With so many options to choose from, sometimes fielding a fantasy lineup can be quite the headache.
Obvious are the starts akin to Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, Matthew Stafford, Adrian Peterson and
the games other bigger names. However, it’s the tougher choices – namely the less obvious starts – that
will end up winning your league.
Here are a few names you might want to consider.
Kirk Cousins QB Washington – My guess is Cousins will be Washington’s quarterback for the rest of
the year. Coach Jay Gruden made it clear he prefers Cousins to start over Robert Griffin III because he
is a better fit in his offense and now his wish has come true, albeit by an ankle injury to RGIII that will
have him sidelined at least the next month. Cousins is the pocket passer that Gruden envisions will
move his offense down the field, maximizing his two stud receivers in Pierre Garcon and Desean Jackson
and eventually tightend Jordan Reed. Cousins will go up against a Philadelphia defense that actually
held Indianapolis’ quarterback Andrew Luck in check last week, but this is a divisional rivalry that often
lights the scoreboard up. Should Cousins start the rest of the year, he could end up being a top ten
quarterback. Cousins is a safe start in leagues that start one quarterback but is a great option if you can
use him as your QB2.
Zac Stacy RB St. Louis – Zac Stacy, not Benny Cunningham is the ball carrier in St. Louis – at least for
now. Stacy responded to the runningback controversy that began after Week 1’s subpar performance
with a decent game at Tampa Bay where he ran for 71 yards and added a rushing TD. This week Stacy
goes up against one of the projected worst defenses when St. Louis takes on Dallas at home. Though
Dallas has only given up one rushing TD so far this year, it shouldn’t be much of a concern. Stacy is a
tough runner who should find himself at the goal line via the run more so that the teams’ weak passing
game. St. Louis’ tough defense should keep the Dallas offense in check, keeping a ground game in the
game plan. Look for Stacy to have his best year to date this season and start him as a solid RB2.
Matt Asiata RB Minnesota – Who knows what is in store for Adrian Peterson. That said, while Peterson
finds himself in NFL limbo, Asiata will start in his place in Minnesota’s Week 3 matchup at New Orleans,
a team that struggles mightily against the run. For the time being Asiata should be the man in Minnesota
but look for the team to slowly implement their star-in-waiting runningback, Jerick McKinnon, who
experts believe can overtake the starting role in the next few weeks should Peterson not return. Asiata
should get the bulk of the running load this Sunday and also showed he could be an effective pass
catcher last week, reeling in five balls for 48 yards and a touchdown. While Asiata is still the starter
he can be a worthy start when the matchup is right, and this week the matchup is right. Asiata can be
started as a nice RB2 option this week.
Desean Jackson WR Philadelphia – Revenge games are always nice and you can bet Desean Jackson had
this week’s game against Philadelphia on his calendar for some time. Washington was already working
on improving the deep passing game after Week 1, and you can bet Jackson will be frothing at the bit to
burn the team that kicked him and his bad attitude to the curbside. Jackson makes his living on the long
ball and there is no reason to think a long score or two wouldn’t be in the realm of possibility for him.
Start Jackson as a high end WR2 and you will be glad you did.
Owen Daniels TE Baltimore – Owen Daniels has been cutting into the stats for teammate Dennis Pitta
and really outshined his counterpart last week with 5 catches for 28 yards and two TDs. Though the
receiving yards were not so impressive, he was clearly quarterback Joe Flacco’s favorite new end zone
target. This week should also see a split between Pitta and Daniels but since Flacco loves his tightends,
both can be a decent play. With a very real possibility that Daniels could be targeted in the end zone a
handful of times in Cleveland this week, you may want to think of him as a formidable TE2, especially in
PPR leagues.
This week we were treated to a Thursday night blowout that was especially kind to Julio Jones owners, and as is usual, a fantastic Sunday slate of games. Here's what we learned.
- It's going to be a looong time before we see RGIII again, which isn't a bad thing for the rest of the team. In two games, Kirk Cousins has 677 yards passing with 5 TD's to go against just 1 INT. Washington has put up 41 and 34 points with Cousins at the helm. It's clear that the rest of the fantasy players on that team are now in much better hands.
- Le'Veon Bell looks like he's settled in as one of the best RB's in the league. He's second in the league with 315 yards (behind Demarco Murray, who has 385 yds on an incredible 75 carries). Maybe most interesting is Bell's 81-yard run last night, which was the longest non-touchdown run in about 20 years in the NFL. It's also the longest run the Panthers have ever given up, as well as the longest run for the Steelers in 44 years.
- Three Quaterbacks caught passes yesterday. Russell Wilson caught a 17 yard pass from Jermain Kearse and Johnny Manziel had a long catch and run using some subterfuge which got called back. Most impressive was Andy Dalton's 18 yard TD reception from Mohamed Sanu , who is now 4 for 4 in his career for 166 yards and 2 TD's. Sanu has a perfect QB rating of 158.3 for his career.
- Devin Hester, you really are ridiculous. Hester saved a play by forcing and recovering a fumble from a defensive player who was returning an earlier fumble. He then took and end-around 20 yards for a TD and capped it off with a punt return for a TD, giving him 20 in his career, leaving him alone atop the NFL record books. That's quite a game that should remind Lovie Smith of his days in Chicago.
