My Week 3 Discord AMA was jamming. Sadly, I couldn’t answer every question, but I thank everyone for participating. If you missed out this week, you can join me at 3:00 p.m. ET in the Discord general AMA every Friday. This week’s questions spanned a variety of players and topics. However, four players were frequently the topic of start or sit questions. So, let’s dive a little deeper into the quartet.
Friday’s Fantasy Football Discord AMA Recap
What’s the Cutline for Starting Derek Carr This Week?
Many gamers are trying to determine if they can trust Derek Carr after his hot start to this season. There were start or sit questions about Carr versus Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels and Anthony Richardson, and I advised starting Carr over all four.
Carr is thriving in Klint Kubiak’s offense. The Saints are using pre-snap motion, play action and force-feeding the ball to the team’s best weapons. Unsurprisingly, these sharp decisions are paying off. The betting odds support the Saints having another excellent showing. New Orleans has the third-highest implied total (26.0 points) this week. Carr won’t add much value with his legs, but the game should be a fantasy-friendly shootout, making him a top-10 quarterback this week.
Is Diontae Johnson a Priority Addition and a Starter in 12-Team HALF and PPR Formats?
After Carolina’s dreadful first two games, Diontae Johnson was cut loose in some leagues. He’s a priority addition in 12-team leagues or larger if Johnson is available.
Meanwhile, patient gamers are debating whether to trust an Andy Dalton-led offense or start others, such as Christian Kirk, Jayden Reed, Chuba Hubbard, Demarcus Robinson, Carson Steele and Khalil Shakir. Johnson and Carolina’s wideouts, namely Adam Thielen, were the first topic in my bold predictions for Week 3. I’ve predicted at least one of Carolina’s wideouts will have a top-24 finish in half-point-per-reception (HALF) and point-per-reception (PPR) formats in Week 3.
Readers should check out the linked piece for a deeper dive. However, the cliff notes are as follows. Dalton was rock-solid as a starter for the Saints in 2022, and he had a successful showing in his lone start against the Seahawks last year. Furthermore, Dalton has fed his wideouts the previous two seasons. As a result, Johnson’s stock is up.
Is Malik Nabers a Must-Start Player Against the Browns?
The expression “start your studs” is often overused but has merit. Malik Nabers isn’t yet in stud territory. He’s not far off, though. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, among wideouts with at least 25 routes this year, Nabers is second in team air-yard share (56.2%), first in target share (35.7%), third in target per route run rate (0.34) and first in first-read percentage (52.1%).
Cleveland’s pass rush can ruin Big Blue’s offensive outlook this week. Nevertheless, Nabers’ volume is alluring, keeping him in the starting mix. DK Metcalf and Chris Olave should be started over Nabers, and gamers asked about both. However, Nabers gets the nod over Brian Thomas, and it’s a matchup-driven toss-up between Nabers and Zach Charbonnet. Nabers is the ceiling selection, and Charbonnet is the floor pick.
Where Does Jaxon Smith-Njigba Rank This Week?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was paired with Nabers in a start or sit question. I sandbagged that question to include in this spot. I would start JSN over Nabers this week. They’re in the same tier, and Nabers could make my decision look foolish.
However, JSN was outstanding last week. He also has an outstanding matchup for a follow-up outburst. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Smith-Njigba was targeted on an absurd 36.4% of his routes in Week 2, parlaying his robust workload into 12 receptions for 117 receiving yards.
JSN is Seattle’s primary slot wideout, which is optimal for a matchup against the Dolphins. According to Fantasy Points, JSN has an 83.3% slot rate this year and a 26.1% first-read percentage. Conversely, the Dolphins have had the highest slot target percentage (47.2%) against them this season. As a result, JSN is a top-25 wide receiver this week and should also be started over RB2s in the Devin Singletary mold.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
