The 2021 NFL season is in full swing as we head into Week 3. Benjamin (@FFRabbitDad) and Brendan (@obryanbren) are back with more players to take a look at when setting your fantasy football lineups. Check it all out here in Start or Sit Faceoff: Week 3.
Brendan: We made it to Week 3! The first thing I have to say is SHAME on you Benjamin for telling all our loyal readers to bench Robert Tonyan! I probably have some shame on my side as well, but I’m not going to get into that. You can recap Week 2 here. As I see it for Week 2 I got 4 picks correct and you took 3.5. I am fully claiming Tua Tagovaolia getting knocked out as a win in my book, because for one no one wants an injured player in their lineup, and two my Buffalo Bills knocked him out. With all respect, I hope his ribs are already feeling better. I am also giving you a .5 for picking Damien Harris over David Montgomery last week. I feel like his touchdown gives you just a slight advantage. You might view the scoring a bit differently, but that’s how I see it. Looks like we’re pretty even in our picks so far for this season. Here’s hoping I can quickly start pulling away with my picks this week.
Benjamin: First thing you need to know about me is I have no shame. Minus the touchdown, Tonyan had a mediocre day with just three catches. He still outperformed Higbee, so I won’t argue taking the ‘L’ in that one. If we’re scoring with half points, I think Brendan should only get .5 for his Rob Gronkowski pick as he scored twice with a meager 39 receiving yards. As for Tagovailoa, it’s always unfortunate when a player suffers an injury, like when he took a shot to the ribs, had to leave the game, and will miss at least one more contest from it. For now, it’s time to put some distance between us in the form of some excellent choices by yours truly in Week 3.
Quarterbacks
Start: Sam Darnold – Kirk Cousins
Brendan: I never thought there would come a day I would suggest to people to start Sam Darnold, but it looks like that day has come. I find it mildly amusing that Jet fans have to see him doing fairly well in a Panther uniform, but I digress. Darnold has been averaging 19 points per game and is ranked QB13 on the year so far. His numbers have been serviceable so far this season, completing 68.5% of his passes, 584 yards (11th) with three touchdowns, one interception, and add in a rushing touchdown. Now bring in the Houston Texans who have been allowing big games to quarterbacks this season, and Darnold should have his best game of this young season. Darnold just might not be the bust he was looking like while in Jersey.
Benjamin: As a Vikings fan, I know two things very well about Kirk Cousins. One, he is often underappreciated. Two, he is one of the top game managers in the NFL. Of his 111 games played, he has thrown for at least 250 yards in 63 of them (56.7%) and tallied three or more passing touchdowns in 31 of them (27.9%). Darnold’s numbers from 40 career games are just 12 of at least 250 passing yards (30%) and three with at least three scores (8%). Just like in the first two games for Minnesota this season, Cousins led his team on scoring drives late in the games as he picked apart the opposing defense. I respect what the Panthers and Darnold have accomplished at this early point in the 2021 campaign, but I believe Cousins will succeed through the air again against the Seahawks.
Sit: Jameis Winston – Jared Goff
Brendan: In the bizarro world of Week 1, Jameis Winston threw for five touchdowns and Aaron Rodgers was benched. Fast forward a week and roles have been completely reversed. I was a little hesitant to anoint Winston after his five touchdowns in Week 1, only because the rest of his stats weren’t that inspiring. Then in Week 2, Winston completed 11 passes for 111 yards and one interception, his legs were his only saving grace rushing three times for 19 yards and a touchdown. Winston has always been a bit of a roller coaster, and the last time he was a full-time starter you never really knew if he was going to explode or implode. I do believe this week going up against a top Patriot defense, Winston will have a similar performance as to what he had in Week 2. He still has value on your roster, as he has a better matchup he’ll have good numbers, but all about finding that right matchup for him.
Benjamin: Winston is probably the biggest boom/bust quarterback in the NFL. As Brendan mentioned, his first two games were polar opposites of success and failure. Jared Goff, on the other hand, has been more than solid to begin the season with 584 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. So why am I down on Goff for Week 3? He’ll face the Ravens, who are still a good defense, despite what we’ve seen so far. Derek Carr threw for 435 yards against them with 105 of those yards going to Darren Waller, but he has a couple of monster games every season. Then, Patrick Mahomes came to town and threw for 343 yards with three passing scores. The numbers, as they always do, will come back down for Goff and I’m betting on it starting in Week 3 while he’s on my bench.
Running Backs
Start: Chase Edmonds – Damien Harris
Brendan: You can’t find a much more explosive offense than the Cardinals right now. That could be good or bad for a running back like Chase Edmonds, but so far the returns have been good. He’s getting the majority of the touches in Arizona and making the most of those touches with 6.9 YPC. He also seems to be the primary running back in the passing game as well, but the only concern is the red zone usage which seems to be going to James Conner. He has an amazing matchup this week against the Jaguars, that are giving up over 31 points per game to opposing running backs. Edmonds is a must-start this week, and I’m starting to regret not taking a trade offer for him in my home league.
Benjamin: With the juicy matchup and the high octane offense, the odds seem to favor Edmonds in this one. But if the Cardinals get a comfortable lead in the second half, the carries will likely go more to James Conner and the passing will dry up in favor of speeding up the clock. With Harris, that scenario favors him above other New England ball carriers. Averaging a respectable 4.3 YPC, the bulldozer runner for the Patriots is getting it done nearly every time he touches the ball. Harris’ 39 carries are indicative that he is at the head of the pecking order in that backfield and no one on the roster will change that. He’s also not totally out of the passing game, hauling in three of his four targets thus far. Not impressive passing numbers, but enough for me to side with Harris in Week 3.
