Week 3 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Advice on Top Fantasy Football Stars
As always, one of the finer sciences in fantasy football is knowing when to shove aside feelings and stick a star player on the bench.
This isn't an easy feat, but playing the star for the sake of playing someone you drafted early isn't always advisable. As a brief example, look at Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who likely came off the board high in drafts compared to other quarterbacks.
Luck scored all of nine points in Week 2 thanks to a miserable encounter with the Denver Broncos.
Week 3 features similar potholes, so let's compare some noteworthy matchups and examine some stars to play and bench.
Quarterback
| Cam Newton (vs. MIN) vs. Ben Roethlisberger (at PHI) | Cam Newton |
| Matt Ryan (at NO) vs. Carson Palmer (at BUF) | Carson Palmer |
| Derek Carr (at TEN) vs. Philip Rivers (at IND) | Philip Rivers |
| Tyrod Taylor (vs. ARI) vs. Ryan Tannehill (vs. CLE) | Ryan Tannehill |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick (at KC) vs. Sam Bradford (at CAR) | Sam Bradford |
Star to Know: Philip Rivers, SD (at IND)
What, scared of San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers because he lost a few weapons?
Don't be—Rivers doesn't have Keenan Allen or Danny Woodhead, yet he tossed four touchdowns last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, totaling 23 points. Plus, he looks to have a breakout star in wideout Tyrell Williams.
Now Rivers gets to take on a struggling Colts defense that has coughed up 30 total points to quarterbacks over two weeks, which would be much higher if the Week 2 opponent hadn't been Trevor Siemian of the Broncos.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford scored 25 on the unit to start the season. That's not the most unrealistic total for Rivers.
Star to Sit: Andy Dalton, CIN (vs. DEN)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is a great spot start here and there, but he is not a guy whom owners can lean on every week like in the past.
Dalton lost a handful of weapons over the offseason and hasn't had tight end Tyler Eifert on the field yet, which has seen him limp to 16 and 18 points, respectively, over the first two weeks.
Now the Red Rifle has to clash with the aforementioned Denver defense. Before holding Luck in check, the Broncos limited the versatile Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers to 20 points.
Dalton could always sneak his way into a big game thanks to those around him, but he is not a smart bet this week.
Running Back
| Matt Forte (at KC) vs. Isaiah Crowell (at MIA) | Matt Forte |
| DeAngelo Williams (at PHI) vs. Melvin Gordon (at IND) | Melvin Gordon |
| LeGarrette Blount (vs. HOU) vs. Giovani Bernard (vs. DEN) | LeGarrette Blount |
| C.J. Anderson (at CIN) vs. David Johnson (at BUF) | C.J. Anderson |
| Ezekiel Elliott (vs. CHI) vs. LeSean McCoy (vs. ARI) | Ezekiel Elliott |
Star to Know: Theo Riddick, DET (at GB)
The Detroit backfield now belongs to Theo Riddick and his 83.9 percent of owners.
Detroit announced Ameer Abdullah would miss the season after an injury suffered last week, which means even more work will shift toward Riddick.
He has already looked like a solid option in the right matchup, scoring 22 points in Week 1 against the Colts and only five in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans. He and Abdullah had been on the same pace as far as carries go, but he had doubled Abdullah's targets in the passing game.
Now Riddick figures to get even more work heading into what could be a shootout with the Green Bay Packers.
Star to Sit: Jeremy Langford, CHI (at DAL)
Owned in 94.8 percent of leagues, Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford has been one of fantasy's biggest disappointments to start the season.
Running behind a patchwork line, he has mustered outings of 11 and six points—terrible numbers when one realizes he punched in touchdowns in both starts.
Apparently a touchdown-reliant producer, Langford lost carries to Jordan Howard last week and next has to take on an up-and-down Dallas Cowboys defense. Brian Hoyer might be his starting quarterback, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports Jay Cutler will miss the game.
