"STARTS" OF THE WEEK: QB
Matthew Stafford vs Arizona Cardinals
Matthew Stafford has been lighting it up this season with just under 1,000 yards, 8 Touchdowns, and a passer rating of 129.83 through the first 3 weeks. Along with being one of the front runners for league MVP. For fantasy, that puts Stafford at QB6 (Tied with Josh Allen). With the way Stafford is playing he is quickly going from a matchup-driven starter to an every-week starter.
Joe Burrow vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Per Pro Football Focus, Joe Burrow was the highest-graded QB in week 3 (90.3) and leads QBs with the highest passer rating in the Red Zone (140.3). This week he gets to face Jacksonville at home on a short week. Look for Joe Burrow to take advantage of the Jacksonville Defense, who is currently ranked 22nd verse Fantasy QBs.
Kirk Cousins vs Cleveland Browns
Kirk Cousins has been a solid fantasy option all year. He is currently sitting at QB4. He has 8 TD passes through 3 games and averaging 24 fantasy points a game. As good as Cleveland’s defense is, they are still in the bottom half against fantasy QBs. And since the game is not in primetime, you can keep rolling with Captain Kirk as your QB.
"SITS" OF THE WEEK: QB
Ryan Tannehill vs New York Jets
Tannehill hasn’t been bad this season, but he hasn’t been great either. He finds himself ranked as QB19 and early injury reports aren’t looking promising for his top 2 WRs, Julio Jones (Leg) & A.J. Brown (Hamstring), to play. So even with a juicy matchup versus the Jets, I wouldn’t play Ryan Tannehill.
Ben Roethlisberger vs Green Bay Packers
It’s time to move on from Big Ben. It appears the days of Ben being a viable fantasy option are behind us. He didn’t improve his QB rank in week 3. He stayed as QB27. He is still dealing with a pectoral injury that held him out of practice on Wednesday. WR Juju Smith-Schuster also didn’t practice (Ribs) and WR Dionte Johnson (Knee) was limited on Wednesday. It’s time to take Big Ben out of your lineup and off your team.
Daniel Jones vs New Orleans Saints
Maybe I got a little carried away last week with the Daniel Jones hype. He struggled last week and finished as QB20. Now, he gets to face the Saints, the 2nd best defense against fantasy QBs. His favorite target Sterling Shepard is dealing with an injury. So, it is not a great week to play Daniel Jones.
"STARTS" OF THE WEEK: RB
Najee Harris vs Green Bay Packers
Harris is on the list for pure volume. In week 3, he saw 14 carries and 19 targets. The Steelers’ offense will look to Harris to limit Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ opportunities. The Packers’ run D is improved but is still ranked 20th against fantasy RBs and averaging 24.10 fantasy points given up to RBs.
Miles Sanders vs Kansas City Chiefs
Now, I understand after watching that pitiful Monday night performance, where Miles Sanders only saw 2 carries, you might have some trepidation playing Sanders. I think Nick Sirianni will learn from his mistake and use his RB, who averaged 13.5 yards per carry on Monday night against the Cowboys. Plus, the Chiefs have been deceptible against the run and are currently ranked 29th against Fantasy RBs.
Chubba Hubbard vs Dallas Cowboys
With the hot wavier pick-up and the big FABB price tag, Chubba Hubbard will look to replace Christian McCaffery. It’s a near-impossible task to truly replace CMC, but last year we saw Mike Davis perform well in relief. The Panthers have had 10 days to get Hubbard ready. You should feel confident sliding Hubbard right into your starting lineup until CMC is back.
"SITS" OF THE WEEK: RB
Damien Harris vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With the unfortunate news of James White most likely done for the season. You would think that would mean more opportunity for Harris. If this was a better matchup I might think differently and I may sound like a broken record at this point, but it’s very hard to successfully run on Tampa Bay. Especially, since the Patriots aren’t great on offense (Ranked 22nd). So, I would look for a different option at RB over Harris.
Mike Davis vs Washington Football Team
In 3 weeks, Mike Daivs has yet to put up a double-digit fantasy performance in half-point PPR formats. This week he gets to face the Washington Football Team and their daunting front. The Football team is currently ranked 7th against the run, so it’s not the week to rely on Mike Davis.
Ty’Son Williams vs Denver Broncos
Last week, I was excited for Ty’Son Williams. He looked impressive through the first 2 weeks and even though he is still the lead back, both Latavious Murray and Devonta Freeman are still getting opportunities. The Denver defense is also no joke. They are currently only allowing 59.5 rushing yards a game. Ty’Son should probably stick to your bench this week.
"STARTS" OF THE WEEK: WR
Brandin Cooks vs Buffalo Bills
Cooks isn’t flashy, but he is consistent. He is averaging over 10 targets a game and 16.7 fantasy points a game (Half point PPR). And that's with only scoring 1 touchdown on the season. The Texans' offense doesn’t have much and will have to rely heavily on Cooks to attempt to keep up with the Bills' offense.
