Week 3 Start/Sit: Backing the Browns backfield

To help your Week 3 cause (full season or daily), here's a few players I expect to look better/worse this coming weekend. Best of luck!

STARTS

QB - Marcus Mariota, Ten vs Ind ($34 in DFS) - Through two weeks, Mariota stands as the No. 3 fantasy QB in the Yahoo game (default scoring). He leads all starters in QB Rating and has yet to throw an INT. This week, he'll face an Indy defense that has injury issues with its starting corners (Vontae Davis, Greg Toler). The Colts have allowed the 9th-highest QB Rating to opposing signal callers, so far, and that was against Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Mariota has a great shot at delivering back-end QB1 results this week, especially if he finally flashes some of that mobility that he has kept under wraps to this point (5 carries, 25 yards).

[Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football: Enter our $1 Million Week 3 contest]

 RB - Danny Woodhead, SDG at Min ($18) - Woodhead is averaging 14.5 touches per game, and I suspect he'll land a little north of that number this weekend in Minnesota. The Vikings employ one of the better pass defenses in the league, and San Diego could be playing with a man down in the passing game (TE Ladarius Green is questionable following a concussion). The Vikings are allowing 4.7 YPC to the RB position and, in addition to leaning on his skills as one of the better receiving backs in the league, I think the Chargers will look to go run heavy with the combo of rookie Melvin Gordon and Woodhead. I'd be surprised if Woodhead doesn't combine for at least 80 yards, and his usage in the red zone (5th among RBs in combined RZ rushes and targets) makes him a decent bet to find pay dirt, as well.

 RB - Isaiah Crowell, Cle vs. Oak ($19)

- I like both Cleveland backs (Duke Johnson is $11 in DFS) this week against an Oakland defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the RB position. In Week 1, Cincy, facing Oakland, placed both Jeremy Hill (No. 5) and Giovani Bernard (No. 25) among the top 25 fantasy running backs. I can see Crowell at least repeating last week's numbers (15/72/1) and, on an expected 12-15 touches, I think Johnson has a solid chance for 80-100 total yards.

 WR - Donte Moncrief, Ind at Ten ($19) - Despite the fact that he oozes athleticism and currently ranks as the No. 7 fantasy WR, fantasy owners have yet to go all in on Moncrief (still available in a quarter of Yahoo leagues). If you have been holding out, it's time to dive into the free agent pool and grab hold of the emerging second-year wideout. Andre Johnson is already looking like a failed expirement in career resuscitation, having secured just seven of the 17 targets that QB Andrew Luck has afforded him - Johnson rankis 117th in ProFootballFocus' grading of how receivers have faired in the passing game, thus far. The Colts are at a point where they can't afford to let talented, productive players take a backseat, and Moncrief is both of those things. He's already made a few big plays, and against a Tennessee secondary that allowed two touchdowns of 50-plus yards to Cleveland's Travis Benjamin last week, you have to like his chances of coming up big once again.

WR - Allen Hurns, Jac @ NE ($16) - Hurns has hit the 60-yard mark in both of his first two games, and I believe game flow (as in the Jaguars taking to the air often to try and keep pace with the Pats) could push Hurns to 80-100 yard heaights in Week 3. He's an excellent flex flyer this week.

 TE - Eric Ebron, Det vs. Den ($14) - Ebron has managed to find the end zone in both of his games, and last week he was targeted a healthy 10 times. According to ProFootballFocus, Matthew Stafford has been the second-most pressured QB (behind Colin Kaepernick) to this point, and he's unlikely to get any relief this week against a relentless Denver pass rush that also boasts two of the best cover corners in the league in Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. In this setup, I'm expecting Ebron, as a quick release option off the line in Stafford's crosshairs over the middle, to again see a heavy target load. KC tight ends combined for over 120 receiving yards against Denver last week, further reason to view Ebron in a glass half full manner.

[Week 3 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Flex | All Positions]

SITS

QB - Philip Rivers, SDG at Min ($36) - Last week, I placed Matthew Stafford in this spot, in large part because of a road matchup against a talented Minnesota secondary. Stafford finished as the No. 16 fantasy QB, so the "Sit" nomination worked out, but Stafford would have been much worse if not for garbage time (47 passing yards and a TD came on Detroit's final drive). This week, I'll stick with the formula, as it's Rivers' turn to travel to Minnesota, and he could be without TE Ladarius Green, a top 10 fantasy TE, so far, who has suffered two concussions this month. This is shaping up to be a game in which Rivers leans heavily on the backfield (Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead). Like Stafford, he might be able to deliver a couple scoring tosses along the way, but I don't expect the yardage to be anything special, and there's decent potential for him to keep his streak of at least two turnovers (now at five games) in tact.

RB - Carlos Hyde, SF at Ari ($30) - Hyde came crashing back to Earth in Week 2 after being the toast of fantasy with a huge Week 1 performance. Many owners may not have a deep enough RB arsenal to sit someone with Hyde's role and ability, but he's dealing with a bruised thigh, not to mention an opponent allowing just 3.3 YPC to RBs. Given Hyde's struggles in Pittsburgh last week, it's hard to imagine he's going to do better in Arizona.

RB - Doug Martin, TB at Hou  ($19) - Houston has been strong against the run, thus far, holding opposing RBs to just 3.8 YPC - it held Jamaal Charles and Jonathan Stewart to 57 yards and 62 yards, respectively. This week, J.J. Watt and company will face a Buccaneers offensive line that has graded out as the worst run blocking unit in the league, according to ProFootballFocus. Advantage Texans.Wither Doug Martin.

WR - Golden Tate, Det vs. Den ($24) - As you may have been able to deduce from the Ebron write up (above), I'm not a big fan of the Detroit receivers this week - up against Denver corners Harris and Talib, and especially considering how little time Stafford has been afforded. The Broncos have held Steve Smith and Jeremy Maclin to a combined 70 yards and no touchdowns this season. From a yardage standpoint, the Broncos willl likely do a number on both Tate and Calvin Johnson, though Johnson at least gives you decent shot at a touchdown. Tate has just one in his past 10 regular season games.

WR - Brandin Cooks, NO at Car ($21) -  Even if Drew Brees (shoulder) plays this week, Cooks will be an ill-advised start. He's been drawing the attention of the opposition's top coverman, and this week that's likely to be Panthers CB Josh Norman, the No. 2 rated corner in pass coverage (behind Talib) according to ProFootballFocus. The Saints passing game is a mess  right now sans Jimmy Graham (and Kenny Stills). Brees doesn't look like he's on the same page with any of his receivers, yet, and this could be aunit that doesn't start hitting its stride until the second half of the season. Until then, be prepared to bench Cooks in the tougher matchups, like this week.

TE - Martellus Bennett, Chi at Sea ($15) - Ok, I have to put at least one Bears player on the sit list so I can use the space to talk about the red light designation for all parts of the Chicago passing game in a Jimmy Clausen world. Seattle is a two touchdown favorite in this game, the kind of spread you rarely see in the NFL. I expect Chicago to try its best to run the ball and, when not running the ball, it's going to be almost all dink-n-dunk in the passing game. With Clausen likely to finish in the 150-175 yards passing range, Matt Forte is probably the only Bears player I'd be considering this week, because he could end up being Clausen's leading receiver, too.