We are still in the early stages of the fantasy football regular season. Lineup decisions are only getting more difficult. Let’s take a look at our WR start/sit Week 3 plays. These are only a small sample of start/sit decisions for the week. For all your lineup questions, check out our PFN Consensus Rankings.
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Which WRs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Who are a couple of WRs ranked outside the top 24 that fantasy managers should consider getting in their lineups this week?
Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (at MIA)
It was a rough season debut for Jerry Jeudy last week. He caught just three of five targets for 25 yards. While that looks bad (because it is), it was Jeudy’s first game back after a rough hamstring strain.
Jeudy may not have been out there for nearly as many snaps as Courtland Sutton, but he ran just two fewer routes. This game was a bit flukey with Russell Wilson hitting Marvin Mims and Brandon Johnson on long touchdowns. That’s not going to happen very often.
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The Dolphins might have the best offense in football. As a result, the Broncos will likely be trailing, and thus, throwing. Even Sutton wasn’t involved until the fourth quarter.
Better days are ahead for Jeudy. If you have a deep roster, you could take a wait-and-see approach. However, I’m more inclined to throw Jeudy back into lineups, and if he fails again, we reassess.
Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions (vs. ATL)
It seems the theme of my start/sit columns this week is to start your Lions. Can you blame me? It’s a great matchup. They’re at home where Jared Goff shines. And Josh Reynolds has a lot going for him.
For starters, Reynolds has flat-out been good to start the season. He posted a 4-80 line in Week 1 and 5-66-1 in Week 2. The Falcons are a favorable matchup in what could be a high-scoring game. Plus, Amon-Ra St. Brown is banged up. If he ends up missing this week’s contest, Reynolds slides into the WR1 role.
Last week, Reynolds led the Lions in routes run. He has Goff’s trust. He’s a big part of the passing attack. We could be talking about Reynolds as an every-week WR3 as soon as next week. Start him.
Which WRs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Who are a couple of WRs ranked inside the top 36 that fantasy managers might want to move away from this week?
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (at BUF)
This was supposed to be Jahan Dotson’s year. The sophomore breakout was coming. So far, not so good.
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Through two weeks, Dotson has seen just 12 targets. He caught five balls for 40 yards in Week 1, and a mere three for 22 in Week 2. It’s the latter that has me most concerned.
In a game where the Commanders scored 35 points and Sam Howell threw for 299 yards, Dotson was outproduced by not only Terry McLaurin, but Dyami Brown, John Bates, Antonio Gibson, and Brian Robinson through the air. He had just one more yard than Cole Turner.
It’s fair to give Dotson another chance. He did lead the Commanders in snaps and routes run. However, targets are a skill, and Dotson is not earning targets with all his playing time. Against a tough Bills defense, Dotson is better left on benches in Week 3.
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings (at LAC)
Don’t get me wrong here. I love Jordan Addison. His time is coming. But for the first two weeks, fantasy managers who started him have kind of lucked out with two long touchdowns.
Addison played 56% of the snaps in Week 1 and 69% of the snaps in Week 2. He is still inexplicably running behind KJ Osborn in two-receiver sets. That will eventually change, but coaches have this hard-headed approach for veterans as if they didn’t just spend a first-round pick on a rookie WR because he’s better than the guy they had in that role last year. I digress.
The point is Addison’s hot start to the season is a bit of smoke and mirrors. He’s only seen 11 targets over the first two games. Even in a favorable matchup, Addison is a risky start until we see the volume increase. It could happen as soon as this week. But until it does, if you’ve been starting him, take what you’ve gotten, enjoy it, but put him on the bench until we see the usage change.