The 2022 NFL season has been tough to forecast. Hopefully, things will stabilize a bit. Regardless, our fantasy football start ’em sit ’em Week 4 will help you navigate troubled waters.
Injuries also had a big impact, which makes the waiver wire doubly important.
Here are our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 3 picks.
Quarterback Start ‘Em
Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) – Heading into a Week 4 matchup with the Seahawks, Goff currently sits as the fantasy QB11. He has been a fringe QB1 and the likely absence of D’Andre Swift should force the team to lean more heavily on his arm. However, Amon-Ra St. Brown is a bit banged up. If he was to miss the game we may have to re-evaluate this. Nonetheless, if St. Brown is in, Goff is a solid start this week as a borderline QB1.
Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints) – Minnesota’s defense has been brutal and has allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL. While Jameis is still a maddening real-life QB, he can be a valuable fantasy asset. He’s coming off a 350-plus yard game against a Panthers team that has allowed the 13th -fewest yards in the league. Winston should be able to exploit a strong matchup this week.
Quarterback Sit ‘Em
Matthew Stafford (Las Angeles Rams) – This is all about the matchup. Stafford isn’t elite enough to be a sure-fire start against the 49ers this week. They are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to QBs, the fewest passing yards, and the third-fewest points in the league. Stafford has been the QB23 this season. We saw against the Bills that
he’s not a must-start in any matchup. Bench him this week.
Derek Carr (Las Vegas Raiders) – The case against Carr is essentially the same as the case against Stafford. The Broncos are a horrendous matchup. They are allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to QBs, the third-fewest passing yards, and the second-fewest points in the league. Carr is a good quarterback, but not good enough to play in this
situation if you have even a mediocre second option.
Running Back Start ‘Em
Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys) – The Commanders are getting gashed on defense from every which angle. The Cowboys should be able to have their way with them both through the air and on the ground, where they are allowing the 12th-most rushing yards in the league. However, if that is the case, Dallas should have a comfortable lead in this one and will lean on Zeke between the tackles. After a rough start to the season, Elliott is coming off a nice 73-yard and one TD game. The bounce back should continue this week.
Rhamondre Stevenson (New England Patriots) – You can take your pick between Stevenson and Damien Harris here. Both are solid starts, it just comes down to preference. Mac Jones is going to miss this week with an ankle injury and the Pats’ offense will lean heavily on the rushing attack with Brian Hoyer under center. The matchup with the Packers is middle of the road, but the circumstance favors the running backs.
Running Backs Sit ‘Em
Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) – Wilson has been good but hasn’t wowed as the Niners starter with Elijah Mitchell sidelined. He’s coming off a 12-carry, 75-yard game with three targets and he’s yet to score a TD this season. Deebo Samuel eats into his production and the team would like to get rookie Jordan Mason more involved. This week he draws the Rams who are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Wilson is a questionable flex option at best this week.
J.K. Dobbins (Baltimore Ravens) – Under no circumstance should you be starting Dobbins against the Bills this week. He returned last week to carry the ball 7 times for 23 yards and this week will probably be worse. The Bills’ defense is dominant and allowing the second-fewest rushing yards. To make matter worse, the whole secondary is banged up so the Ravens will be inclined to attack through the air.
Wide Receivers Start ‘Em
Greg Dortch (Arizona Cardinals) – Assuming Rondale Moore is still sidelined this week, Dortch has become impossible to ignore any longer. Through three games he’s caught 20 of 23 targets for 198 yards and a TD. He is a key piece to this passing game and will continue to be so. The Cardinals also lost A.J. Green this week for some time. Dortch will be a solid PPR option. His worst fantasy game this year has been seven receptions for 63 yards. You can do much worse than him in your flex.
D.J. Moore (Carolina Panthers) – This will be the game Moore owners have been waiting for as he matches up against a putrid Cardinals secondary. The Cardinals have allowed the third most passing yards this season and may have the worst cornerback room in the NFL. If Moore can’t get it done this week there is a serious issue. We’re betting
on the talent in the matchup.
Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) – Olave is coming off a monster nine-catch, 147-yard game. With the Saints wideouts banged up, the rookie saw 13 targets. Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Taysom Hill are all still banged up, and Winston prefers to air it out over dump-offs to Alvin Kamara. If even one of those top two receivers is out or limited, Olave should be in for another huge target share.
Wide Receivers Sit ‘Em
Darnell Mooney (Chicago Bears) – At this point, we have to be benching every part of the Bears’ passing attack. The fact that the Giants are allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to wideouts is barely relevant. On the season, Mooney has four catches for 27 yards. Justin Fields has only completed 23 passes through three games on just 45
attempts. The Bears are barely throwing the ball and when they are, Fields is inaccurate. You should be closer to cutting Mooney than starting him.
Rashod Bateman (Baltimore Ravens) – This is another casualty of the Bills’ defense. Even with a less than 100% secondary, you should probably be benching Bateman if you have a decent backup option. He also is yet to establish himself as the clear alpha we expected him to be in this offense. In the two games Devin Duvernay wasn’t concussed, he saw six targets, six receptions, and scored three TDs. In those same games, Bateman saw nine targets,
four catches, and one TD. You should only be starting clear-cut WR1 options against the Bills if possible.
Elijah Moore (New York Jets) – Moore and Flacco just haven’t connected this season. He is yet to hit 50 yards in a game and Garrett Wilson is getting targeted as the WR1 despite seeing fewer snaps. At this point, you should be benching Moore until we see what the offense looks like with Zach Wilson returning. That’s not to say Wilson is a
world beater or even as good as Joe Flacco. However, the targets may be distributed differently. Bench Moore this week and wait and see how things go with Wilson under center. Hopefully, he can turn around and be back in your lineups soon.
Tight End Start ‘Em
Tyler Conklin (New York Jets) – Though three games Conklin has seen 24 targets and is coming off an eight-catch, 84-yard game. He gets the Steelers this week who were eaten up by David Njoku last week in their first game without T.J. Watt. Njoku, who had been struggling this year, went off for nine catches, 89 yards, and a TD. Look for
the Jets to attack the same deficiency in the defense.
T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions) – This is the perfect storm for Hockenson to have a monster game. Swift will be sitting this one out and St. Brown could miss the game as well. Combine an increased usage rate with a matchup against the Seahawks, who are allowing the eight-most fantasy points to tight ends and he should be in line for a
great game. He should be viewed as a TE1 option this week.
Tight End Sit ‘Em
Dawson Knox (Buffalo Bills) – You could see Knox’s regression coming all off-season from a mile away. That’s why we had him as one of our bust candidates. It seems many fantasy managers still haven’t adjusted to the fact that
he’s just not a starting caliber fantasy tight end this season. He’s a TD-or-bust guy who has no touchdowns this year. Leave him on your bench or cast him to waivers. It’s time to stop chasing last year’s glory.
Irv Smith Jr. (Minnesota Vikings) – Smith goes up against the Saints this week who have allowed a grand total of 63 yards and no TDs to the TE position this year. Only the 49ers have been tougher against fantasy TEs. You should be able to find a better option this week. Smith should be considered a fringe TE2 Week 4.