- Ted Ginn Jr. must love to see his name on the box score. He threw a 10 yard pass, had a 4 yard rush, a 3 yard reception and had 1 punt return for 8 yards. He's not getting much activity in any phase of the game, but he's certainly available for whatever the coaches ask of him.
- Stephen Tulloch has joined the ranks of Bill Grammatica and Kendry Morales by tearing his ACL while celebrating a sack of Aaron Rodgers . Tulloch was placed on IR on Monday and while I suppose as a Bears fan, it's wonderful to see a division rival be the victim of such a ridiculous circumstance. What did we learn here? Clearly nothing, players will always celebrate and get hurt, shit happens.
- Kelvin Benjamin is going to give Sammy Watkins a run for his money when it comes to the best rookie WR. Benjamin caught 11 passes on 11 targets and now has 19 for 253 yds and 2 TD's this season. He's turning into a must start every week, regardless of who is throwing him the ball in Carolina.
- It's good to be a 'kowski'. The only players that scored points in the Patriots - Raiders game had 'kowski' in their name. Sebastian Janikowski and Stephen Gostkowski had three field goals each, and Rob Gronkowski topped it off with a touchdown, with the extra point by Gostkowski of course.
- There's running back controversy in Baltimore, and it doesn't involve Ray Rice. Bernard Pierce is not fully healthy right now, and rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro had a great showing, gaining 91 yards on 18 carries and scoring a touchdown. Taliaferro was praised by his coach after the game and he could easily take over the starting role from Bernard Pierce in the next couple of weeks.
- Defense continues to be the most erratic position, but it's not without its favorites. Preseason favorites like New England, Houston and Cincinnati are all in the top 4 point scorers, but Seattle, the unquestioned #1 drafted D/ST is sitting at 26th right now, only scoring 14 points through three games. Some things never change, like people's ability to be wrong about fantasy football.
With so many options to choose from, sometimes fielding a fantasy lineup can be quite the headache. Obvious are the starts akin to Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, Matthew Stafford, LeSean McCoy and the game's other big names. However, it’s the tougher choices – namely the less obvious starts – that will end up winning your league.
Here are a few names you might want to consider. And let's not forget about all the teams on byes this week!
Blake Bortles QB Jacksonville – For those of you in two QB leagues, Bortles can be an enticing choice for Week 4. Though San Diego improved their pass defense in the off season, it still remains to be seen how much of an improvement was made. Bortles has some young talented receiving targets including Allen Hurns, Cecil Shorts and Allen Robinson and seemed to have no problem spreading the ball around. Bortles also threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Hurns, but that play was really all about yards after the catch. Still, it looked good on the stat sheet for Bortles. This week Bortles makes his first start on the road in San Diego and, though there is a good chance we could see a few mistakes, there is also a good chance that he can find success with his many young and quick targets. Don’t be afraid to start Bortles as your number two QB this week since he should perform at least on a pedestrian level while his speedy receivers can make big plays at any moment, possibly giving their QB a nice fantasy day.
Darren McFadden RB Oakland – McFadden is only averaging just over 3 yards per carry but he now faces a Miami defense that just gave up 174 rushing yards last week at home to Kansas City. Granted, Knile Davis is the more talented runner these days but McFadden still has shown he is capable of an occasional speed burst from time to time. Fellow Oakland runningback Maurice Jones Drew figures to play this weekend, but that shouldn’t scare an owner from giving McFadden a shot considering Jones-Drew looks to have nothing left in the tank. This should be more of a ground matchup and McFadden will get his chances. McFadden is a good bye week replacement and maybe then some as a lower tier RB2 with the potential to surprise.
Steven Jackson RB Atlanta – Looking for another bye week replacement RB for Week 4? After all, six teams are on byes this week and pickin’s could be slim. As most probably look at Steven Jackson as an afterthought these days, he has quietly put up…well, non-relevant fantasy numbers. But you might be hurting for a runningback and Jackson has a great shot at finding the endzone this week. Minnesota has allowed 258 yards over the past two games and are not the stout run defense we have been used to seeing in recent years. I fully expect Jackson to get his endzone shots and put off up and comer Davonte Freeman for a couple more games. Look for Jackson to find paydirt the first time this season and start him as a low-end bye week replacement RB2.
Anquan Boldin WR San Francisco – While Michael Crabtree tears up the Philadelphia defense, Boldin should also be a big factor. Boldin started out the season with a nice performance against a bad Dallas defense but hasn’t made much noise since. This is the week he should reemerge as San Francisco should not have much of a problem exploiting a porous Philadelphia pass defense. Boldin does have 16 catches in his first three games and should be in store for lots of looks this week with Crabtree stretching the defense like he can. Boldin is certainly a good PPR league play and can be looked at a high-end WR3 that would not surprise in putting up WR2 numbers.
Brandon Myers TE Tampa Bay – If you are looking for a tight end off the waiver wire because you are hit with bye week issues this week, you might want to take a chance on Brandon Myers who goes up against one of the worst defenses against the tight end position so far this year in Pittsburgh. Myers has shown he is a strong pass catcher over the past few years and will have QB Mike Glennon filling in for injured Josh McCown who could be looking quite often for his safety net. Myers has yet to surpass 41 yards in a game this season but he catches balls and always seems to have confidence from his quarterbacks thanks to his good hands and ability to get open in the middle. Start his as a TE2. He’ll get the catches.