QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Bust – WR Brandon Aiyuk
Monday Night Football
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
Eagles
Trust – QB Jalen Hurts, RB Miles Sanders, WR DeVonta Smith, TE Dallas Goedert
If You Must – WR Jalen Reagor, RB Kenneth Gainwell
Cowboys
Trust – QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott, WR Amari Cooper, WR CeeDee Lamb
If You Must – RB Tony Pollard
Bust - TE Blake Jarwin, TE Dalton Schultz, WR Cedrick Wilson
Good luck and enjoy the games!