The Cowboys won't have any problem stuffing the plodding Langford since they don't have to worry about facing a capable quarterback.
Wide Receiver
| Stefon Diggs (at CAR) vs. Kelvin Benjamin (vs. MIN) | Stefon Diggs |
| Corey Coleman (at MIA) vs. DeAndre Hopkins (at NE) | DeAndre Hopkins |
| Marquise Goodwin (vs. ARI) vs. Mike Wallace (at JAC) | Mike Wallace |
| Danny Amendola (vs. HOU) vs. Larry Fitzgerald (at BUF) | Larry Fitzgerald |
| Jordy Nelson (vs. DET) vs. Demaryius Thomas (at CIN) | Jordy Nelson |
Star to Know: Stefon Diggs, MIN (at CAR)
Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings might be the next big fantasy superstar.
He sits third in fantasy scoring at wideout through two weeks, which many might find odd because the biggest news around the team before the season was the loss of starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Here's a hint—Diggs is owned in only 92 percent of leagues.
He scored 10 points on a strong seven catches in Week 1 before new starter Sam Bradford took over. The result? Nine catches, 182 yards and one score good for 24 points and one heck of a note by NFL Research:
The Panthers aren't ready. This defense doesn't boast Josh Norman anymore. Rather, it has yet to face a real test thanks to encounters with Siemian and San Francisco's Blaine Gabbert.
All signs point to another huge day for Diggs.
Star to Sit: Demaryius Thomas, DEN (at CIN)
On the other side of the Denver-Cincinnati encounter is another notable who needs to take a seat.
Defensive encounters such as this can make for fun television but little in the way of fantasy production. Ask Denver's Demaryius Thomas, who scored all of five points in a matchup with the Bengals last year.
He hasn't looked much better this season, scoring four points in the opener against Carolina and then sputtering to 11 in what should have been a good matchup against the Colts.
The Bengals have looked as expected, allowing only 23 and 12 points, respectively, to wideouts, which is a notable tally considering they had to deal with Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Antonio Brown already.
Tight End
| Greg Olsen (vs. MIN) vs. Martellus Bennett (vs. HOU) | Greg Olsen |
| Delanie Walker (vs. OAK) vs. Jacob Tamme (at NO) | Delanie Walker |
| Vance McDonald (at SEA) vs. Kyle Rudolph (at CAR) | Vance McDonald |
| Antonio Gates (at IND) vs. Jordan Reed (at NYG) | Antonio Gates |
| Jason Witten (vs. CHI) vs. Eric Ebron (at GB) | Eric Ebron |
Star to Know: Jacob Tamme, ATL (at NO)
Another strong week of play from Atlanta Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme, another week of his relatively flying under the radar (51.9 ownership percentage).
While he has scored only five and 13 points, respectively, over two games, he has established himself as one of Matt Ryan's favorite players on the field. No lie—Tamme already has 16 targets, more than Julio Jones and anyone else on the roster.
Now Tamme gets to go into a shootout against the New Orleans Saints. Those Saints are traditionally bad against tight ends in recent years, but they've put up a strong fight to start the season against the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants.
Honestly, though, most couldn't even name the starting tight ends for the Raiders and Giants. It's not as easy for New Orleans this week; everyone will be able to name Tamme before long.
Star to Sit: Julius Thomas, JAC (vs. BAL)
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas has flown back to fantasy relevancy to start the season, sitting third in scoring at his position.
He scored 12 points in Week 1 and seven more in the following matchup. This week suggests it is time to pump the brakes on the feel-good vibes, though.
Why? Thomas has to deal with the Baltimore Ravens, who have allowed all of seven points to the position so far this year. This isn't like New Orleans, either, as the Ravens allowed only three touchdowns to tight ends last year.
It is wideouts or bust for Jacksonville fantasy options this weekend.
All scoring info and statistics courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Combine Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Full Eagles-Cowboys Trade 🤝")
.jpg?w=600 "Brady Reacts to Mendoza Pick")