Brendan: Here’s to hoping you are right about Conner getting more carries in the second half. Could use a boost in my home league, where I accidentally fell into a zero-RB draft. Getting less than 10 points per game from your running backs is less than optimal.
Sit: Ronald Jones – J.D. McKissic
Brendan: Last year there seemed to be this weird back and forth dynamic on who was the lead back in Tampa Bay. One week it would be Ronald Jones and the next it would be Leonard Fournette. That even seemed to happen in the middle of a game, when one would get benched over the other. So far this season, that does not appear to be the case and Fournette is the clear-cut number one back. Jones has only had 10 total carries so far this season and only one reception. He also only played 26 snaps on offense last week and is clearly being outpaced by Fournette. Things might change over the next few weeks in Tampa Bay, but for right now he should be on your bench.
Benjamin: Another tough one as it is difficult to find positive things to mention for Jones. If he doesn’t make any early mistakes, he should see comparable work to Fournette and the Rams aren’t a tough matchup for running backs. McKissic gets a much tougher Week 3 challenge with the Bills defense. They’ve only allowed five receptions to running backs this season for a measly 25 yards, which is where McKissic gets his value. If I had to choose one of these guys to bench (and thankfully, I don’t) I’d choose McKissic and his lack of touches in the backfield.
Consistency Score: Running Backs
Consistency Score: Wide Receivers
Consistency Score: Tight Ends
Consistency Score: DST
Wide Receivers
Start: Rondale Moore – Odell Beckham Jr.
Brendan: Speaking of that explosive offense in Arizona, with all the big named firepower on that offense, Rondale Moore was the number one target in Week 2. He was targeted eight times and hauled in seven of them for 114 yards including a 77-yard touchdown. Can’t really beat a wide receiver that is seeing a high number of targets, can be a deep threat, and is in an explosive offense. This is the perfect storm for production! Once again, Arizona is playing the Jaguars and Moore should see another high production outing.
Benjamin: With Jarvis Landry on the shelf, Beckham is in a prime position to be the main pass catcher in Cleveland. Beckham is uber-talented and the only thing that has held him down has been hit-or-miss quarterback play and injuries. Now that he’s slated to make his return against the Bears, we’re going to get a chance to see him shine again. There’s a high probability for a score in week three as the Bears have allowed five touchdowns to wide receivers this season. I like Moore, but I’m giving the edge to Beckham this week.
Sit: Marquez Callaway – Darius Slayton
Brendan: Talk about trades… I partially bought into the Marquez Callaway hype and thought I pulled off a really good trade, to pick up Callaway, just before the season had started. It’s still early, but I am starting to feel like I might have been hosed as he has only hauled in three catches for 22 yards through two weeks. He has a very tough matchup this week in the Patriots, and I don’t expect him to do much better this week. Needless to say, he’s now on my practice squad in the dynasty league that I acquired Callaway in. Just holding out hope he has some future promise!
Benjamin: In a matchup that is likely to see the Saints get boat raced by the Patriots, I don’t hate the idea of starting Callaway. Sure, he hasn’t seen much attention through two games, but there’s going to be plenty of opportunity for him this week. Slayton and the Giants, however, have a favorable chance for their first victory of the season against the Falcons. Slayton has been mostly unreliable, catching just six of his 13 targets (46.2%) while Sterling Shepard has caught 16 of 19 targets (84.2%). There’s little chance we see any meaningful contribution for Slayton this week and that’s why he’s on my bench (But, really, I’d drop both of these guys in redraft leagues).
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Tight Ends
Start: Noah Fant – Rob Gronkowski
Brendan: In the absence of Jerry Jeudy last week, Noah Fant had the second-highest target share on the team. So if there were any questions about who would see the biggest benefit from Jeudy being out of the lineup, your answer is Fant and Courtland Sutton. He didn’t have massive numbers hauling in four receptions for 33 yards, but one of those receptions was a touchdown. This week the Broncos play the Jets, who give up nearly 22 points per game against tight ends. If you’re looking for a good tight-end streaming option, Fant might be your go-to guy. He has a growing role in this offense with a very favorable matchup. He’s also been questionable just about every week and appears to be fully healthy now. Fire up Fant as the guy you drafted him to be.
Benjamin: After two big performances (and likely a third this week) it seems like Tom Brady’s favorite target is back to form. With 12 receptions for 129 yards and four scores, there’s little argument that Gronkowski is becoming a weekly mandatory start. There probably won’t be a lot of weeks where he gets you a bunch of yards, but he’s an excellent end zone target with his size and great hands. The Rams, who Gronkowski will see this week, have allowed six receptions to tight ends in each of their first two games. Give me Gronk all day!
Sit: Adam Trautman – Maxx Williams
Brendan: Last week I had a “Start all Tampa Bay players” theme, this week I seem to be very down on the Saints. Before the start of the season, Adam Trautman seemed to be everyone’s pick as a breakout tight end. That talk only intensified when Jameis Winston was named the starter. Enter Week 3 of the season and it looks like the shine has rubbed off. In Week 1 he had three receptions for 18 yards and then laid a giant goose egg in Week 2. He played in only 23 snaps and wasn’t targeted a single time. It’s time to cut your losses with Trautman and send him to the waiver wire.
Benjamin: Don’t buy into the hype from Williams’ career day last week against Minnesota! In 62 games played, Williams had never had more than 53 receiving yards and only three times had he caught at least five balls in one game. Not to mention, his 34 yards receiving in Week 2 was a fluke catch from a tipped pass. I hope you didn’t spend much of your acquisition budget or burn a high waiver priority on him because he won’t meet expectations. Maybe you can trade Williams to another team in your league, just don’t start him.
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