It’s Time To Win

Week 3 is kicking off tonight as the Giants play the 49ers. Injuries have plagued the league yet again so there are plenty of you without Saquon Barkley and plenty of you waiting to see if Brandon Aiyuk will play. I’ll be providing you a list of players from each position and if you should start em or sit em.

Quarterback

Start Em: Justin Fields

Let’s start off hot. Right now, if you’re a Justin Fields owner, you are most likely debating on picking up a streamer or starting your bench QB. All I have to say is, give it one more week. He was able to get a taste of the endzone in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay defense. If the Bears want to beat the Chiefs, they’re going to have to rely on Fields’ legs. He’s averaging more than 30 passes a game. They need to trim that down and do more designed runs if they want to be successful. Justin Fields will have Chris Jones running after him all game, which makes me think that there will also be a lot of un-designed runs since Fields has been dropping back a lot. This type of pressure from Chris Jones could lead to a high-upside game for Fields… or a bunch of turnovers. Let’s take a risk and go for the upside here because you can’t win a fantasy football championship by being safe.

Sit Em: Daniel Jones

Jones is coming off an insane game against Arizona where he scored 32 fantasy points. Now he has to play tonight against the 49ers on four days rest. I can’t see Daniel Jones repeating anything close to what he did in Week 2, so if you’re thinking about whether you should start em or sit em, I say sit em. Especially with Barkley out.

Running Back

Start Em: Isiah Pacheco

Like I said at the beginning of this article, the injury bug has been floating around yet again. So if you’re one of those teams who had J.K Dobbins or Nick Chubb, you may be thinking if you should sit or start Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco is the perfect flex play or RB2 if you’re a team dealing with a bunch of injuries. He’s going against the Bears in Week 3 who have been downright putrid on defense. With the way I assume the game script to go, Pacheco should have a lot of volume coming his way. He has a really nice schedule coming up too, so if he does well in Week 3 I’m starting him in Week 4.

Sit Em: Dameon Pierce

For a guy that was taken in the 4th or 5th round of your fantasy football draft, he certainly isn’t producing like it. Most of us were expecting an RB with little to no competition in the backfield plus a rookie QB who may need to rely on handing the ball off. Instead, now we have to deal with the fact the Texans’ O-Line is missing three starters and C.J. Stroud is actually looking pretty damn good in the passing game. Dameon Pierce goes against the Jaguars this week who haven’t given up more than 17 points this season. They’ve also had at least one fumble recovery and an interception each game so far. There should be no debate, if you’re going back and forth in your head on whether you should start em or sit em with Dameon Pierce, make it easy and just sit em.

Wide Reciever

Start Em: Puka Nacua

These are Puka Nacua highlights from the game vs 49ers 15 catches 147 yards and the most catches and yards in the first 2 games to start a career #nfl #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/zFg8IFTmUt

— footballon (@roaring_reigns) September 18, 2023

If you haven’t started this rookie phenom yet, hop on the Puka Train now. He is breaking records and making history as a rookie.

• 15 receptions for 147 yards last week – Single game NFL record for a rookie
• 25 receptions – Most catches by any wide receiver in his first 2 games
• 266 receiving yards – 2nd most by any rookie through 2 games (behind Anquan Boldin’s 279 yards)

If you started him in Week 2, great job. He most likely helped you win your week. Now, it’s time to hop on the Puka Train and cruise to another victory in Week 3. He is a no-question starter.

Sit Em: Gabe Davis

Gabe is coming off a hot week, or as I like to call it, the annual “Gabe Davis Week.” Seems like Week 2 was his annual big game and I can’t foresee this happening two weeks in a row. He’s known for his inconsistencies and his boom or bust seasons, so for Week 3 this will certainly be a bust week. The Bills play Washington this week, so I don’t see a reason they’ll need to throw the deep ball to Gabe, which is really the only reason he is needed on the field in the first place. I can see the Bills running the ball a ton and dinking and dunking their way into the endzone. Expect Gabe Davis to be irrelevant in Week 3.

Tight End

Start Em: George Kittle

You’re probably angry right now as a Kittle owner, upset that you drafted him so high, and are asking your friends whether you should start em or sit em. I’ll make it easy for you – start George Kittle tonight. He’s going against the Giants’ abysmal defense who have given up 31 Points Per Game (PPG), and in regards to fantasy scores, they’ve put up 0 and -1 points respectively. Especially if Brandon Aiyuk isn’t playing, it makes the decision even easier to keep Kittle in your starting lineup.

Sit Em: Kyle Pitts

I could also change this heading to “Drop Em” because Kyle Pitts is just so bad. I don’t know what it is, but we were ALL wrong on Kyle Pitts. This guy continuously gets drafted in the early to mid rounds in fantasy drafts and it makes no sense. What has he done to prove he deserves to be drafted that early, let alone be in your starting lineup? You can watch fellow co-host Bobby Amendola and I rant about Kyle Pitts in our most recent episode on The Eye Test, a podcast we produce weekly. Kyle Pitts had 3 targets in Week 1 and 5 targets in Week 2. He has caught the ball 2 times each game. Throw him on your bench now and get a tight end on the waiver wire like Hunter Henry.

Good Luck in Week 3

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and are excited for another week of football. Have a great time sitting on the couch, drinking your beverage of choice, drawing up insane parlays with your friends, and much, much more.

About The Author

Jon Kirkner is the host of The Eye Test: A Fantasy Football Podcast. He specializes in redraft and dynasty leagues. Jon is in too many fantasy leagues and currently holds an overall record of 13-9. You can follow The Eye Test on Instagram and TikTok (@theeyetestpod). You can read up on more Belly Up articles daily and expect a Start Em Sit Em article weekly from us here at The Eye Test.