September 24, 2016

Joe Sorensen covers his top sits and starts for fantasy football Week 3, using his matchup-based analysis.

After each week, every fantasy football team owner needs to assess and reevaluate where their team stands. Especially at this point of the season. Two weeks in means your team is either producing to your expectations - or they are not. This past week featured many injuries to key players: Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin, and Donte Moncrief, just to name some.

But, the one position that had their top player injured since the first week of the season is the tight end. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is yet to play a snap in the 2016 NFL Season entering Week 3. This has shaken the position rankings quite a bit to this point. In a lot of fantasy leagues, depending on the scoring system, the top scoring tight ends to this point of the season are Greg Olsen, Jacob Tamme, Martellus Bennett, Julius Thomas and Dennis Pitta. Who could have ever seen these names on this list?Are any of these players worth starting and possibly chasing the points or should you continue to leave them on your bench?

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Definite Start - Jordan Cameron v. CLE 

Last week was the first time Cameron had five receptions in the 16 games he has played as a Miami Dolphin. It is not like he was not getting the opportunities. In 2015, Cameron had six games with five or more targets. While most of targets, and his touchdown, may have been in garbage time, it still means that QB Ryan Tannehill is starting to look his way more. Besides for his rising opportunities, Cameron is also playing against his former team for the first time. He claims that this is not a revenge game, but it is obvious that games like this always mean something.

Good Start - Dennis Pitta @ JAX 

For the first time in almost two full years, Pitta returned to the field in the season opener. He posted three catches for 39 yards. Do you pick him up after that performance? If you did, you are amongst the fantasy elites. He followed that up with a 10-catch, 102 yard showcase the following week. Now, your fantasy opponents are scrambling to add him to their roster. His connection with Joe Flacco has been seen before, and with no dominant WRs, it is clear that Pitta will be the one seeing the majority of the targets.

*Also, Pitta follows his game against the Jags with two home games against the Raiders and the Redskins.

Definite Sit - Jesse James @ PHI 

James has already established himself as a decent replacement for the retired Heath Miller. His 12 targets is already more than he saw during his rookie season (11). He scored his second career TD against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. This appears to be a clear sign of chasing points if you plan on starting James this week. There are many players (Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Sammie Coates and Eli Rogers) that are fighting for targets alongside James. Unfortunately, James is one of the bottom two in the pecking order. 

Totally Sit - Kyle Rudolph @ CAR 

This is another case of chasing points. Week 1 against the Titans, Rudolph caught four passes on eight targets for 65 yards. Week 2 versus the Packers, he scored his first TD of the season. Respectable numbers, but neither of those games were against the Panthers; easily one of the top five defenses in the league. Nothing against Rudolph’s connection with QB Sam Bradford, but WR Stefon Diggs will get more targets against the Josh Norman-less Panthers.

Start For Rest of The Way - Dwayne Allen  

This is a clear case of opportunity. Let’s not forget that it was only two years ago that Allen recorded eight receiving TDs. Now, with Coby Fleener in New Orleans and Donte Moncrief on the shelf for the near future, Allen is in for more targets than the 10 he received in his first two games. He becomes a valuable asset to QB Andrew Luck in the redzone and in short yardage plays. Yes, he may have some games where he does not produce much, or at all, but this is a position that has very few players with his type of upside the next couple weeks.

Next week, we will take a look at one of the hardest positions to dissect, the quarterback. Good luck in Week 3 everyone.  
Have a player or position question you would like me to talk about? Follow me on Twitter @JSorensen119 and let me know.