There were so many injuries to top players last week. Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey, Giants RB Saquon Barkley, Broncos WR Courtland Sutton & QB Drew Lock and Niners DE Nick Bosa will all miss considerable time. A few of those will miss the entire season due to injuries. The waiver wire will be busy this week.

Colts rookie RB Jonathan Taylor appeared to jump to the top of the depth chart with his breakout performance against the Vikings last week. Can he find the same success against the Jets?

Will we see another breakout game from one of the long list of backups starting this week?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 3 of the 2020 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of RB Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

• QB Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) – It takes a special quarterback to be able to feed three wide receivers enough for them to all be fantasy studs. Ryan is spreading the ball around and the offense is just airing it out to their talented wide receivers and don’t sleep on TE Hayden Hurst. Ryan has a tougher task against the Bears defense, but the Chicago secondary isn’t deep enough to stop their wideouts. Ryan should have another very good fantasy week.
• RB Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) – I really thought RB Nyheim Hines was due for a breakout game last week. I wasn’t alone in that assessment and was utterly confused when Hines was only in the game for nine plays. Taylor’s output was a big reason Hines stayed on the bench as he was having a lot of success. They had control of the game and used Taylor and RB Jordan Wilkins to drain the clock in the second-half. The Colts face the Jets on Sunday, who allowed two runs over 50+ yards last week against the Niners. Taylor has big play ability and could break a couple big runs against the Jets.
• WR Darius Slayton (New York Giants) – Slayton caught two touchdowns in Week 1, but only had three receptions on six targets last week. Giants QB Daniel Jones and Slayton had some success late last year and Jones is clearly comfortable throwing to him. The Giants lost RB Saquon Barkley (torn ACL) for the season and will look to move the ball through the air more. They face a banged-up Niners team on Sunday. Jones could have a few extra seconds in the pocket with DE Nick Bosa out (torn ACL).
• TE Mike Gesicki (Miami Dolphins) – Gesicki was once a top-tight end prospect at Penn State. This is his third season in the league and he hasn’t had much of a role in an offense in the NFL. He had two or three good fantasy weeks last year, but he is looking like a centerpiece in Miami’s offense this year. Last week against Buffalo, he had eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. He faces Jacksonville on Thursday, who allowed two touchdowns from Titans TE Jonnu Smith last week. Gesicki should have another good fantasy week.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense & Special Teams – Broncos QB Drew Lock injured his shoulder last week and he is expected to miss a month. They also lost WR Courtland Sutton with a torn ACL. They signed QB Blake Bortles for depth and QB Jeff Driskel is expected to start. Their offense is banged up and have injury problems at nearly every position. Tampa Bay is coming off a solid performance on defense against Carolina. They had a lot of veteran talent who should force Driskel to make a few mistakes.
• RB Mike Davis (Carolina Panthers) – Panthers starting RB Christian McCaffrey suffered a high-ankle sprain and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Davis won the backup RB role in camp and is expected to have the biggest role in their backfield. He faces a tough front-seven on Sunday when they travel to the Chargers. Davis should get enough work to be an RB2 or solid flex this week.
• WR Tre’Quan Smith (New Orleans Saints) – The Saints missed injured WR Michael Thomas on Monday night. Smith received the most targets by any wide receiver. He had five catches for 86 yards on seven targets. Thomas is expected to miss this week and possibly the next. The Saints face a tough Packers team on Sunday night. New Orleans have looked a bit flat as a whole this year so far. I expect the Saints will be throwing a lot in the second-half. Smith is their best option down the field and should get plenty of targets.
• TE Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team) – Thomas continues to get plenty of targets, but he has yet to really do a ton with them. That should change this week against Cleveland, who let Cincinnati’s tight ends to destroy them last Thursday. If Thomas gets the same amount of targets he received in the first two games, Thomas could be in for a big fantasy week.
• WR Corey Davis (Tennessee Titans) – Davis has logged back-to-back double-digit fantasy point weeks. He hasn’t quite lived up to expectations when he was coming into the league from Western Michigan. He is now in his fourth season and he finally has a good quarterback, which is making a huge difference for him. He faces a weak Vikings secondary on Sunday. Davis will also benefit from teammate WR A.J. Brown’s knee woes. He should have another good week.
• RB Joshua Kelley (Los Angeles Chargers) – Kelley faces the Panthers on Sunday, who let Bucs RB Leonard Fournette have one of his best games in quite awhile. I’m not high on Fournette, so if he can have a good game against Carolina, Kelley’s fantasy outlook is very bright. Kelley is hurt by the presence of teammate RB Austin Ekeler, but both backs should get enough work to be viable in fantasy this week.
• Buffalo Bills Defense & Special Teams – The Bills have one of the best defenses in fantasy, but many may rethink starting them against the Rams. Buffalo’s defense is good enough that you should be able to start them just about every single week. The only upcoming week that I would even ponder benching them would be Week 6 against Kansas City or Week 9 against Seattle. Buffalo lucked out in those games as they are at home in both.
• WR D.K. Metcalf (Seattle Seahawks) – Speaking of Seattle, QB Russell Wilson is on fire this season. He has completed 82.5% of his passes and has thrown nine touchdown passes in his first two games. Metcalf has caught two touchdown passes with 187 receiving yards. Wilson is looking for his big target often, but Metcalf has just eight receptions on 14 targets. Wilson has six missed throws towards Metcalf…and just two for the rest of the team combined. Wilson will still target Metcalf against an average Cowboys secondary. 
• QB Gardner Minshew (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Minshew isn’t getting started in most leagues. There are no bye weeks yet, so Minshew is really only starting in deep leagues right now. He is completing 75% of his passes and has thrown six touchdown passes. He faces a Miami on Thursday, a team that let Bills QB Josh Allen throw 400+ yards against them last week.

