Michael Fabiano's Who to Start and Who to Sit
Should Justin Fields be starting this week for fantasy owners after his first two efforts, and who are the best options from SI.com's Michael Fabiano?
Transcript
00:00 Week 3 of the fantasy football season is here and we've got Michael Fabiano, SI's Senior
00:04 Fantasy Analyst here to help you set those winning lineups.
00:07 Okay, Fabs, let's dive right in.
00:10 You say we can start Jared Goff and Jack Prescott this week.
00:16 Jared Goff at home is gold, Jerry.
00:19 It's gold.
00:20 Every single time he plays at Fort Field, multiple touchdown passes and I'll book one
00:24 of his last 10 games there.
00:26 He's got Atlanta this week.
00:27 That should be a high-scoring game.
00:29 I'm starting Jared Goff, he's in my top 10.
00:31 And I was wrong about Jack Prescott.
00:34 Last week I did not like the matchup against the Jets.
00:36 He ended up having a pretty good game.
00:38 Now he's got the Cardinals.
00:39 I think the only way that Jack doesn't have a big game, if the Cowboys get up to an early
00:43 lead and they have to run the ball in the second half rather than throw it.
00:47 But overall, Jack Prescott is in a good spot.
00:50 He is a low QB1.
00:52 As far as who you're sitting, you're sitting a quarterback that a lot of us drafted pretty
00:56 early in our fantasy football leagues.
00:59 And that Justin Fields.
01:00 Listen, he's been bad the first couple of weeks.
01:02 The accuracy's not there.
01:03 He's averaging fewer than 15 points a game.
01:05 He's not running the ball effectively.
01:08 It's just a mess.
01:09 Now I'm not sitting him for a lackadaisical quarterback.
01:12 If you have Jack Prescott or Jared Goff, then I would sit Fields.
01:15 Otherwise, you probably gotta play him.
01:17 The matchup's not great either.
01:18 Kansas City's been tough on quarterbacks for the first couple of weeks.
01:21 Just ask anyone who played Trevor Lawrence last week.
01:23 And then Matthew Stafford, and I get it, he is not maybe the best quarterback in terms
01:28 of what he used to be, right?
01:30 And he still doesn't have Cooper Cup.
01:32 But Pukanuku and Tutu Atwell are putting up numbers.
01:35 Stafford really isn't.
01:36 And the Bengals better get their act together or they're gonna be in a lot of trouble and
01:39 potentially could go 0-3.
01:41 So unless you're in a multi-quarterback league, I'm gonna sit Matthew Stafford.
01:45 Alright, let's move over to the running back position, which has recently been decimated.
01:50 These have been a really tough couple of weeks to start the season.
01:53 But who are we safe giving a start this weekend?
01:55 I think you may even have a guy that maybe in some deep leagues you may be able to grab
02:00 from the waiver wire.
02:03 Running back's been a mess, to be quite honest with you.
02:05 With all the injuries, I can't remember the running back position being in dire straits
02:10 like it is right now.
02:11 So it's volume over matchup.
02:13 And Kyron Williams is getting the volume now that Cam Akers is once again in the doghouse.
02:17 And even though the matchup may not be great on paper, it doesn't matter.
02:21 Williams has been very good.
02:23 He is second in fantasy points among running backs behind Christian McCaffrey.
02:26 That's bananas.
02:27 That's crazy town.
02:28 And he had a good game against the Niners last week.
02:31 So Williams should be in your lineup.
02:32 And so should Isaiah Pacheco.
02:34 And he's not been great this year.
02:36 The numbers have not looked good for Pacheco, but the Bears defense is bad against the run.
02:41 They've allowed the fifth most points to running backs since last season, including the second
02:45 most points to the position in the first two weeks.
02:48 So Isaiah Pacheco is a nice flex starter this week.
02:52 It seems like it's going to be hard to sit really any running back this week.
02:55 But if you are rich at the position, you say beware of James Conner.
03:02 It's probably more for DFS than anything else, because you're right.
03:05 If you have James Conner, he's getting volume.
03:06 You got to play him.
03:07 He's playing the Cowboys.
03:10 Did you see Brie Sall's numbers last week?
03:11 Nine tenths of a fantasy point.
03:13 That's not good.
03:14 Saquon Barkley did not have a big game against the Cowboys in week one.
03:18 Their defense is phenomenal.
03:19 I have Conner in a league.
03:20 I've got to play him.
03:22 And it's going to be begrudgingly.
03:23 The matchup is not great.
03:24 And look at Damian Pearce.
03:25 You want to talk about a running back who has really not met expectations?
03:29 He's been brutal.
03:30 Now, the Texans are playing from behind.
03:32 Negative game script, which means they're not running the ball as much.
03:35 But even still, Damian Pearce is averaging fewer than three yards a carry right now.
