NFL Players You Should Start & Sit in Fantasy Football for Week 3

Through two weeks of the NFL season, some 2019 fantasy narratives are starting to come into view.

On an individual-player level, it appears Lamar Jackson and Austin Ekeler will be weapons this year. If you were ahead of the curve on those guys, congratulations. Meanwhile, it seems some players who were hyped up over the summer as 2019 fantasy sure-things (guys like O.J. Howard and Joe Mixon) as well as more fringe breakout candidates (like Jaylen Samuels and Kalen Ballage) may struggle to live up to the hype.

But they key word is may. Of course, it’s only been two weeks. There’s plenty of football still to come.

The top fantasy players of any given season usually kick the season off on a strong note, establishing their dominance early in the season. We saw that last year with Patrick Mahomes and Todd Gurley, who burst out of the gates and put up monster numbers all year.

Though that’s typically how things play out, however, it isn’t a tried-and-true rule—there are exceptions every year. For example, Dak Prescott went on to finish as one of the top fantasy QBs in 2018, but he struggled in Weeks 1-2. Some guys just take a little longer to find their stride, for various reasons—maybe health, team cohesiveness, a new position coach, matchups, etc. There are too many variables for us to overreact to two games.

With Week 3 on the horizon, it’s time to start doing your homework. Here are five players you should start and five players you should sit, given their matchups this weekend.

Olsen seems to get hurt every year of late, but we have to keep in mind that he was one of the league’s top tight ends from 2012-16, before the injury curse began. He has gotten back to his trusty role in Cam Newton’s offense this season, appearing on the field for almost 90 percent of Carolina’s snaps. Though Christian McCaffrey is clearly Carolina’s primary skill position weapon, Olsen should be slotted in at No. 2.

This week, Carolina faces Arizona, which has only the No. 27 pass defense in the league. If you have Olsen on your roster, he should be your TE1. And, for that matter, based on early volume returns, he should be starting every week as long as he’s healthy.

The Bears seemed to be employing a running back by committee approach in Week 1, as Montgomery had to split time with the electric Tarik Cohen and veteran Mike Davis. At some points, it seemed the rookie was No. 3 in that hierarchy. But it was Montgomery’s day on Sunday against Denver. He got 18 carries and three passing targets, playing almost half of Chicago’s offensive snaps, while Cohen was only a factor in the passing game and Davis took a substantial backseat.

This week, Chicago—fresh off its big last-second win—faces Washington, with the second-to-worst run D in the league. The 22-year-old from Iowa State has been the Bears’ clear preference in the red zone, and he’s poised to rack up yards and get into the end zone as Chicago faces a porous opponent.

Jones finally got some volume in Week 2, running 23 times for 116 yards (5.0 yards per carry) and one touchdown. He has played 76 snaps so far this season, whereas backup Jamaal Williams has played 53. And though Williams has gotten a little bit more volume in the passing game, Jones has been the clearly preferred run option.

That’s key to keep in mind this week, as Green Bay faces the Denver Broncos, ranked No. 24 in rushing defense in the NFL. Two rookies—Joshua Jacobs and David Montgomery—have had solid games against Oakland. Expect Jones to clear the 100-yard mark and get into the end zone Sunday.

Kittle’s matchup against the Steelers initially looked great—Pittsburgh’s pass defense has really struggled this season, ranked No. 29 in the league. Last week, Russell Wilson tore the Steel Curtain to shreds, completing 29-of-35 passes for 300 yards and three TDs. One might be tempted to think Pittsburgh’s fortunes will change now that the Steelers have traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick, but even if that will eventually be the case, it will take him time to adapt to the new system.

San Fran has cycled through a stable of wide receivers, so none of the Niners’ wideouts is a reliable play, but Kittle is. Despite a slight down week against Cincy in Week 2 (three catches, 54 yards), he’s poised to have a big day in Week 3.

Cousins has gotten off to an underwhelming start. After failing to post 100 passing yards in Minnesota's Week 1 win over Atlanta, the veteran QB completed only 14-of-32 attempts against Green Bay and tossed two picks, accruing a 52.9 passer rating in the rivalry game against the Packers.

It’s clear the Vikings are going to be more run-oriented this year—that’s why Dalvin Cook has been an early-season hero, whereas Stefon Diggs has been a letdown. But expect a bounceback week from Minnesota’s passing game this week, as the 1-1 Vikings take on Oakland, which has the worst pass defense in the NFL. Cousins should eclipse the 250-yard, 1-TD mark for the first time this season.

So, maybe Murray isn’t going to run very often? Despite his clear abilities on the ground (he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards last year for the Sooners), he hasn’t turned to his legs early in his NFL career. He has six carries for 17 yards in two games and has only scrambled past the line of scrimmage once.

However, he’s gotten a ton of passing volume—the most in the league! Nonetheless, Murray faces a stout Panthers defense this week (No. 3 passing D in the league). Expect Luke Keuchly & Co. to give the rookie a rough day in the desert.

Eifert is back! Injuries have thwarted the 29-year-old's career, but he got back into the end zone against San Francisco, matching his combined TD total from 2017 and 2018. However, he only had three catches for nine yards on the day, and he draws a tough Buffalo D this week.

The Bills, who ranked No. 2 in the league in defense last year, have the No. 6 defensive passing unit so far this season. They locked down Evan Engram this past week, as the dynamic pass-catching weapon put up only six catches for 48 yards. Further, Cincy is favoring C.J. Uzomah at tight end, with rookie Drew Sample also getting some snaps. Don’t give into the temptation to hop back on the Eifert bandwagon.

Johnson is the Lions’ clear No. 1 at RB, and he’s gotten touches in both the run and pass games. He’s run 29 routes so far this season. But, despite increased volume, he hasn’t been super effective. For example, he averaged more than 5 yards per carry last season but is hovering around 3 this year.

This week, he faces the Eagles, who have the No. 3 run D in the league. Last week, the Eagles held Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman to 22 yards on 11 carries! Expect a low-scoring affair in this game and low point total for Johnson.

Hilton has sustained respectable numbers despite the loss of Andrew Luck. With Jacoby Brissett at the helm, he’s hauled in 12 passes for 130 yards and (here's the key) three touchdowns. Though the Colts are using a variety of wideouts (Deon Cain, Zach Pascal, Chester Rogers, Parris Campbell, etc.), the 29-year-old Hilton is still a fringe fantasy WR1 because of his TD production.

But this week he faces the Falcons, who have the No. 1 passing D in the NFL. The Falcons have stymied Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz so far this year. Brissett and the Colts’ passing game will face a tough challenge in Indy.

San Francisco has only a mediocre passing D, so despite Mason Rudolph sliding in at QB, this matchup isn’t terrible for Pittsburgh’s other passing weapons (looking at you, JuJu Smith-Schuster). But Moncrief should either be on your bench or on the free-agent market in your league. Though he was expected to be Pittsburgh’s WR2, he has severely underwhelmed early in the season.

He got only 31 percent of Pittsburgh’s snaps in Week 2, whereas James Washington and Diontae Johnson had higher totals. Ryan Switzer has also gotten some run. Washington should be rising on your board—especially considering he played with Rudolph in college—but Moncrief should be dropping...precipitously.