To win this fake football game we love every week, you have to know which players you should insert into the starting lineup or sit on your roster’s bench. This isn’t an easy task, however. The injuries, matchups, and performance trends that impact your squad need to be accounted for when making lineup decisions.
To make matters worse, it can even be tricky to know how much you should react to each week’s performances as well. For these reasons, it’s not always apparent who you should give the starting nod to. Luckily, our featured analysts are here every week to lend you a hand. Each one has given you their top sleeper starts and their biggest potential busts for the upcoming week below.
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Q1. Who is a player outside of our top 100 flex rankings that is a deep sleeper start and why do you think he has upside this week?
Frank Gore (RB – BUF)
“With rookie Devin Singletary out for this game with a hamstring injury that he suffered in the Bills’ Week 2 win over the Giants, we should see a healthy dose of Gore in this game with some T.J. Yeldon mixed in. The Bengals were completely gashed by the 49ers’ run game last week, allowing a combined 244 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries, and another 84 yards and a touchdown through the air. Through two weeks of the NFL season, the Bengals are allowing 40.8 PPR points per game to running backs. Whether it be the massive 5.40 yards per carry or 8.43 yards per target to them, they’re below average in every major statistical category. Before saying it’s too early to tell, they allowed a massive 4.95 yards per carry and 7.39 yards per target last year, which both ranked as the second-most in football. He’s likely to finish as a top-25 running back this week.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
“Frank Gore and ‘upside’ put together both create an oxymoron, but for at least this week, they’re compatible. With Devin Singletary likely to be limited (at best) or miss the game (at worst) with his hamstring injury, Gore should again see the lion’s share of the work in the backfield against the Bengals and have a good chance at scoring a touchdown in a game the Bills are favored to win. Add that to the Bengals’ complete inability to tackle, as they showed last week, and Gore should be a serviceable starter with upside for the best matchup he’s had in years.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (WR – PHI)
“If soft-tissue injuries sideline either Alshon Jeffery or DeSean Jackson (or both) this weekend, Arcega-Whiteside becomes a viable play against the Lions. He didn’t do much in his 75 snaps against the Falcons last week (one catch, four yards), but he’s an impressive physical specimen and contested-catch artist who balled out in the preseason, and the extra practice reps this week might help him find his footing. Carson Wentz produced good second-half numbers in Atlanta even after losing his two receivers, and JJAW has a chance to stake a claim on some Wentz targets in Week 3.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
James Washington (WR – PIT)
“Just outside the top 100 is Washington, sitting at 102. This might seem like a lazy way out — taking the easy road — and Washington may be in the top 100 by Sunday, but how can you not like this? He is in line to draw the start due to Donte Moncrief’s struggles, he is a dynamic vertical threat, who had great success with his college teammate Mason Rudolph, and, oh yeah, Rudolph is now the quarterback! It’s no coincidence these two hooked up for two touchdowns in the preseason and Rudolph is a far better quarterback than most gave him credit for, hidden in the 2018 Class of the Pass. Wheels up for Washington in Week 3 and beyond.”
– Andy Singleton (Expand The Boxscore)
Justice Hill (RB – BAL)
“He only has nine touches through two games, but this could be the week Hill has a significant change-of-pace role as Baltimore’s offense is fully unleashed against the Chiefs. Despite allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, Kansas City has ceded 5.9 yards per carry and I expect the Ravens to throw plenty of creative formations at them to move the ball on the ground. Hill has home-run speed to take it to the house if he gets to the second level.”
– Dylan Chappine (White Wolf Sports)
Randall Cobb (WR – DAL)
“Through two weeks, Cobb is third on the team in both targets and receiving yards. Who’s the leader in those categories? Michael Gallup, who is currently sidelined as he undergoes knee surgery. Cobb won’t be taking over Gallup’s deep-threat duties, but I would still expect an uptick in targets for Cobb while Gallup is out. Need I mention he is playing the Dolphins this week?”
– Nick Humphreys (Fantasy Victors)
Q2. On the flip side, what player inside the top 40 flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy owners this week?
Le’Veon Bell (RB – NYJ)
“He balled out in front of a national audience on Monday Night, and while Bell deserves a modicum of credit for his effort, this Jets offense faces a tall task in New England during Week 3. The Patriots boast the league’s second-best run defense, giving up just 37 yards on the ground per game without allowing a runner to break the plane of the end zone. New York isn’t even exactly sure who their quarterback will be, and you better believe the Master of Darkness, Bill Belichick, is going to make whoever that is beat them. It isn’t going to happen, and neither is RB1-worthy production from Bell. I’d even say a repeat double-digit performance in receptions might not be enough to save the day in PPR formats, either.”
– Andy Singleton (Expand The Boxscore)
“The Jets will be without their top two quarterbacks against a Patriots defense that feasts on inexperience and shuts down an offense’s top option as good as any team in the league. The Pats have allowed the second-fewest rushing yards through the first two weeks, which included just 21 yards to a healthy James Conner. Expect most of Bell’s points to come from checkdowns in the midst of an otherwise stagnant offense.”
– Nick Humphreys (Fantasy Victors)
James Conner (RB – PIT)
“The start of the season has not been kind to Conner and life isn’t going to be easier with a first-time starter under center. The 49ers were a middling run defense last year, as they allowed a mediocre 4.08 yards per carry. This year has brought a bit of mixed results, as the duo of Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber totaled 108 yards on 21 carries in the opener, but then they completely shut down the Bengals’ duo of Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard to just 23 yards on 17 carries in Week 2. Conner’s offensive line is far better than either of those teams, though this game is also in San Francisco, with the 49ers favored by 6.5 points. The Steelers are unlikely to allow Mason Rudolph to drop back and throw the ball 40-plus times, but they’re also unlikely to give Conner a massive workload after injuring his knee. There are some red flags here, pushing Conner down to the low-end RB2 territory with a lower floor than most in that range. Let’s not pretend he’s shown us a high floor even before this week, as he’s finished as the RB29 and RB18, respectively, in the first two weeks.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Leonard Fournette (RB – JAC)
“With the Jaguars beginning to splinter, there’s an unfortunate strong possibility that Fournette is going to disappoint. With Nick Foles‘ injury and Jalen Ramsey requesting a trade, Jacksonville’s psyche may be a bit fractured at this point, and it’s not difficult to see a scenario where the Titans get out to an early lead and the Jaguars simply fold. The Titans have a strong defense and are tough against the run, and although Fournette has been steadily involved in the passing game thus far, there’s no doubt that Gardner Minshew represents a downgrade in value from Foles for Fournette. If you own Fournette, you are (and should be) starting him still, but in terms of obvious starting names who are likely to disappoint this week, Fournette is near the top.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Antonio Brown (WR – NE)
“Brown’s WR12 expert consensus ranking doesn’t make much sense to me when he played 24 snaps last week and might get to punch out early again if/when the Patriots start burying the undermanned Jets on Sunday. I don’t know if it’s “likely” that he disappoints his fantasy owners, but Brown investors have reason to be concerned about his Week 3 usage.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
T.Y. Hilton (WR – IND)
“Hilton has been great this year, but a matchup against the Falcons could lead to disappointment in Week 3. While we didn’t get to see DeSean Jackson face Atlanta for a full game last week due to a groin injury, Dan Quinn’s defense has historically not allowed the deep ball, so Hilton may find it difficult to return top-15 value at the position if his touchdown streak ends.”
– Dylan Chappine (White Wolf Sports)
Thank you to the experts for giving their sleeper starts and duds for Week 3. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.
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