Start/Sit Questions: Week 3

By: Mike Johnson (@mjohnson86)

Some things in fantasy football are easy. We know we should start Tyreek Hill and Breece Hall. We know we should bench the backup running back who is only on our roster in case of injury. A lot of the decisions are made for us. However, there are a lot of things that are not so simple. All of the “in between” situations are what can make the difference between a few wins and losses, and therefore it can be the difference between a successful season or a failed season. Every Friday, we are here to help!!

I’ll take questions each week in our #fantasy-football channel in our Discord from people looking for Start/Sit advice and give my thoughts. This article on Fridays will feature a few of those questions and responses, so join our Discord to be a part of the conversation or ask questions of your own!!

Question 1:: Should I sit Anthony Richardson for Jayden Daniels? (hawflakes)

Answer:: I would not sit Richardson for Daniels. Both of these quarterbacks have rushing upside that adds to their floor and ceiling on a weekly basis. Both are both playing above-average defenses in Chicago and Cincinnati. However, Richardson is getting wide receiver Josh Downs back this week and has shown the ability to make big plays downfield. Meanwhile, Daniels is running an offense that consists almost entirely of short passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. Start Richardson over Daniels weekly unless the matchup is extremely tough for Richardson and extremely easy for Daniels.

Question 2:: Xavier Worthy or Demarcus Robinson? (1/2 PPR) (dlm223)

Answer:: This is a great question, as Robinson becomes the “WR1” for the Rams and it is easy to fall in love with these spots. This is also a spot where understanding league settings is important. Robinson is likely to see more volume and could catch 6-8 passes in this spot. However, the Rams face the 49ers and yardage and touchdowns could be very hard to come by. Meanwhile, the Chiefs face the Falcons and have a ton of questions in their backfield. I think Worthy will get some extra usage in the red zone going forward and the Chiefs pass rate will go up, also improving his outlook. 

Question 3:: Carson Steele or Zamir White? (bravesgirl82)

Answer:: I expect that a lot of people are unsure what to do with the Chiefs this week, which is why I keep picking those questions to include here. The answer for this one is clearly Zamir White for me. The Raiders ended last season as an extremely run-heavy offense and leaned heavily on White. They haven’t been able to run the ball well yet this season and have a great matchup with the Panthers to get back on track. Head coach Antonio Pierce said this week they want to feed White when they get the opportunity, and this week they should get that opportunity. Steele is likely going to depend on touchdowns to pay off, as he is unlikely to see more than 15 touches, isn’t an overly explosive player, and has a somewhat tough matchup. He also fumbled once last week, and, as a rookie, is probably one more slip-up away from the “dog house.” 

Question 4:: Terry McLaurin or Khalil Shakir? I’m playing against Jayden Daniels and passing TDs are worth six points in our league. Kinda like Shakir more, but didn’t know if I should stick with McLaurin to cancel out Daniels in case he throws him a TD. (0.5 PPR) (wklezek43)

Answer:: Another great question, and I love how you are thinking about this one! I am going to say you should take it a step further. Both McLaurin and Shakir play on Monday night this week, which buys you time. You can make this decision when you have more information. If you are ahead by a decent amount and your opponent needs a big night while you have a dud in order to catch you, then start McLaurin. While his start to the season hasn’t been great, he’s still their top WR and gives you a way of neutralizing a big game from Daniels. If you are behind, definitely start Shakir because you’ll need Daniels to have just an “OK” or bad game in order to catch him and that outcome wouldn’t allow McLaurin to have a big game. Likewise, if McLaurin has a huge game that would mean Daniels is also putting up a big score so you aren’t catching him anyways. If the matchup is close heading into Monday night, I lean Shakir. Both of these guys are the top WR options on their teams and I trust the Bills’ offense more than the Kliff Kingsbury dink-and-dunk operation we are seeing in Washington.

Question 5:: Flex question: D’Andre Swift or Drake London. Full PPR and to get any rushing or receiving yard points, you need to reach a threshold of 40 yards. Receptions and TD's still count (Once you reach 40 yards, you get the four points, plus one per 10 yards going forward) (Laphroaig)

Answer:: One of the things I have enjoyed the most about these questions is all the different, creative league settings, and this is an interesting one. Swift has a great matchup against a Colts rushing defense that has been hammered this year. However, the Bears’ running game has looked as bad or worse than the Colts run defense. I’m not convinced Swift gets you to that threshold. London seems like the better bet for receptions and touchdowns, as the Falcons’ offense appeared to figure some things out late on Monday night in Week 2. The other concern I have with Swift is he could theoretically match London on the stat sheet but get lapped in your league because of the settings. Swift could easily have 30 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving and get no points for it. If London gets 60 total yards (matching Swift), you’re getting all the points. Great question and fun league, though.

Join us Saturday for our final Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings!