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Week 3 Starts/Sits: Catch lightning with Chargers' Williams

Brandon Funston
Chargers wideout Tyrell Williams is sitting pretty for Week 3 (Getty)
Chargers wideout Tyrell Williams is sitting pretty for Week 3 (Getty)

As we head into Week 3 of the 2016 NFL season, here are 12 players to give extra consideration to when filling out your lineups – six that are looking better than usual, and a half dozen that are looking worse:

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STARTS

QB – Ryan Tannehill, Mia ($31) – Last week’s No. 3 fantasy QB (389 passing yards, 2 TD tosses) faces a Cleveland defense that has allowed both Philly rookie Carson Wentz and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco to finish as top 15 fantasy QBs in the week they faced off. Tannehill has easy QB1 upside, and comes at a bargain in Yahoo DFS.

RB – Tevin Coleman, Atl ($20) – Coleman’s platoon partner, Devonta Freeman, is also sitting at $20 this week, and I have both Atlanta RBs among my top 20 RB plays of Week 3 as they should see something in the neighborhood of 12-plus touches against a New Orleans defense that is allowing the third-most fantasy PPG to RBs.

RB – Isaiah Crowell, Cle ($18) – Crowell certainly could be stymied by a stacked defensive front this week as the Browns are forced to start third-string QB Cody Kessler and have lost top wideout Corey Coleman to a hand injury. But he shouldn’t lack for opportunity against a Dolphins defense that allowed 123 rushing yards and a TD to LeGarrette Blount last week. Browns head coach Hue Jackson has a well-established successful track record when it comes to directing running games, and so far he’s given Crowell’s fantasy stock a boost (Crowell was the No. 6 RB in fantasy points through Week 2). Even with some extra defensive attention, I like Crowell’s chances of delivering in the neighborhood of 75 yards and a TD in his third straight game.

WR – Tyrell Williams, Hou ($13) – Filling in as the starter last week in place of the injured Keenan Allen, Williams produced a TD to go with 61 yards, his second straight game with 60-plus yards. This week, he’ll get a shot at a banged up Colts defense that has allowed a 106.6 QB Rating, thus far. The 6-foot-4 Williams has a great shot at finding the end zone for a second consecutive game, especially as TE Antonio Gates (hamstring) is trending towards a DNP on Sunday – could lead to a couple more red zone looks for Williams.

WR – Phillip Dorsett, Ind ($15) – With Donte Moncrief (shoulder) out, Dorsett will be awarded a larger role this week for one of the most pass-friendly offenses in the league. And he’ll be facing one of the most pass-friendly defenses in the San Diego Chargers, a unit that has allowed 324.5 passing yards per game and 10 passes of 20-plus yards (3rd-most in the NFL). The speedster Dorsett, who is averaging nearly 25 yards per catch, could very well find himself on the receiving end of multiple big plays on Sunday.

TE – Jacob Tamme, Atl ($12) – Tamme’s 63 yards per game ranks sixth amongst tight ends through two weeks, and his 16 targets sits fourth overall at the position. Tamme also finished last season (Week 17) with a solid 61 yards against a Saints defense he’ll meet again on Sunday. New Orleans has allowed 336 passing yards per game and a healthy 101.6 QB Rating, so Tamme’s standing as prominent figure in the Falcons’ passing game should again pay fantasy dividends this week, especially given his cut-rate DFS price.

[Week 3 rankings: Overall | FLEX | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | K]

SITS

QB – Kirk Cousins, Was ($34) – I’m not sure that there’s a consensus preseason top 20 ranked QB that has been more painful to watch this season than Cousins, whose 78.5 QB Rating ranks among the bottom feeders of the position. This week Cousins travels to face a much-improved Giants defense that has allowed a lowly 79.3 QB Rating and just one TD pass to opposing QBs (Dak Prescott, Drew Brees).

RB – Latavius Murray, Oak ($23) – Although Murray has found the end zone in each of his two contests, thus far, his workload is being nickel-and-dimed by a group of backups (Washington, Richard, Olawale …) that have accounted for 56 percent (to Murray’s 44%) of the backfield fantasy production in Oakland. And head coach Jack Del Rio is on record as saying that there is no current plans to change the parade-of-backs approach. Facing a Tennessee defense that is allowing the fewest fantasy PPG to RBs, Murray is more of a flex consideration than a RB2 this week.

RB – Jeremy Langford, Chi ($21) – Anyone left on the Langford bandwagon should be looking to jump off at the next stop – which would be at Dallas this Sunday. Langford has managed just 3.0 YPC this year, and has drawn criticism from head coach John Fox for leaving yards on the table. And this was before Langford fumbled last week during an abysmal 11-carry, 28-yard effort last Monday against Philly. Rookie backup Jordan Howard came on late in that contest and flashed with 22 yards on three carries – it wouldn’t be surprising if Howard sees a bigger share of the touches this week against the Cowboys.

WR – Emmanuel Sanders, Den ($22) – Sanders still demands a stiff price in DFS despite an average of 44 yards and zero scores through two games. Saddled with an inexperienced QB of limited talent and facing a Cincy secondary that has allowed the 11th-fewest fantasy PPG to receivers (despite facing the talented wideouts of the NY Jets and Pittsburgh), Sanders belongs in the bench-and-see bucket this week.

WR – Randall Cobb, Min ($19) -Speaking of bench-and-see, Cobb deserves the same treatment as Sanders. In Cobb’s past 12 NFL games (counting ’15 playoffs), he’s delivered just two touchdowns and an average of just 40.8 receiving yards, which is right at his production clip (41 YPG, 0 TD) against the Lions, who he faces on Sunday, in his two meetings last season.

TE – Travis Kelce, KC ($22) – Most Kelce owners don’t have the luxury of TE depth it would take to justify benching him this week, but he’s priced as the fourth-highest DFS play at the position, and it’s hard to feel good about a solid return on that investment against a Jets defense that has allowed just two TE touchdowns in its past 18 regular-season games. This is not the week to be banking on Kelce’s first score of the season.