Sit/Start Week 3: Reviewing All the Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Rams at Browns

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, September 22nd at 8:20 pm EST

Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH

Betting Odds: LAR -3, 51 Total via Oddsshark

Network: NBC

Sleeper Spotlight: D’Ernest Johnson

 

Los Angeles Rams

 

Quarterbacks:

• Jared Goff (Start, QB1)

 

Jared Goff had a bounceback performance week 2 against the Saints after he struggled to get going against the Panthers. He goes into a primetime matchup against the Browns for week 3.

 Goff did not play in the preseason and is finally starting to look like his regular self. He only has one passing touchdown through the first two weeks, however, he was a yard away on two separate plays from having a 3 TD week against the Saints. He is going on the road against where he generally performs worse than at home. Going up against a stacked Browns D on paper. The Browns defense has not been truly tested by an elite QB but was torched by Marcus Mariota and the Titans. They will be able to get pressure on Goff and force him to make quick decisions, thanks in large part to Myles Garrett who leads the league in sacks. If the Rams o-line can keep the Browns d-line in check Goff should have no problem navigating through the Browns secondary. 

 The QB position is turning into a wasteland and it’s only the second week of the season. Injuries are piling up and a lot of your league mates are probably scouring the wire for a starter. Consider yourself lucky to have Goff. With the slew of weapons and in an elite offense, Jared Goff is in a position to succeed. I don’t love him this week but I doubt you have better options. He is a low-end QB1 for me and should be started. 

 

Running Backs:

• Todd Gurley (Start, RB1)
• Malcolm Brown (Sit)
• Darrell Henderson (Sit)

 

Is he truly back? Todd Gurley got his 1st TD in what felt like an eternity. His split with Malcolm Brown was much more favorable against the Saints than it was against the Panthers. He was less efficient but still got a sizeable workload. A great takeaway from the Saints game was Gurley was not pulled in goal to go situations. The Rams kept him in the game when they were inside the 20 and was able to score. Hopefully, this is the trend going forward. He just missed out on finishing as an RB1 last week and will look to make his first appearance in the top 12 this week. The Browns were torched have been torched by Derrick Henry and Le’veon Bell in back to back weeks. They were not able to limit either on the ground or through the air. Gurley has a great chance to show he is the same player as he was before all the issues surrounding his knee. 

Helping Gurley will be the Rams stellar front line. The team’s offensive line currently ranks 2nd in Adjusted Line Yards, according to Football Outsiders. They have dominated the trenches and have only allowed their runners to be stuffed 15% of the time which is good enough for 7th lowest in the NFL. On the other side, Cleveland’s D-line has been above league average. They have allowed the 14th most Adjusted Line Yards and are 7th in stuffed %. It will be a good fight to see, but the advantage is still with the Rams. A big reason I also like Gurley’s chances of getting a big workload this week is the Browns offense. Through 2 games it has seriously struggled to get going. They have looked out of sync, with a little creativity and they haven’t played a defense like the Rams. There is a good chance that the Browns struggle to move the ball and the Rams can run a high number of plays on offense.

As I stated above the Rams dialed back Malcolm Brown’s workload last week. He was still in for a few series and could have had another good fantasy day if not for a 1 yard TD throw by Jared Goff. This week, we can expect Brown to have a similar workload. He is a low floor play with a decent ceiling. He should only be played as a last resort flex. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• Brandin Cooks (Start, WR2)
• Robert Woods (Start, WR2)
• Cooper Kupp (Start, WR2)
• Gerald Everett (Sleeper)

 

Is it even possible to predict which WR on the Rams is the best play of the week? Cooper Kupp has shown that he is Jared Goff’s favorite target. He is the guy that Goff looks to when he is pressured, which is something to note for this week’s matchup. As I mentioned while talking about Jared Goff, the Browns can generate pressure on the QB. They have a loaded defensive line and Goff could find himself under duress during this game. To make matters worse Rams RG Austin Blythe appears to be out this week after suffering an ankle injury in last week’s game. If Goff is under pressure expect Cooper Kupp to rack up the catches, but do not expect the yardage totals to soar very high. Lining up against T.J. Carrie in the slot, Kupp is at a clear advantage and should be in line for a solid fantasy day. 

Robert Woods is Jared Goff’s second-favorite target, and arguably the best of the 3 Rams WR to have. Woods has a solid week to week combination of floor and ceiling. He had a down week against the Saints last week, but the blame could be placed on the wonky game flow, where the Rams seemed to be taking it easy because Teddy Bridgewater was doing nothing on offense. This week Woods will be guarded by second-year standout Denzel Ward. Ward has been solid throughout the first two games but has been bested a few times. He has some serious wheels so we should not be expecting Woods to get in behind for big plays. Woods will make his money where he performs best – short to intermediate routes. Woods is a safe start and will likely end up around the WR2 range as usual. 

Finally, we have Brandin Cooks. Cooks is one of the premier deep threats in the entire NFL and he showed it last week against Marshon Lattimore. Although he has shown he’s still very talented, his target share over the first two weeks is something to monitor. He has only gotten 10 targets to start the season racking up just over 100 yards. The low targets are something to monitor, but they are not enough of a reason for me to sit Cooks. NFL Next Gen Stats has Cooks handling almost 40% of the Rams air yards, almost 20% more than Woods and Kupp. He is getting the high-value shots that make him such a strong fantasy asset he just has not been able to connect. I expect Sean McVay to get Cooks more involved this week, so start him as a WR2.

