Sneaky Starts: Week 3

Sep 23, 2020

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All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough—a waiver wire or bench player capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

Let's take a look at the top Sneaky Starts for Week 3…

Quarterbacks

Gardner Minshew, Jaguars (vs. MIA)

Minshew has tossed three touchdowns in each of his first two games and looks to be in full control of Jay Gruden’s offense. He posted high-end QB2 numbers as a starter last year, so this is not a big surprise. Minshew is a top-12 start against a shaky Dolphins defense in Week 3.

Ryan Tannehill, Titans (@ MIN)

Tannehill is averaging 244.0 yards and 3.0 pass touchdowns per game, while adding 13.0 yards as a runner. The Vikings were destroyed by Aaron Rodgers to the tune of 364/4 in Week 1 before a better performance against the run-heavy Colts in Week 2.

Joe Burrow, Bengals (@ PHI)

After a shaky Week 1 performance against the Chargers, Burrow threw for 316 yards and three scores against the Browns on Thursday night. The Eagles just gave up 267/3 to Jared Goff.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins (@ JAX)

Fitzmagic bounced back from a nightmarish Week 1 against the Patriots to throw for 328/2 on the Bills. With the Jacksonville offense humming (and the defense giving up 239/4 to Ryan Tannehill and 363/1 to Philip Rivers), this game has the makings of a good ol’ Florida shootout.

Philip Rivers, Colts (vs. NYJ)

Rivers has a pretty wide range of outcomes in this game. The Colts are likely to win and put up some points, but he could easily game-manage his way to the win. The Jets have historically been better against the run than the pass, and they yielded two touchdowns apiece to Jimmy Garoppolo and Josh Allen, so Rivers should put up some points.

Mitch Trubisky, Bears (@ ATL)

The Falcons have given up an average of 386 yards passing and 2.5 touchdown passes to Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson, and Trubisky has a history of taking advantage of bad defenses.

Baker Mayfield, Browns (vs. WAS)

Through the air, Washington has given up 286/1 to Kyler Murray and 270/2 to Carson Wentz, so Mayfield has a chance for a nice day. He showed some signs of life (219/2) last week against the Bengals.