Nerds! The Dynasty Nerds writers are here to provide you with weekly start/sit advice all season long. We will be making our recommendations based on weekly consensus PPR rankings. Here are the wide receiver starts and sits from senior writer Tristan Cook.
One thing to keep in mind when making your start/sit decisions; it will ALWAYS depend on who your other options are. Don’t take the players below out of (or put them into) your lineup unless the alternatives are worth it.
NOTE: Rankings are sourced from FantasyPros expert consensus expert rankings (ECR) and our terminology is for a 12-team PPR league. So, saying WR2 means top 24, or TE1 means top 12, etc.
WEEK 3 RESULTS
| Player | FPts | Tgts | Recs | Yds | TDs | Call | Rank | Result | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Pittman | 7.6 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 0 | Start | 27 | 54 | -27 |
| Greg Dortch | 6.5 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 0 | Start | 54 | 62 | -8 |
| Tutu Atwell | 13.3 | 5 | 4 | 93 | 0 | Start | 78 | 33 | +45 |
| Tyreek Hill | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 0 | Sit | 12 | 57 | -45 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 6.6 | 5 | 4 | 26 | 0 | Sit | 27 | 61 | -34 |
| Christian Kirk | 15.9 | 10 | 8 | 79 | 0 | Sit | 34 | 23 | +11 |
WIDE RECEIVER STARTS
Amari Cooper | Cleveland Browns | WR 25
Week 3 Stats | WR 5 | FPts 27.6 | Tgts 12 | Rec 7 | Yds 86 | TDs 2 | Confidence 90%
Continuing on with the theme from last week, we are targeting players with opportunities for a large target share. Amari Cooper fits that bill. Through 3 games, Cooper has been targeted the third-most times (29) in the league. Sadly, those targets didn’t translate into fantasy points in the first two weeks, but in Week 3, we finally saw it all come together.
This week, the Browns face the Raiders, who have a bottom-10 pass defense. I fully expect Cleveland to pepper Amari Cooper with targets, not only because this is a revenge game of sorts for Cooper, but also because he’s their best offensive weapon. Make sure you get Amari Cooper in all of your lineups for Week 4!
Jakobi Meyers | Las Vegas Raiders | WR 47
Week 3 Stats | WR 9 | FPts 21.2 | Tgts 9 | Rec 7 | Yds 62 | TDs 1 | Confidence 80%
Jakobi Meyers has quietly been one of the more productive receivers in the NFL since the start of the 2023 season. He isn’t particularly flashy or fast, but he gets the job done when he’s called on. This looks like a week where he’ll be called upon to step up. Davante Adams is set to miss this week and that means Meyers should feast. I feel confident rolling him out as a substitute for Adams or if you have a player on my “sit” list.
Michael Wilson | Arizona Cardinals | WR 50
Week 3 Stats | WR 28 | FPts 14.4 | Tgts 9 | Rec 8 | Yds 64 | TDs 0 | Confidence 80%
If you read last week’s article, you saw that I had Greg Dortch as a start. The reasoning was essentially that Marvin Harrison Jr. was going to start commanding more attention from defenses and Kyler Murray would need to target other players.
It looks like the analysis was spot on, but the wrong player was identified. Michael Wilson’s 9 targets was only 2 shy of the team lead. This week, the Cardinals take on the Commanders, who are the second-worst pass defense in the league.
WIDE RECEIVER SITS
Tyreek Hill | Miami Dolphins | WR 20
Week 3 Stats | WR 57 | FPts 7.0 | Tgts 5 | Rec 3 | Yds 40 | TDs 0 | Confidence 90%
Tyreek Hill was a sit last week and finds himself on the list again in Week 4. It’s hard to rely on any of the Miami pass catchers with the disaster that is their starting quarterback position. Tyreek Hill is talented enough to overcome bad QB play, but I don’t want to rely on him as a WR2 in my lineup unless I am desperate.
Calvin Ridley | Tennessee Titans | WR 34
Week 3 Stats | WR 100+ | FPts. 1.9 | Tgts. 3 | Rec. 1 | Yds. 9 | TDs. 0 | Confidence. 90%
The next wide receiver I’m trying to get out of all of my lineups is Calvin Ridley. He faces the aforementioned Miami Dolphins and their above-average pass defense this week. But that’s not the only reason I am looking elsewhere. Calvin Ridley has really struggled to find his groove in Tennessee.
Through 3 weeks, Ridley only has 8 receptions for 136 yards receiving. The Titans have also scored the fifth-fewest points in the league. I would play any of the players in the “start” section over Ridley this week (and going forward).
Wide Receiver Fade
Brandon Aiyuk | San Francisco 49ers | WR 12
Week 3 Stats | WR 45 | FPts 9.8 | Tgts 10 | Rec 5 | Yds 48 | TDs 0 | Confidence 80%
The last wide receiver on my list is San Francisco’s highly-paid star, Brandon Aiyuk. He hasn’t looked good since signing the long-term extension before the season. His performance last week (WR45) was his best of the season. I don’t see how you can feel good with him as a starter on your fantasy teams and especially not a WR1.
If you enjoyed our start and sit series for each position, you’ll definitely enjoy our Positional Matchups to Exploit from staff writer Brad Custer (@MonCalFF):
That’s it for Week 4, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (x) (@THEtristancook) if you have any specific questions about who I would start.
