Woos and Boos - Starts and Sits for Week 3 Lineups

September 27, 2020

Brandon Murchison's top starts and sits for your Week 3 fantasy football lineups - sneaky players to start, and typical starters that may disappoint.

Through two weeks of fantasy football, it has quickly become apparent that success in 2020 may be about avoiding the massive injury bug as much as having a potent roster. Players seem to be going down at a rapid rate as we have lost some of the superstars in the game early on. With Saquon Barkley now done for the season and Christian McCaffrey missing a good portion, bell-cow backs are getting even thinner. Injuries and surprising play have led to some intriguing names rising up the positional leaderboards. Kareem Hunt, Melvin Gordon, and James Robinson are a few of the names that catching the eye as they provide weekly RB1 numbers. While Gardner Minshew is currently outperforming Lamar Jackson from a statistical standpoint. The 2020 season we knew would be a wild ride, but is it off to an even crazier start than we imagined? It looks to be the case.

With these injuries taking a major toll on roster construction, traversing the waiver wire has been extremely important early on. As you lose players those spots must be taken up by lesser valued talent in the starting lineups. That means taking an even deeper look into matchups to set your roster. With so many question marks like Davante Adams and Michael Thomas, it opens the door for players that although they may not be a stud performer at least they have guaranteed snaps in a game. Two weeks in, fantasy players have a better understanding of which defenses are good and which are bad. This knowledge shapes your decision making. Because most often than not, starting a player that is facing the 32nd ranked defense in points allowed to the position puts you in a better position than your normal starter facing the toughest opponent.

That being said, let's dive into the matchups for Week 3 as I give you my Woos and Boos. These are the plays that may be under the radar but will outperform based on the matchup. While the Boos are your typical starters that could be poised for an underperforming week with a tough matchup ahead of them.

Week 3 Woos

Mitchell Trubisky @ Atlanta Falcons

Trubisky has started the season well with multiple touchdowns in each of the first two games (QB14). Although the yardage has not been much to write home about (432 yards), his aDOT (10.1) is among the highest in the league. Trubisky has been and will continue to be game-script dependent in the Week 3 matchup with the Falcons high-octane offense. Facing a Falcons Defense that is currently allowing the most points to opposing QBs (35.8) puts him in a plus matchup. Look for the Bears to be playing from behind in this game, forcing the team into a pass-happy mindset. I expect for Trubisky to turn in another multi-touchdown performance in this one and be a fringe QB1 this week.

Josh Kelley vs. Carolina Panthers

Kelley has all but assumed the Melvin Gordon role for the Chargers rushing attack and has performed well through the first two games of the year (RB23). His yards per attempt have not been the greatest (3.54) and avoiding tackles (only 5) could improve, but the opportunities continue to be there as he ranks inside the top-10 in attempts (35). I expect another solid performance from Kelley in Week 3 as he faces a Panthers Defense that is currently the worst in the NFL in points allowed to the position (36.5). He will hold RB2 value in this matchup and is a good player to fill in for those that are dealing with injuries issues.

Corey Davis @ Minnesota Vikings

With the help of the A.J. Brown injury, the Corey Davis re-emergence is upon us! With 13 targets, 10 catches, and a score over the first two games he has been a solid option as a weekly WR3. With Brown again trending towards being out, Davis gets the honor of taking advantage of a fantastic matchup. The Vikings secondary has been one of the worst in fantasy over the first two weeks (36.6 FPPG allowed to receivers) making Davis an optimal start for those in need of an injury replacement. Consider him to be a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 in this game and a player that should be in your lineups.

Drew Sample @ Philadelphia Eagles

Once C.J. Uzomah exited the game, Sample filled in admirably. With the Bengals trailing, he was targeted nine times, hauling in seven catches for 45 yards. Needless to say, he was highly targeted on the waiver wire this week with a positive matchup ahead. The Eagles are the worst defense in fantasy against opposing tight ends (16.6 FPPG) having surrendered a touchdown in each of the first two games. Look for that to continue in this game, making Sample a solid streamer for fantasy managers.

Week 3 Boos

Drew Brees vs. Green Bay Packers

We all saw in Week 2 that Brees looked like a shell of what we have been accustomed to seeing. The loss of Michael Thomas causes major changes in the Saints passing attack and Brees has suffered to a QB24 start. His current aDOT (5.2) is the lowest in the league and it may not get any better in Week 3. The Packers Defense is in the middle of the league in terms of points against (20.0 FPPG), but you can't feel good about Brees for the immediate future.

David Johnson @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson has surprised many with his RB21 start to the season. But most of that damage stems from Week 1 as he came back down to Earth in a more difficult matchup in Week 2 (34 yards rushing and two receptions). Expect much of the same in Week 3 as he faces a tough Steelers Defense that is 29th in points allowed (12.3 FPPG). If you have options behind him with better matchups, I would not hesitate to play them this week.

T.Y. Hilton vs. New York Jets

Many were expecting the tandem of Philip Rivers and T.Y. Hilton to be a successful duo for much of the 2020 season. That has gotten off to a rocky start as Hilton has recorded just seven catches for 81 yards to begin the season. I'm not expecting that to change in Week 3 as he faces a Jets Defense that is 19th in points against (20.3 FPPG). The other factor here may be game-script as the Colts should be ahead for most of this game, limiting the opportunities he will see.

Austin Hooper vs. Washington Football Team

The high-priced free-agent acquisition has been a large letdown for not only the Browns but also fantasy managers to start the season. With only two catches in each of the first two games, Hooper has found himself on the outside looking in in terms of TE1 potential. With minimal aDOT (6.00) and yards per target (6.17) it's hard to see a spike in yardage and scoring coming for Hooper. The matchup is there to take advantage of for Hooper this week as Washington is among the teams at the bottom in points allowed (13.3 FPPG). But with his porous start to the year, it is hard to trust him in a starting lineup.

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