Injuries in Week 2 have made lineup decisions for Week 3 very challenging as we approach the Sunday and Monday games. We help you to decide who should step forward to fill the gaps in your lineups. The Fantasy Football Week 3 Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em is not just a survival guide, it is your handbook to prevailing on the virtual gridiron.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Start ‘Em
Running Backs
Mark Ingram vs. KC: His owners may be very concerned after watching Lamar Jackson rush for 120 yards last week. But Ingram is still the preferred goal-line runner on his team and it will be a higher scoring game against Kansas City. Ingram may register more than one TD run in Fantasy Football Week 3.
Matt Breida vs. PIT: These are not the Steelers of past years, as they have allowed 125 rushing yards per game so far. Breida rushed for 121 yards at Cincinnati last week, displaying vision, patience, juke moves, and speed. He is a confident sparkplug for the 49ers when he is healthy.
Frank Gore vs. CIN: He will be a solid plugger if you have an injury related hole to fill at RB. The Bengals have allowed 165.5 rushing yards per game so far, and were terrorized by the 49ers RBs last week. Only the worse than pathetic Dolphins have allowed more rushing yards among AFC teams so far.
Wide Receivers
DK Metcalf vs. NO: He has been exactly what the Seahawks wanted so far, with 150 receiving yards and a TD in two games. Metcalf has landed in the ideal environment for his size/speed talents with master deep thrower Russell Wilson and the Saints have allowed the most Fantasy Football Points Per Game to WRs after two weeks.
Emmanuel Sanders vs. GB: He has made an admirable and impressive return from an Achilles injury, earlier than expected. He has already caught 16 passes for 184 yards and two TDs and faces a Packers pass defense that is Top 5 in FFPG allowed to WRs.
John Brown vs. CIN: He is back in this column for the second consecutive week against a Cincinnati defense that has been allowing big plays and looked confused last week against San Francisco. Brown has a lot of upside in Fantasy Football Week 3 against a Top 5 pass defense in yards allowed after two games.
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray vs. CAR: The rookie has opened his career with a pair of 300-yard passing games, and we have yet to see him make a true impression as a runner. Murray is comfortable in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense and the Panthers defense may spend a lot of time on the field this week.
Jimmy Garoppolo vs. PIT: He threw for nearly 300 yards and three TDs last week, and faces a very vulnerable Pittsburgh secondary that has allowed 320 passing yards per game so far and won’t feel the impact of Minkah Fitzpatrick just yet.
Tight Ends
O.J. Howard vs. NYG: Keep the faith in him for another week. The Buccaneers will likely make it a point to get him back into the offensive flow early and often against a Giants defense that has been notoriously generous to TEs for awhile now.
Jason Witten vs. MIA: He has returned to the league as a surprising source of TDs early in the 2019 season. Dak Prescott is looking for him in goal-line situations and there will surely be a few of those against Miami.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Sit ‘Em
Running Backs
Philip Lindsay at GB: He has been sharing carries with Royce Freeman and that is limiting his upside. Don’t expect Denver to score too many points against Green Bay, and even if they do produce offensively, they may have to throw while playing from behind.
Rashaad Penny vs. NO: He ripped off a big TD run at Pittsburgh last week and there may be some speculation that he could start to challenge for more touches. But the Seahawks will still look to Chris Carson first and foremost and Penny should not be used until bye weeks come.
Receivers
John Ross vs. BUF: He has been a refreshing big-play artist in the first two games of the season but he’ll have a much tougher time against a sturdy Buffalo secondary in Fantasy Football Week 3. So far this season, Buffalo is Top 3 in the AFC in FFPG allowed to WRs.
Terry McLaurin vs. CHI: The rookie has quickly emerged as the Redskins’ new WR1 early this season. But he is truly the only playmaker the elite Bears defense has to take away this week. If McLaurin actually plays well this week, he will be looking matchup-proof going forward.
Jarvis Landry vs. LAR: I will keep saying it. He is overrated, does not score enough and is not the target hog he was in Miami. The Rams defense is going to harass Baker Mayfield frequently this week and the Browns won’t have much passing upside.
Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield vs. LAR: I said he was overrated in the preseason and his play was uneven against the mediocre Jets on Monday night. His blocking is not holding up and the Rams are going to hit him often as the home crowd suffers through another disappointing performance.
Jameis Winston vs. NYG: I don’t care who the opponent is, I will not start this erratic, overhyped QB against any opponent in a week where there are no byes. It would so Winston to disappoint in what seems like a prime matchup.
Tight End
Will Dissly vs. NO: He flashed early last year and caught two TD passes at Pittsburgh. But unless you are desperate for TE help, I would prefer to see him prove it some more before he gets starting consideration. If David Moore returns at WR Dissly will be no better than the fourth option for Russell Wilson.
Scott Engel is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame and a four-time award winner. He was one of the driving content forces in the rise of RotoExperts.com and was the lead host on the RotoExperts in the Morning for six years on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. He was also instrumental in the launch of the FNTSY Sports Network. Scott was the first-ever Senior Writer and Managing Editor at CBS SportsLine and won a company Hall of Fame Award. He was also an Associate Editor and Fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. He has been the featured Fantasy Writer on Seahawks.com since 2012 and his work has been syndicated to the Associated Press, NFL.com, New York Daily News, New York Post, Yahoo Sports, Bloomberg Sports, Sports Illustrated and many others. He is a credentialed media member who won an FSWA award in 2016 for his Insider Fantasy Reporting. Known as “The King”, Scott is on Twitter @scotteTheKing
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