Fun Fact:
According to Kyle Borgognoi on twitter:
Cooks turns 28 on Saturday [Who else thought he was older?]
Among WRs <28 yr old, he has
More receptions than Calvin Johnson
More rec. yards than Antonio Brown
Higher yards per target than Randy Moss
Deebo Samuel vs Seattle Seahawks
Deebo Samuel hasn’t had a repeat of his monster game in week 1. But, he has quietly been seeing at least 8 targets in every game this season and is still a Top 10 WR in Half point PPR. Yes, Brandon Ayiuk looked like he redeem himself in week 3, but don’t get it twisted Deebo is still the Top WR in San Fran for now.
Odell Beckham Jr vs Minnesota Vikings
Once OBJ was healthy the Browns wasted no time to get him involved. He saw 9 targets in his first game back. This week the Browns are headed to Minnesota to take on the Vikings, who are the 29th ranked defense against Wide receivers. Look for Odell Beckham to be a key contributor in this week’s matchup.
"SITS" OF THE WEEK: WR
Robbie Andersen vs Dallas Cowboys
Robbie Andersen is off to a slow start this season. He only has 5 catches on the year. DJ Moore is the clear number one option for Carolina. We will see if he can step up his role with CMC out. I am not ready to give up on Andersen just yet, but this week will be a big test for him. If he can’t perform against Dallas, it will probably be time to cut ties and move on. I wouldn’t experiment with him in your starting lineup.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown vs Denver Broncos
There was nothing “Hollywood” about Brown’s performance in week 3. He had 3 brutal drops. Hopefully, it was just a 1 week case of the yips. However, with the return of Rashod Bateman and facing a Top 10 defense against wide reciever (in fantasy), you might want to look in a different direction at WR this week.
Devante Parker vs Indianapolis Colts
Parker has been seeing targets this year (23) but hasn't done anything with them. He currently has 13 catches for 165 yards through the 3 games. With another week of Will Fuller on the field, the uptick of Mike Gesick (tease for below), the emergence of Jaylen Waddle, and you can't forget Gaskin out of the Backfield... Look for Miami to start trying to get their other playmakers involved.
"STARTS" OF THE WEEK: TE
Mike Gesicki vs Indianapolis Colts
Gesicki has seen his targets double each week. He had 3 targets in week 1. 6 targets in week 2 and 12 targets in week 3. I’m not saying expect 24 targets in week 4, but he did finish week 3 as TE4. It seems Brissett and Gesicki have quickly developed a connection on the field and as long as Brissett is throwing him the ball, he should be a viable fantasy option.
Logan Thomas vs Atlanta Falcons
Logan Thomas has come a long way from being a 90 overall QB for Virginia Tech in NCAA14. He has developed into a solid TE in the league and in fantasy. Currently, he is sitting as TE6 on the season. According to NFL.com, he is projected to be the 5th highest scoring TE this week. He gets to play Atlanta. I know there were a lot of wavier wire Tight ends this week and if you happen to get one, don’t overthink it by playing one of them over Logan Thomas.
Dawson Knox vs Houston Texans
Speaking of some of the waiver wire Tight ends this week. If you got Dawson Knox, you should feel comfortable starting him this week. The Bills offense has shown the last 2 weeks that they can put up points (35 in week 2 and 43 in week 3). That trend should continue this week vs the Texans and Knox should take advantage of the opportunity.
"SITS" OF THE WEEK: TE
Jonnu Smith vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The big free acquisition for the Patriots has yet to make an impact in 3 games. He is currently ranked as TE26 and averaging just 4.3 fantasy points per game. The Patriot offense has been struggling to consistently put points on the board, by averaging only 18 points a game. Will probably another week of the New England offense struggling.
This has nothing to do with fantasy, but this promo for the big game is worth sharing. https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1442668809626734593?s=20
Dalton Shultz vs Carolina Panthers
I know Dalton Shultz is coming off a big 2 touchdown game, but this is not the week to chase fantasy points. Shultz and the Cowboys face the Panthers, who are only allowing 7.10 points to tight ends this season. I would look for a different streaming option this week.
Jared Cook vs Arizona Cardinals
Jared Cook looked promising in week 1 but has not been productive the last 2 weeks. He has scored less than 5 fantasy points in each week. With Cook being atleast the 4th option on the passing attack and going up against the surprisingly good Raiders defense this week, he becomes a very unreliable fantasy option.
Good luck this week!! Be sure to follow the Couch GMs on Twitter for the latest news on who is in and who is out this week. Listen to this week's podcast for even more insight on who to start and who to sit. Our DMs are always open for any fantasy advice you may need to win your matchup.
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