03:38 It's been brutal.
03:39 And he's not breaking tackles.
03:40 And that's a big part of his game.
03:42 So if you've got depth, maybe you can sit Damian Pearce.
03:46 But Jen, like you said, a lot of people are just going to have to start some of these
03:49 running backs.
03:50 Grin and bear it.
03:51 All right.
03:52 Let's jump over to the wide receiver position.
03:54 Who are you firing up in your lineups this weekend?
03:57 I like Michael Pittman.
03:59 And it doesn't really matter who the quarterback is.
04:00 Anthony Richardson was banged up last week with the concussion.
04:03 Gardner Mitchell could be the starter.
04:05 For me, it doesn't matter.
04:06 Look at the matchup against the Ravens.
04:08 This is a very, very vulnerable pass defense.
04:12 Let's put it that way.
04:13 They've allowed 11 plus fantasy points to four wide receivers in the first two weeks,
04:17 including almost 30 points to Tee Higgins last week.
04:19 So I'm starting Michael Pittman as a wide receiver to flex.
04:23 And I'm also going to start Zay Flowers.
04:24 Last week, Kane came back down to earth, only had 10 points.
04:28 But OBJ is dealing with an injury.
04:29 He's got an ankle.
04:30 He's a little bit banged up.
04:31 I like the matchup against the Colts.
04:33 They've allowed 13 or more fantasy points to five different wide receivers in two games.
04:38 So start Zay Flowers.
04:39 And who are you sitting at the wide receiver position?
04:44 I don't like Christian Kirk this week.
04:46 And listen, I get it.
04:47 He had a huge game last week.
04:48 But this is going to be the Jaguars' wide receivers.
04:50 One week they'll be good.
04:51 The next week, not so much.
04:53 And I get it.
04:54 The Texans defense, you may look at it and think, is this a great matchup.
04:58 It's actually not.
04:59 They've been very tough on slot receivers.
05:01 And last year, Christian Kirk scored 6.2 combined points in two games against Houston.
05:07 So beware Christian Kirk.
05:08 And then beware Cortland Sutton.
05:10 His numbers haven't been terrible over the first couple of weeks.
05:13 Second half of last week, he had a lot of targets.
05:16 But I don't love the matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
05:19 They haven't allowed more than 14.2 fantasy points to a wide receiver this season.
05:23 Now Denver could be playing from behind.
05:25 That could be good for Cortland Sutton.
05:27 But ultimately, the matchup's not great.
05:29 He's a risk-reward flex at best.
05:31 Alright, jumping over to the tight end position.
05:34 You got a couple guys on your list that you have been able to get on the waiver wire.
05:38 They've been in our lists.
05:39 Jake Ferguson made the list this week.
05:41 And I imagine this has a lot to do with the matchup.
05:43 Yeah, the Arizona Cardinals have been bad against tight ends for the most part over
05:48 the last four or five years.
05:50 And that is the trend right now.
05:52 They have given up the most fantasy points at tight ends since the start of last season.
05:56 Jake Ferguson scored a touchdown last week, had seven targets in week one.
06:00 The Cowboys are utilizing him.
06:02 Get him into your lineup.
06:03 And then Sam Laporta.
06:04 Hey, rookie tight ends typically don't make an impact.
06:06 So that's not the case with Laporta.
06:08 He has been very good.
06:09 He's running a lot of routes.
06:10 He's playing the majority of the snaps.
06:12 This is a good matchup against Atlanta as well.
06:14 They've allowed the fourth most fantasy points at tight ends since the start of last season.
06:18 So the rookie is in our good graces.
06:20 Start him this week.
06:22 And who are we sitting at the tight end position?
06:25 I so desperately want to get Chiggy with it, Jen, but I just can't.
06:29 I mean, Chigga Kanko has not lived up to expectations.
06:32 It's only two weeks.
06:33 And I'm sure at some point he's going to pop.
06:35 But I don't like the matchup.
06:36 The Browns defense is really good.
06:38 Pat Friarmuth did next to nothing against them on Monday night.
06:42 So LaKankwa is going to be on your bench and maybe soon on the waiver wire.
06:45 And I'm also going to sit Luke Musgrave.
06:47 And Luke Musgrave is playing a big role in the Packers offense.
06:50 Totally get it.
06:51 The snaps are there.
06:52 The opportunities have been somewhat there, but I don't love the matchup against the Saints.
06:57 If you watch the game on Monday night against Carolina, their defense is for real, folks.
07:03 Very difficult defense to score against.
07:04 In fact, they have given up the fewest fantasy points at tight ends since last year.
07:10 So Luke Musgrave should be on your bench.
07:13 Fantastic advice, as always.
07:16 And you can find all of Michael Fabiano's rankings, his starts, his sits, and so much
07:20 more at SI.com/fantasy.