Fantasy Football 2024: Crucial start/sit decisions for Week 3

Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books and we are on to Week 3. The start/sits for Week 2 were a mixed bag. I blame my interns. This week, I'm hoping that two weeks of data will get my hit rate up as we move forward.

It has been a strange season so far, as Derek Carr, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield are the best quarterbacks in the league at the moment. We did see Kyler Murray break out in a big way last week, but it's hard to make strong cases for the usual stud quarterbacks to put up big fantasy numbers right now. Rushing quarterbacks continue to get their floors raised by their rushing numbers while passing offense is down across the league. I expect passing games to get going, but we're not waiting on a boom, but instead I think we'll just get back to average.

If you’d like to take my advice, it won’t be hard to transfer these thoughts into lineup decisions. To give me a baseline, I’ll use FantasyPros PPR Expert Consensus Rankings rankings as my guide. 

Crucial start/sit decisions for Week 3

QBs I like more than consensus

Brock Purdy, 49ers vs. Rams

This seems like a bad time to recommend Purdy, as he has now lost both Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel for their Week 3 matchup. But, I'm still on board in a matchup with the Rams now very bad defense. We knew Aaron Donald's loss would be huge, but with injuries tacked on, things have snowballed.

Purdy has looked good but hasn't had much luck getting the ball into the end zone. The 49ers are moving the ball though and they still have George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Jordan Mason, which is plenty for Kyle Shanahan to get Purdy over the fantasy hump this week.

Joe Burrow, Bengals vs. Commanders

This Monday night matchup is set up well for Burrow and the offense to do some damage. The Commanders were the worst pass defense last season and through two games they remain the worst. Daniel Jones just had a get-right game against them for Lombardi's sake!

Besides the good matchup, there is a real chance Tee Higgins returns this week. Ja'Marr Chase should be getting back into the groove after his holdout and we just saw Mike Gesicki put up strong numbers. All things are pointing toward a breakout game for the Bengals offense.

QBs I like less than consensus

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars vs. Bills

Lawrence ranks 22nd in quarterback fantasy points this season, and has completed just 51 percent of his passes with just one touchdown pass. The Bills have committed more to the run this season, while their defense has had more time to rest and has played well. They limited Kyler Murray to 162 passing yards and one touchdown, who then went off the next week and Tua Tagovailoa, who they picked off three times before his concussion last week.

Dak Prescott, Cowboys vs. Ravens

Prescott hasn't been awful this year, but he also hasn't been that good either, as he's QB15 in fantasy this season. I expect him to turn things around, but the Ravens aren't the best team to get right against. Sure, they haven't been on fire defensively, but they still have the personnel to be the best pass defense in the league. They've given up more yardage than you'd expect, but they've limited Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew to one touchdown and one interception each. But in the end, I'm betting on the Ravens pass defense cutting down on the explosive plays and tightening up against a Cowboys team that must pass to win.

RBs I like more than consensus:

Tony Pollard, Titans at Packers

Pollard has seen great usage this season, averaging 20.5 touches per game, which includes 10 targets through two games. The Packers have given up the fifth-most PPR points per game to the position and if Malik Willis gets the start again, I don't expect the Packers to be able to get out to a big lead and limit the running game for Tennessee. Keep an eye on Tyjae Spears' health, but even if he plays, I still like Pollard this week.

Zack Moss, Bengals vs. Commanders

I'm all in on the Bengals this week, as I think they roll over the Commanders, which means strong outlooks for all their key players, including Moss. There was some worry that Moss would share too much work with Chase Brown, but he appears to be on track to be the bell cow back after getting 80% of the snaps last week. If the Bengals can get out to an early lead, expect Moss to get 20 touches and plenty of red zone looks.

WRs I like more than consensus

George Pickens, Steelers vs. Chargers

Pickens has been great this season, but has had some bad luck and is on a team that hasn't needed to score many points. Two bad penalties wiped out a touchdown and long gain for Pickens last week, while he also drew a long pass interference call on a ball he would have caught and lost another big gain on a penalty that was called correctly, but likely didn't affect the play. That's all to say that his numbers should be much better, which is pretty crazy considering Justin Fields is averaging just 21.5 pass attempts per game.

Fields' ability as a deep passer has been good in the past and so far has looked even better in Pittsburgh. Pickens has dominated targets and air yards with no other receivers worth their salt to compete with. A big game is coming and I believe their first home game of the year will be a good spot to give Fields a longer leash, which can only help Pickens.

Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers vs. Rams

Aiyuk is a smash start this week despite having just six receptions for 71 yards and no touchdowns through two games. Don't let his slow start shy you away from playing him over the majority of your lineup this week. Deebo Samuel is out along with Christian McCaffrey. Those are both players who gobble up a lot of targets that should now go to George Kittle and Aiyuk, the two best receivers on the team.

Aiyuk missed most of training camp due to a hold out, so a slow start isn't a huge surprise. Now, in Week 3, he should be up to speed and he gets a defense that has been pretty awful so far. The Rams have given up the seventh-most PPR points to wide receivers and a league-worst 9.8 yards per passing attempt allowed.

WRs I like less than consensus

Michael Pittman, Colts vs. Bears

Pittman continues to see good usage, as he leads the team with 15 targets, but he's only caught 7 passes for 52 yards on the season. Indianapolis could also get Josh Downs back this week, which would spread the ball out even more against a tough Bears secondary.

Andrei Iosivas, Bengals at Commanders

Iosivas has been the No. 2 receiver with Tee Higgins out, but it looks like Higgins will return for this Monday night matchup. As long as Higgins plays, I'm completely out on Iosivas, who hasn't been able to earn many targets despite playing a full-time roll this season. If Higgins were to miss, Iosivas is someone who I'd start in his place on Monday night, but I'd still hope for a better replacement this week.

TEs I like more than consensus

Kyle Pitts, Falcons vs. Chiefs

If you drafted Pitts this year hoping for Zac Robinson to turn him into a star, well, it's not happening. But, that doesn't mean he can't be a Top 10 fantasy tight end, as it doesn't take all that much when you look at the fantasy tight end landscape. There are plenty of red flags about Pitts' usage, but he's still the starting tight end for the Falcons and he's going into what has been a lucrative matchup for his fellow tight ends so far.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been dog-walked by Isaiah Likely and Mike Gesicki so far this year. They've allowed 25 receptions for 276 yards and one touchdown to the position, while the next worst is the Ravens at 16 receptions for 180 yards and no touchdowns. I'm going to give Pitts a chance here and if he can show up in good matchups, he still has a reasonable chance to be a useful fantasy tight end this season.

Jake Ferguson, Cowboys vs. Ravens

As I mentioned above, the Ravens have given up a lot of receptions and yards to tight ends this year. Ferguson was hurt in Week 1 but was close to returning last week and appears like he'll play this week. I expect the Ravens to emphasize cutting down explosive plays, which should open up things underneath for Ferguson. I'm not expecting huge numbers, but I believe he'll gather up enough receptions to help our teams out in PPR.

TEs I like less than consensus

Taysom Hill, Saints vs. Eagles

Hill remains a dice throw but has yet to hit in the first two games of the season. The hope was that his usage would go up this season after getting talked up in training camp, but so far it hasn't happened. Will it happen this week? Well, since I put him as someone I don't like, probably. But I would like to see him put together a good game before risking him in my starting lineup again.