Week 3 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Advice on Top Fantasy Football Stars

Nobody can predict exactly what's going to happen during an NFL season. After all, who would have thought that the Cincinnati Bengals would be 0-2 to open 2022 a year after they reached the Super Bowl as the AFC champions?

The same sentiment can be applied to fantasy football. Through two weeks, there have been some star players who haven't performed up to preseason projections, as well as some unheralded players who have fared much better than they were expected to.

It could continue to be difficult to predict what's going to happen in Week 3. And because of that, there are some challenging lineup decisions that need to be made by fantasy managers.

Here's some start/sit advice for the upcoming week to possibly help with some of those choices.

David Montgomery ran the ball fewer times in the Bears' Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers than he did during their season-opening win over the San Francisco 49ers. However, he was much more effective than he was in Week 1.

After starting the season with 17 carries for 26 yards, Montgomery bounced back and accumulated 122 yards on 15 attempts in Week 2. It was an important showing for him, considering Chicago could always start to give more touches to second-year RB Khalil Herbert, who has flashed his potential at times.

Through two weeks, the Bears have only passed the ball 28 times. So it's clear they want to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, which is a good thing for fantasy managers who have Montgomery on their roster.

With Montgomery likely to carry the ball a good bit again in Week 3, he's poised for another strong showing in a favorable home matchup against the Houston Texans. Feel confident starting Montgomery, who could also break through for his first touchdown of the season.

Entering the 2022 season, there was a lot of excitement from fantasy managers about Travis Etienne Jr., who missed all of his rookie year due to a foot injury. But so far, he's had a bit of a slow start to his NFL career, even though he's now healthy.

Etienne has recorded only 13 carries for 67 yards and five catches for 51 yards during the Jaguars' 1-1 start. Instead, James Robinson has been the primary running back with 34 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns and three catches for 17 yards and a score.

If Robinson keeps running the ball like that, Etienne may have a hard time getting increased opportunities. Robinson is the only Jacksonville RB who should be in fantasy lineups for the time being.

The Jags have a difficult matchup in Week 3, as they're going on the road to take on the Los Angeles Chargers. This is definitely not the time to take a chance on Etienne, so leave him on the bench this week and potentially into the foreseeable future.

The Commanders may have fallen to 1-1 with a road loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 2, but Curtis Samuel proved that his Week 1 usage wasn't a fluke. The 26-year-old wide receiver is off to a strong start after his injury-plagued 2021 campaign, which was his first in Washington.

Through two weeks, Samuel has 15 catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns, as well as five carries in 38 yards. He's gotten into the end zone in each of the Commanders' first two games, and he's been targeted 20 total times by quarterback Carson Wentz.

Washington is going through the air a lot, and Wentz has been evenly distributing the ball among Terry McLaurin, rookie Jahan Dotson and Samuel. Because the Commanders are likely to be trailing the Philadelphia Eagles early this Sunday, they may have big passing numbers once again while trying to keep up.

It may not lead to a win for Washington, but it should lead to another solid fantasy output from Samuel. He'll continue to be a strong WR option moving forward.

For much of his first seven years in the NFL, Adam Thielen was a great fantasy wide receiver. But that isn't the case in 2022, and the 32-year-old could be nearing the end of his fantasy relevance.

Thielen has only seven catches for 88 yards during the Vikings' 1-1 start, and he's been targeted only 11 times. He's been on the field a lot, but it's clear he hasn't been one of Minnesota's primary offensive options.

In Week 3, the Vikings could put up some strong offensive numbers at home against the Detroit Lions. But until Thielen proves he's going to be more in the mix (if he does at all), then it's too risky to start him.

Leave Thielen on the bench and find a wide receiver with a higher upside and a solid matchup to start instead.