Week 3 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Advice on Top Fantasy Football Stars

Things are starting to settle into place for fantasy football owners tasked with weekly start 'em, sit 'em decisions. 

To be fair, it helps that Thursday Night Football between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns looks like a dud. Without having to worry about an early game before the full slate gets underway, owners have extra time to do some homework. 

Said homework now has two weeks of proof behind it, both in the results and news department. Trends, busts and sleepers are all starting to emerge and create an environment where owners can make well-informed decisions, at least compared to the Week 1 chaos. 

Here's a look at an assembly of all available information used to compare the top matchups before looking at start-sit questions. 

QB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Ben Roethlisberger (at TB) vs. Jimmy Garoppolo (at KC)	Ben Roethlisberger
Patrick Mahomes (vs. SF) vs. Matthew Stafford (vs. NE)	Patrick Mahomes
Kirk Cousins (vs. BUF) vs. Cam Newton (vs. CIN)	Cam Newton
Tom Brady (at DET) vs. Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. PIT)	Tom Brady
Andrew Luck (at PHI) vs. Philip Rivers (at LAR)	Andrew Luck

Star to Know: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (at TB)

Feel free to keep leaning on Ben Roethlisberger. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has plenty of drama surrounding his team right now and he still won't have Le'Veon Bell on the field, but he's also the guy who just threw for 452 yards and three scores in Week 2, putting him at 38.98 points. 

While owners can't expect that same level of production each week, it sure seems like he could flirt with it against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—a team already coughing up the sixth-most points to opposing quarterbacks on average. 

Drew Brees did most of this damage to start the season, with Big Ben likely to make Tampa Bay's numbers even worse because they simply don't have the guys to cover his deep cast of weapons. 

Star to Sit: Philip Rivers, LAC (at LAR)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is a no-brainer start in most instances, even if he doesn't get the publicity he probably deserves. 

Rivers flexed his fantasy muscle over the first two weeks, going for 29.96 and 22.74 points. Were he not dealing with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, odds are strong Rivers would keep it going. 

But those Rams have yet to allow a passing touchdown while picking off four passes. Granted, the Rams have feasted on Derek Carr and Sam Bradford, but Rivers has to hit the road for this matchup and could have limited opportunities to do damage. 

For now, Rivers has to slide onto benches everywhere and wait for a better matchup, where he's bound to get back to his normal self. 

RB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Alvin Kamara (at ATL) vs. Christian McCaffrey (vs. CIN)	Alvin Kamara
Saquon Barkley (at HOU) vs. Ezekiel Elliott (at SEA)	Ezekiel Elliott
Giovani Bernard (at CAR) vs. Melvin Gordon (at LAR)	Giovani Bernard
Todd Gurley (vs. LAC) vs. Chris Thompson (vs. GB)	Chris Thompson
Adrian Peterson (vs. GB) vs. David Johnson (vs. CHI)	Adrian Peterson

Star to Know: Alvin Kamara, NO (at ATL) 

Owners shouldn't be cooling on New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara at all. 

Yes, Kamara only has 21 total rushes over two games, but does the quantity really matter? Eight carries in Week 1 produced two scores on the way to a 38.6-point day. A ho-hum 14.9 points the following week saw him carry it 13 times. Perhaps the biggest difference was the quality of defense when comparing Tampa Bay and Cleveland, respectively. 

That bodes well for Kamara owners this week. 

He gets the Atlanta Falcons on the road, meaning the same defense that just surrendered 20.9 points to Carolina's Christian McCaffrey, who tallied the big number by way of 14 catches for 102 yards. 

Knowing Kamara, who has 18 targets already, he's going to see about the same number of looks but might make even more headway against a defense missing several star players. 

Star to Sit: David Johnson, ARI (vs. CHI)

Sometimes a star simply can't overcome his surroundings. 

So seems to be the case with David Johnson on the hapless Arizona Cardinals. The former MVP favorite hasn't cracked the 16-point mark yet and has just 22 carries over two games. One would almost think the Cardinals are tanking because Johnson stunningly has only 11 targets through the air and is rarely lining up at wide receiver. 

