Fantasy Football: Knile Davis, Kirk Cousins Among Week 3 Sits, Starts

In Week 2, your sit and start decisions probably revolved around which stud to put in your lineup. In Week 3, you might be going with whoever you have left.

The second weekend of the NFL season was a brutal one for injuries, as several top-end fantasy players now find themselves out for a significant time period or questionable to return in Week 3.

Luckily for you, all of those players have backups, and if you took the advice we gave in our Week 3 waiver wire adds, you should have a serviceable player or two in a prime position to put up fantasy points. But, does that mean they deserve a spot in your starting lineup?

The problem with starting injury replacements is that they’re usually backups for a reason, and there are times where you’re better off sticking with your big guns, even if the matchup is worse. Then again, sometimes a backup’s matchup is too good to ignore.

Sound confusing? That’s because it is. Here’s our take on what could be a messy and unpredictable Week 3.

SIT
Markus Wheaton, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: I love Wheaton as much as the next guy, and he showed in the first two weeks that he’ll be a big part of this offense. Yet it might take some time before the speedster finds the end zone, especially against a stingy Carolina Panthers defense that held Calvin Johnson to fewer than 100 yards and no touchdowns last Sunday.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins: Just because Cousins played better than Robert Griffin III doesn’t mean he’s really good. The Redskins put up 41 points last week, but it was against the Jaguars, so don’t expect the same against the Philadelphia Eagles, who limited Andrew Luck to 172 passing yards in Week 2. Cousins is decent, but you can do better.

Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans: Wright is the Titans’ No. 1 receiver, but that’s not saying much. Wright caught a touchdown pass in Week 1 but had just 31 receiving yards in Week 2, and now he and quarterback Jake Locker have to travel to Cincinnati to face a nasty Bengals team that hasn’t lost at home in the regular season since 2012.

Justin Forsett, RB, Baltimore Ravens: Full disclosure: we fully bought in to the Week 2 hype surrounding Forsett. After a big bounce-back night from Bernard Pierce last Thursday, though, the Ravens’ backfield looks much more crowded, and Forsett might be a notch below him. The Browns can be run on, but there’s just too much uncertainty here to start Forsett with confidence.

START
Knile Davis, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: This is a case where the situation is too good to be ignored. Davis racked up 79 yards and two touchdowns after Jamaal Charles went down in Week 2, and he’ll be the focal point of the Chiefs’ offensive attack against a pretty average Dolphins run defense.

Joique Bell, RB, Detroit Lions: One hundred twenty-eight total yards and a touchdown. Those are the numbers Bell put up in his last game against the Green Bay Packers in 2013. The Packers’ D hasn’t really improved since then, and Bell consistently has been getting more touches than Reggie Bush so far this season. Expect a healthy stat sheet from Bell in a high-scoring affair.

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears. Cutler threw three touchdowns against one of the toughest defenses in the NFL (San Francisco 49ers) last week. Now he takes on the New York Jets, who are tied for worst in the NFL with five passing touchdowns allowed. If Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery are both healthy, watch out.

Mike Wallace, WR, Miami Dolphins: Wallace looks like he has his act together after a frustrating 2013 campaign. He’s led the team in targets and caught a TD pass in each of Miami’s first two games, and now he faces off against a Chiefs defense that could be vulnerable over the top if safety Eric Berry doesn’t play. Wallace is a very solid WR2/3.

Photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images