Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Taking a look at the player trends over the past few weeks can reveal some surprising things - it's important, though, to temper expectations in some cases and realize that some great (and some awful) performances can be the product of gameflow as much as the talent and/or rising production of a player. But since each player can only be owned by one team at a time in most standard fantasy leagues, you've got to scoop them up before anyone else and make smart decisions as far as when to play a rising (or falling) star. What do you think about these scenarios? Will the players listed below live up to expectations based on recent weeks?

We discuss our thoughts on the below players on this week's podcast: 

Quarterbacks

Trevor Siemian (DEN, QB)

Week 1 vs. CAR – 18/26, 178yds, 1 TD, 2 INT, 11.12pts

Week 2 vs. IND – 22/33, 266yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 12.34pts

Week 3 @CIN – 23/35, 312yds, 4 TD, 0 INT, 28.98pts

Siemian was an underdog from the beginning of the preseason, and had a rough start in 2016, but he lit it up against the Bengals in Week 3 and has constantly improved since the opening game against the Panthers. He is now the 12^th highest scoring QB in standard scoring leagues after 3 weeks, can he score 18 points or more this week against the Bucs?

Kirk Cousins (WAS, QB)

Week 1 vs. PIT – 30/43, 329yds, 0 TD, 2 INT, 11.96pts

Week 2 vs. DAL – 28/46, 364yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 19.56pts

Week 3 @NYG – 21/35, 296yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 19.34pts

Similar to Siemian, Cousins has increased his effectiveness and gotten better at protecting the football every week so far in 2016. The Redskins go up against the Browns’ lackluster defense in week 4 – can he put up 17 or more points?

Running Backs

Tevin Coleman (ATL, RB)

Week 1 vs. TB – 8/22yds, 0 TD, 5rec, 95yds, 0 TD, 11.70pts

Week 2 @OAK – 12/46yds, 1 TD, 2rec, 25yds, 0 TD, 13.10pts

Week 3 @NO – 12/42yds, 3 TD, 3rec, 47yds, 0 TD, 26.90pts

Coleman has been more involved in the Falcons’ offense this year and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. He does go up against the Panthers’ defense in week 4, however. Will Coleman be able to continue this burst of productivity and put up 17 or more points?

Theo Riddick (DET, RB)

Week 1 @IND – 7/45yds, 1 TD, 5rec, 63yds, 1 TD, 22.80pts

Week 2 vs. TEN – 11/37yds, 0 TD, 4rec, 28yds, 0 TD, 6.50pts

Week 3 @GB – 10/9yds, 0 TD, 7rec, 39yds, 0 TD, 4.80pts

Riddick was a huge waiver wire add after week 1’s performance, and was hyped up in the fantasy football world after it was revealed that lead back Ameer Abdullah may miss the entire 2016 season. The emergence of Dwayne Washington makes us give pause, however, and his sinking production isn’t helping. Can Riddick step it back up in week against the Bears and score at least 11 points to make himself fantasy relevant once again?

Wide Receivers

Quincy Enunwa (NYJ, WR)

Week 1 vs. CIN – 7/8, 54yds, 1 TD, 11.40pts

Week 2 @BUF – 6/6, 92yds, 0 TD, 9.20pts

Week 3 @KC – 4/11, 37yds, 0 TD, 3.70pts

Enunwa has been a hot topic this year and since Marshall has been a little hobbled by his knee injury in week 2, it was assumed that Enunwa may be able to step up and provide some fantasy production. Granted week 3 was a terrible one for the Jets’ offense in general, but with Marshall getting healthier once more and Fitzpatrick looking to get back on track in week 4 against Seattle is it possible that Enunwa gets lost in the mix? Will he be able to score at least 8 points among all of the other mouths to feed in that offense?