My sleeper for this week’s Sunday night game is Gerald Everett. I’d like to caveat this selection with the assumption that Tyler Higbee sits this game out. Higbee left last week’s game with a lung contusion and is day-to-day as of now. If he sits out Gerald Everett should assume most of his workload. The Rams have locked in on their TEs in the red zone. Targeting the pair 7 times through the first two weeks, they are trying to create mismatches when they get in close. The last time the Browns played an above average TE was week  1 against Delanie Walker. He was able to snag two touchdowns on 5 catches for 55 yards. The TE position has been rather volatile to start the year and if you are struggling, Everett could be a good flier. 

 

Cleveland Browns

 

Quarterback:

• Baker Mayfield (Start, QB1)

 

Baker Mayfield has not lived up to his draft price as we enter the third week of the season. Mayfield had a rough debut against the Titans and then struggled against an injured Jets team. This week he gets his toughest matchup to date as the Los Angeles Rams trot into town. The Rams defense is loaded from top to bottom and will look to make Mayfield’s life difficult this Sunday night. According to Football Outsiders, the Browns have one of the worst offensive lines, ranking 28th in Adjusted Sack Rate and sacks allowed. If you watched the Browns you wouldn’t have needed that stat to know their line has been atrocious. Luckily, this week they only have to try and block Dante Fowler and Aaron Donald. Mayfield could be running for his life this whole game, which is less than optimal. The Rams have managed to keep both QBs they’ve played against at bay, albeit they were Teddy Bridgewater and an injured Cam Newton. Their secondary is at full strength, with multiple all-pro players including Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib on the outside.

 This game projects to be high scoring and should have plenty of scoring opportunities if the Browns can get their offense on track Mayfield could produce. He is risky but possesses a high enough upside that I can’t recommend sitting him. 

 

Running Backs:

• Nick Chubb (Start, RB1)
• D’Ernest Johnson (Sit)

 

The Cleveland Browns have leaned on Nick Chubb heavily for the first two weeks of the season. Giving him 17 and 18 carries for weeks 1 and 2, respectively. Unfortunately, their offensive line has played horribly. They rank 24th in adjusted line yards and 20th in stuffed %. That means they are not creating yards for Chubb and are letting him get hit in the backfield on 20% of his carries. Chubb has struggled with efficiency but has a chance to get back on track against the Rams. The Rams have been weak against the run over the past few years and so far not much has changed. They were ineffective against Christian McCaffery and were not looking strong against the Saints before Drew Brees exited the game. The matchup looks worse on paper than it truly is but a lot can still go wrong. For some reason, the Browns refuse to use Chubb on 3rd downs even though he has shown he is a competent pass catcher. They sub him out for D’Ernest Johnson on 3rd downs and a lot of passing situations. I fear that if the Rams get up on the Browns that Chubb could cede a higher than usual amount of snaps to Johnson. Chubb is still an RB1 because of volume and talent, but it may be wise to temper expectations. 

D’Ernest Johnson is a pain in every Nick Chubb owner’s side. He is an example of coaches overthinking it. You have a talented RB in Nick Chubb who can catch the ball with ease, but instead, you take him out to play a different RB for no apparent reason. Johnson caps some of Chubb’s upside but not enough to a point where he is fantasy viable. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• Odell Beckham Jr. (Start, WR1)
• Jarvis Landry (Sit)
• Rashard Higgins (Sit)
• Damion Ratley (Sit)
• Demetrius Harris (Sit)

 

Odell Beckham Jr. showed that he is still one of the most talented WR in the NFL last Monday night against the Browns. Beckham took one of his patented slants to the house for an 89-yard touchdown. He also made an amazing one-handed catch, but we’re so used to him doing that it’s barely even news. Beckham is a start this week, even with the difficult task of playing against Aqib Talib. The only worry for Beckham is if Mayfield is under pressure he won’t have time to allow OBJ’s routes to develop. It could lead to Beckham running a limited route tree, but as you saw last week even a simple slant is a chance at a TD for a WR of Beckham’s caliber. 

Jarvis Landry goes into this week against the infamous Nickell Robey-Coleman. He is most known for the blown call against the Saints in last year’s playoffs, but he is also one of the best slot corners in the NFL. Landry has reverted to the same role that he had when he played on the Miami Dolphins. He is a low aDot, close to the LOS, safety net WR. He needs high volume to be valuable and volume is tough to get surrounded by so many elite weapons. Landry is a sit this week for me. He is in a tough matchup and has a capped upside. I will say, if David Njoku is sidelined with a concussion, Landry should see a target bump and could move into the flex range. Keep an eye on the news to see whether or not Njoku suits up. Between Damion Ratley and Rashard Higgins, there is not much safety and not much upside in the Browns 3rd WR, so they are both sits. 

David Njoku sustained a concussion on Monday night and had to leave the game early. It is a short week and it is not likely he starts. Demetrius Harris would assume Njoku’s role if he does sit out. Njoku’s volume wouldn’t wholly fall onto Harris’ shoulders it would probably be split around the teams WRs, so Harris would not be on my radar to start. 

-Matthew Perri (@MattPerri91)