SIT’EM

• RB Leonard Fournette (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t impressed with Carolina’s run defense because they let Fournette rush for 103 yards on only 12 carries. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said that RB Ronald Jones II is still the starting running back. The Bucs were in control of last week’s game very early. I just don’t see Fournette having similar success this week against Denver. I see Jones touching the ball much, much more this week.
• QB Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – At one point during Monday Night Football, ‘Jameis Winston’ trended on Twitter due to how rough of a game Brees had against the Raiders. He just didn’t look sharp without star WR Michael Thomas. He threw a lot to RB Alvin Kamara and tried to find WR Tre’Quan Smith. It just seemed like he had blinders on and the rest of the receivers might as well just not have been involved. It didn’t help that he had a few balls dropped. Brees will most likely be without Thomas again against Green Bay on Sunday night. 
• WR Robby Anderson (Carolina Panthers) – Through the first two weeks, Anderson has been used as more than a deep threat in Carolina. He has had success in that role and he should have a good year as a whole. Unfortunately for Anderson, this week he will most likely be covered by Chargers CB Chris Harris Jr…I don’t like his prospects in Week 3. 
• RB Devonta Freeman (New York Giants) – The Giants signed Freeman this week after losing RB Saquon Barkley for the season. He will split carries with running backs Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman. Freeman is coming off his worst ypc average (3.6) of his entire career. He isn’t a guy who will get 20+ carries a game, so he relied heavily on his ability to get 4.5 or more per touch. He will most likely get the larger portion of the work in the backfield, but I just don’t see much fantasy relevance right off the bat. There hasn’t been many running backs who missed training camp to come into their first game and dominate. Veteran running backs usually need a couple games to reach their peak ‘football shape’.
• QB Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) – Cousins is off to another rough start to the season. It seemed to be a common trend with him, he’s a slow starter. The Vikings are 0-2 and Cousins has only thrown for a total of 372 yards with just two touchdowns against four interceptions. He faces a tough Tennessee team and I expect another rough outing for Cousins.
• WR Mecole Hardman (Kansas City Chiefs) – Hardman has just four targets through the first two games. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes hasn’t really thrown a ton yet and since Hardman is the third or fourth receiving option, he isn’t seeing much work. It also doesn’t bode well for Hardman that rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has good hands and will be involved in the passing game. Hardman will have a few good fantasy weeks this season, but this week will not be one of them.
• TE Rob Gronkowski (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Gronk might be the third-best tight end on the Bucs this season. He only has four targets through the first two games and has just two receptions for 11 yards. TE O.J. Howard is seeing more action and is a better blocker. It appears that Gronk is in the role TE Cameron Brate had the last couple years, a good pass catcher who struggles to block. If Gronk continues to struggle, he could start losing snaps to Brate.
• Chicago Bears Defense & Special Teams – The Bears have some studs on defense, but they are facing a prolific passing attack in Atlanta on Sunday. The Bears secondary just aren’t deep enough to cover all the pass-catching options the Falcons have on the field. Falcons QB Matt Ryan clearly has confidence to throw to any of his receivers and TE Hayden Hurst. I would bench the Bears this week and stream another team this week.
• RB Frank Gore (New York Jets) – With RB Le’Veon Bell out for a few weeks, Gore saw increased workload against the Niners. Gore faces another former team in Indianapolis on Sunday. He needed 21 carries to gain just 63 yards last week. I expect running backs La’Mical Perine and Kalen Ballage will see an increase in workload. Ballage was signed before last week’s game and will have had a week of practice to get a better idea of pass-blocking schemes.
• QB Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) – I expected a lot more from Stafford this year. I guess it hasn’t helped him that WR Kenny Golladay missed the first two games (but is expected to play this week). Stafford has been inaccurate and has completed just 58% of his passes with just three passing touchdowns against two interceptions. He has connected on just 50% of his passes to wide receivers Danny Amendola and Marvin Jones Jr., which is unacceptable. He faces a solid pass rush at Arizona on Sunday. He won’t have much time to release the ball and the odds of him playing better are slim.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.