Jamison Crowder (WAS, WR)

Week 1 vs. PIT – 6/10, 58yds, 0 TD, 5.80pts

Week 2 vs. DAL – 6/8, 39yds, 1 TD, 9.90pts

Week 3 @NYG – 4/7, 78yds, 1 TD, 13.80pts

Crowder looks to be supplanting Pierre Garcon as the starting WR opposite DeSean Jackson. He has been displaying great elusiveness and doing everything that the team asks him to. Going up against the Browns in week 4 should certainly not prove any more difficult than the other teams that he has played so far this year. Will he continue this positive trend and put up at least 10 points this week?

Tight End

Jimmy Graham (SEA, TE)

Week 1 vs. MIA – 1/1, 11yds, 0 TD, 1.10pts

Week 2 @LA – 3/4, 42yds, 0 TD, 4.20pts

Week 3 vs. SF -  6/9, 100yds, 1 TD, 14.00pts

Graham had a gruesome injury last year (patellar tendon) that many athletes never return from in full-form. Even when he was healthy he was still having some issues gelling with the Seahawks offense and finding his place within it. Amazingly, it looks like he did make a full recovery and was doing Jimmy Graham-like things in week 3 and playing a full complement of snaps. Can Graham keep it up against the Jets in week 4 with a backup QB and score at least 7 points?

Each week we'll give you some recommended starters that you need to get in your lineup for one reason or another. Usually, it's because of a good matchup, sometimes it's a player that's trending up, and once in a while it's going to be the secret to your fantasy victory!

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan @ NO: Included on the list last week, here's a guy who is currently the fantasy points leader at QB in standard leagues and yet is still not owned by 30% of [Yahoo] leagues. If you happen to be in a league where that is the case, I suggest you remedy that quickly! His matchup in week 3 against the Saints (giving up 672 passing yards so far over 2 games) looks pretty advantageous. The Falcons defense is more than suspect, and they'll always keep their opponent in the game - forcing Ryan to keep chucking it.

Ryan Fitzpatrick @ KC: Fitzpatrick is still out of the top 10 (currently #13 in overall fantasy points at the QB position in standard scoring leagues), but he's spreading the football around this year with new additions to the offense like Enunwa and Forte. The Jets know that this could be their last chance to make a playoff run for quite some time and they will be fighting to the bitter end of every matchup this year. Fitzpatrick could end up a good short-term start or may even become your QB1 as long as guys like Bortles and Cousins are underperforming. Owned in 41% of Yahoo leagues currently. (Keep your eye on Marshall's health, though, Fitz's ceiling comes down if Marshall is not on the field).

Running Backs

Isaiah Crowell @MIA: Crowell exploded last week with 133 yards and a touchdown. Granted, most of that was from a specific play, but his performance so far this year has been raising more than a few eyebrows out there, and he'll be going up against a Dolphins rushing defense that is giving up the 2nd most yards per game. A must start until he proves otherwise!

Mark Ingram vs. ATL: Ingram has just not had the opportunities on offense yet this season - with only 21 carries over 2 games, the Saints need to commit a little more to the running game. That has been mentioned in recent press conferences, etc and an excellent matchup against the Falcons on Monday could be the catalyst for a top-10 fantasy performance for Ingram.

Wide Receiver

Mike Wallace @JAX: Wallace finally has a QB with some arm strength that is willing to send a few far downfield - that's all he needs to be a productive fantasy receiver. He's actually propelled himself to be the #6 fantasy WR in standard scoring leagues (as of Monday evening). Going up against the Jaguars shouldn't prove a much more difficult situation for Wallace to rack up his customary 3 or 4 receptions. Cross your fingers for the touchdown that makes him a commodity from week-to-week.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph @ CAR: I would not normally recommend fantasy plays against a stout Panthers defense, but Kyle Rudolph has proved so far this season to be one of the highest targeted Vikings' pass-catchers (8 targets in both week 1 and week 2) and is currently situated as the #10 TE thus far in the season. With an upgrade to QB in Sam Bradford, I think we'll see more of Rudolph - especially as a red zone threat.