Pressure makes diamonds. There is no pressure quite like trying to plug in the right fantasy football options from a roster full of similar options. I’m happy to help you make those final decisions when it comes to your WR start/sit calls.
Data from TruMedia, unless stated
Which Wide Receivers Should Fantasy Managers Start in Week 3?
Xavier Worthy Fantasy Outlook
Adam Schefter reported last Saturday that Hollywood Brown is expected to miss the entire regular season, a development that opens the door for fantasy managers to profit in a major way with their Worthy investment.
Now, it’s important to remember that not all “profits” look the same. Worthy has earned just seven targets on 48 routes this season. I don’t care. In fact, I’m encouraged.
The reps are all I want in the first half of the season, and with Brown out, Worthy is assured the ability to learn on the fly. The Falcons’ defense has been stout this season and looked good on Monday night, but if A.J. Terrell Jr. is on Rice duty, we could get single coverage situations on a fast track for the fastest player ever to lace ’em up.
In the worst-case scenario, your Worthy stock takes time to mature and gives you elite upside during your playoffs. That’s not a bad outcome at all, and I’m expecting a handful of spike weeks between now and then. He’s flirting with my top 25 this week, grading ahead of more established assets like Jaylen Waddle and Amari Cooper.
I’ll take it one step further: Worthy is my WR2 in this game.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (at BUF)
Thomas’ first two targets of his career totaled six air yards – his next six have come 125 yards downfield. He’s not a one-trick pony, but it is pretty clear that the Jags have identified where their star rookie holds the most value.
.@Trevorlawrencee with a beautiful long ball to @BrianThomas_11!#CLEvsJAX on CBS pic.twitter.com/ZSlA0WzeNy
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars)
I love their commitment to giving him chances, I just don’t love it this week. The Bills have allowed opponents to complete just two of 17 deep passes this season after being the second-most vulnerable downfield defense last season in terms of completion percentage (53.8%; NFL average: 43.4%). Like the rest of the NFL, Buffalo is encouraging you to beat them via paper cuts, and that isn’t the path for Thomas to crack your weekly lineup.
I’ll have Thomas over Kirk most weeks, but that’s not the case here. The kid is still an upside Flex play, but one that carries a wide range of outcomes that has me ranking him behind the emerging Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Which Wide Receivers Should Fantasy Managers Sit in Week 3?
Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans (vs. GB)
With DeAndre Hopkins opening this season limited, Ridley has assumed the clear WR1 role, and it paid off in a big way against the Jets (87 yards and a pair of touchdowns). He rolled into the end zone after making an acrobatic catch on a bomb and found paydirt with a 10-yard run, two individual plays that speak to the upside that comes with Ridley’s athletic profile.
Ridley leads all players in air yards this season, a role that is going to come with crazy swings in production. He’s very much a matchup play, and while the Packers can be had vertically (though you wouldn’t know it if you bet on Anthony Richardson last weekend), this projects as a low-possession game, thus putting more value on every single play.
Efficiency isn’t exactly a strength of Levis’, and that has me out on all Titans pass catchers in this spot. Ridley is sitting as my WR38, in the exact same spot as Reed and in a no-fly zone if you have any depth at the position.
Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers (at LV)
The veteran has seen exactly six targets in both games this season, a number that is on the low end of acceptable for a receiver on an average offense and not enough for a member of what could prove to be one of the worst units in recent memory.
Johnson has shown the ability to get open at the NFL level, but his talents have proven no match for the overall ineptitude of this offense – those 12 targets have picked up just 34 yards. I think it’s more likely than not that the efficiency improves with time, regardless of who is under center, but I have a hard time seeing the scoring equity ever rising to the point where Johnson is a weekly option.