Pair questionable usage from a new staff with the fact Johnson has to face the Chicago Bears and it's a rough situation. Those Bears have allowed the fewest points to the position on average so far this year and it's safe to presume the Cardinals will fall behind early, meaning more passes, not rushing attempts. 

Until something changes, Johnson isn't a star owners can trot out regardless of matchup. 

WR

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Mike Evans (vs. PIT) vs. Michael Thomas (at ATL)	Mike Evans
Odell Beckham Jr. (at HOU) vs. Antonio Brown (at TB)	Odell Beckham Jr.
DeAndre Hopkins (vs. NYG) vs. Tyreek Hill (vs. SF)	Tyreek Hill
Julio Jones (vs. NO) vs. Sammy Watkins (vs. SF)	Julio Jones
Stefon Diggs (vs. BUF) vs. A.J. Green (at CAR)	Stefon Diggs

Star to Know: Mike Evans, TB (vs. PIT) 

Mike Evans figures to keep feasting in a big way for two reasons: He's a superstar, and his defense can't stop a thing. 

Evans has showings of 24.2 and 17.3 points already with a touchdown in each game on a combined 19 targets from Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Now feel free to add in the fact Evans gets to bully the Steelers, who haven't been able to stop Jarvis Landry (14.1 points), Tyreek Hill (17.5) or Sammy Watkins (16.1) yet. He's merely the latest to pop off against a suspect defense, especially because this one could devolve into a shootout as two defenses struggle. 

Star to Sit:  Amari Cooper, OAK (at MIA) 

Amari Cooper was a suspect player last year from a fantasy perspective, and that hasn't changed despite the Oakland Raiders undergoing a facelift. 

Supporters might point to a 16.6-point showing in Week 2, but that came via Cooper almost miraculously catching all 10 of his targets—and only going for 116 yards. 

Cooper had three targets and one catch in the season opener, good for 2.3 points. 

The reality for a Cooper owner is likely somewhere in the middle, especially against a Miami defense that has quietly played well against the pass so far. While the competition hasn't been the toughest, the Dolphins should look good again against Cooper, whose Raiders have to travel quite a bit for this one. 

TE

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Zach Ertz (vs. IND) vs. Travis Kelce (vs. SF)	Travis Kelce
Rob Gronkowski (at DET) vs. O.J. Howard (vs. PIT)	Rob Gronkowski
Evan Engram (at HOU) vs. Jimmy Graham (at WAS)	Jimmy Graham
Jesse James (at TB) vs. George Kittle (at KC)	George Kittle
Jared Cook (at MIA) vs. Kyle Rudolph (vs. BUF)	Jared Cook

Star to Know: Jimmy Graham, GB (at WAS) 

Jimmy Graham is indeed still a thing for owners in need at a volatile position. 

It's about picking and choosing the spots with Graham, who had 1.8 points in Week 1 before 12.5 on six catches for 95 yards in Week 2. 

So goes the state of the Green Bay Packers right now. As odd as it sounds, Graham will keep benefitting from the knee injury to Aaron Rodgers, with Week 2 showcasing an offense littered with intermediate, quick-hitting routes for guys like Graham. 

With Rodgers still hobbled, Graham should see heavy guaranteed usage again while visiting a Washington Redskins defense that couldn't contain Eric Ebron (10.1 points) a week ago. 

Star to Sit: Tyler Eifert, CIN (at CAR)

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

There was a time when Tyler Eifert got a mention next to Rob Gronkowski at the top of the ladder. 

Now he's clearly on a snap count as the Cincinnati Bengals try to keep him healthy. 

Not only is Eifert seeing reduced playing time, but he's also having trouble finding usage in an offense rolling with A.J. Green, John Ross, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon out of the backfield. Over two games, Eifert has all of seven targets and hasn't hit the six-point mark. 

That's a problem on the road against Carolina in a game where the rushing attacks could take center stage and big aerial plays once again hit to names like Green, not Eifert—who isn't even on the field at a consistent clip.  

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.