So much for all those predictions about Kelvin Benjamin not being the player he was during his rookie season.
Experts were all over Benjamin in the offseason, putting him further down draft boards because of lackluster preseason workouts. Focusing on the preseason is a mistake, but year after year, fantasy football experts base decisions on preseason performances. If you just turned off all the noise, you would have realized Benjamin was going to be a monster this season, based on Cam Newton’s development last year and Benjamin’s ability to score touchdowns.
So far, he has three touchdowns and leads all receivers in fantasy points this season. His production level won’t stop anytime soon either, especially with his ability to garner looks in the red zone.
He’s a must start each week. Here’s the rest of the week 3 start/sit wide receiver advice.
Start
Stefon Diggs vs. Carolina Panthers
Carolina’s defense has had it pretty easy in the first two weeks. Quarterbacks Trevor Siemian and Blaine Gabbert aren’t necessarily considered world beaters, but that’s who the Panthers have squared off against in the first two weeks of the season.
Now I’m not saying Sam Bradford is the next Tom Brady, but he’s definitely a step up from the previously mentioned quarterbacks.
The Panthers statistically are still among the best pass defenses in the NFL. But they’ve had some lapses in the first two weeks, looking average at times against below-average offenses.
That should open up opportunities for Diggs, who much like Benjamin, was far undervalued in the offseason. Diggs is the primary weapon for the Vikings and proved once again Sunday night that he can be a No. 1 option with big-play potential.
So far this season, he’s been a clear-cut WR1, yet he was ranked as a WR4/5 before the season started. That was too low and Diggs is showing whhy he is an easy start each week. Bradford will continue to focus on Diggs, and he should have success against Carolina’s secondary in week 3.
Mike Wallace vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Sometimes I’m wrong about players. Wallace might as well have been invisible last season with Minnesota. He didn’t appear to be stretching the field anymore and he wasn’t a viable option in fantasy football.
However, maybe it was more of a scheme problem for Wallace. He’s been inundated with dink-and-dunk quarterbacks recently in Minnesota and Miami, meaning his game of running past defenders couldn’t be utilized. Now as a member of Baltimore and with strong-armed quarterback Joe Flacco hurling balls toward him, Wallace’s career has seen a resurgence.
He has three touchdowns already this season and is the main focal point of Flacco in the Ravens pass-heavy offense. And this week, it only gets better against a Jacksonville team that was torched in week 2 against San Diego. The Jaguars have allowed three 40-plus receptions this season, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.
That’s right in Wallace’s wheelhouse. Flacco will throw the long ball in Jacksonville, making Wallace a nice start as your WR2/3 for your fantasy football team.
DeVante Parker vs. Cleveland Browns
The second-year player is starting to see more targets, meaning Parker’s fantasy value should be rising.
Everyone anticipated Parker would make a move toward being a fantasy starter by the end of last season, but that didn’t materialize, dropping his value entering this season. However, last week in a game that Miami played catch-up, Ryan Tannehill targeted Parker 13 times. Game flow necessitated the Dolphins to throw more, but it was encouraging that Parker was the clear No. 2 option for the Dolphins.
This week, I’m anticipating more targets to come Parker’s way, with a bad Browns secondary as the opposition. Cleveland has allowed 286 yards per game so far this season against the pass. With question marks surrounding Miami’s running game, expect Tannehill to air it out more against the Browns. That should open up nicely for Parker to garner a decent amount of fantasy points.
Sit
Allen Hurns vs. Baltimore Ravens
Hurns hasn’t been bad this season. In fact, he’s turned in 139 yards receiving in the first two weeks. The problem, though, is that in one of those contests, the Jaguars were in ultimate catch-up mode, and throwing the ball all over the place, and he still only managed 64 yards receiving.
Blake Bortles loves spreading around the ball, making it difficult for Hurns to have tremendous value if he doesn’t reach the endzone. He hasn’t hit pay dirt yet, and that likely won’t happen this week against Baltimore’s defense.
The Ravens are better this year (I won’t gloat, but I did get that one right) and that defense is nasty against the pass. Baltimore is allowing only 168.5 yards passing per game this season. Mix in Baltimore’s pass defense with an expected renewed effort to establish the run by Jacksonville, and I don’t see Hurns having much of an impact on Sunday.
DeSean Jackson vs. New York Giants
It’s boom or bust with Jackson, and he should have been a boom in week 2. However, Kirk Cousins badly missed him on a deep ball, relegating Jackson to only 40 yards receiving in week 2.
Unfortunately for Jackson, those kinds of games may continue this year. Cousins hasn’t been the player he was last season and Jackson has always been a tough fantasy play. He doesn’t generate many targets, but he has the ability to break off the big play. If he can’t haul in those long touchdowns, though, he’s not worth the roster spot.
And against New York’s improved defense, he’s not worth a start this week.
The Giants have harassed opposing passing offenses, limiting teams to 237 yards passing per game so far this season. That’s not extraordinary, but it’s worth mentioning one of those games was against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
The Giants are much better on the defensive side of the ball this year and they will continue to show that in week 3. This is a bad matchup for Jackson.
Emmanuel Sanders vs. Cincinnati Bengals
In past years, there were enough balls to go around in Denver. With Siemian at the helm, that’s not the case anymore. Demaryius Thomas is the No. 1 option, making it difficult for Sanders to be a viable start in fantasy football.
In the first two weeks, he has just a handful of catches for 88 yards. And one of those games was against a hapless Indianapolis secondary.
This week’s challenge will be much more daunting.
I’ll be interested to see how Siemian handles his first road test against a quality defense. Cincinnati is consistently among the best defenses in the NFL and it has once again been hard to throw on despite facing two of the best passing teams in the NFL in the first two weeks.
Sanders should sit this week until we see some more development from his quarterback.
