Week 3 Start Sit Advice (Part 2) | Sneaky Starts & Players to BENCH (09/25 Fantasy Football Podcast)

This episode is the second half of FFT's Thursday Start/Sit show, working through Thursday Night Football fallout and then every remaining Week 3(ish, though hosts kept saying "week four") matchup with rapid-fire rankings and mailbag questions. The through-line is that Thursday night exposed real roster problems — Kyle Pitts still isn't producing, tight end as a position is a mess again, and several backfields are muddled — while also surfacing a couple of legitimately actionable pivots (Packers receivers, a waiver-wire sleeper) that hosts want managers to act on immediately.

The arguments

Kyle Pitts should be benched and probably dropped, but he's not a lost cause long-term. Dave Richard said outright that Pitts should never have been drafted and that managers should scout Sunday's tight end streams (Ronde Gaston, Hunter Henry, Jaylen Ferguson, Pat Freiermuth) before committing to a drop, since it's now Week 4 and Pitts has essentially five combined points on the season. Jamie pushed back that the tape showed real opportunities — a route that made a Packers defender fall down — and cited Tony Gonzalez's postgame comment that if Atlanta develops Pitts as a "wrinkle," the offense could be unstoppable, especially with Drake London's last seven games with Michael Penix looking excellent.

Green Bay's passing game has flipped a switch, and Watson/Golden are now must-starts every week. The hosts agreed the Packers' three-headed run game "stinks," which pushes nearly every snap into pass-funnel territory for Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, both of whom are winning contested catches. That development pushes Jordan Love into low-end QB1 range, helped by an easy schedule (Tampa Bay, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit) through Week 7-8. Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, is a drop-candidate alongside Pitts if a better streaming tight end is available.

The middle tier of drafted tight ends is collectively disappointing again, a recurring seasonal pattern. Jamie flagged that Loveland, Kraft, Pitts, and Fano have all underwhelmed, calling it a repeat of the "mid-round tight end dilemma," while the elite (Kelce, hopefully Kittle) and even some late picks are outperforming. Dave noted exceptions in LaPorta and Warren, but the group consensus was that if a manager is frustrated with mid-tier tight end production, this is the week to use a bench cut (a backup RB like Emmanuel Wilson) to add a streaming option.

Bucky Irving is being managed on a snap count, which complicates his ceiling despite strong early usage. Dave cited a Pewter Report note (unconfirmed direct quote) that Tampa Bay may cap Irving's snaps in non-critical spots to protect him for the season, elevating Kendall Gainwell's role situationally. Both hosts still rank Irving above Aaron Jones this week, but flagged this as a workload risk worth monitoring rather than assuming bell-cow volume continues.

Baker Mayfield's process has become alarming and it's dragging Tampa's passing-game value down. The hosts pointed to concrete trends — increased time-to-throw, more scrambling, a career-high deep-ball rate, and a rising sack rate — describing his play as "backyard football" rather than taking underneath completions. Both hosts said this makes Chris Godwin unstartable and tempers expectations even for Emeka Egbuka, since Mayfield needs to start hitting shorter, schemed throws instead of hero-balling downfield.

Dontavian Wicks is a legitimate streaming/flex option in Philadelphia's offense regardless of Devonta Smith's status. Jamie noted Wicks has scored 12.4-plus PPR points in each of his first two games, with targets rising as Hurts throws more, and argued Wicks should be started over Luther Burden, Michael Wilson, and Rome Odunze even if Smith plays. Roster percentage was rising fast (mid-60s and climbing), so hosts framed this as a add-now priority before it's gone.

Rashad Bateman becomes a near must-start if Zay Flowers sits, backed by a strong target-based stat. Dave cited that in recent games where Bateman has drawn seven-plus targets, he's scored a touchdown every time and cleared 15.8 fantasy points. Both hosts still like him even if Flowers plays, just moved down into "teens" range instead of top-20, given Dallas's defense is viewed as a soft matchup.

What it means for your roster

• Bench/consider dropping Kyle Pitts and Tucker Kraft if a better streaming tight end (Freiermuth, Henry, Ferguson, Gaston) is available on waivers; don't panic-drop without a same-week replacement lined up.
• Start Christian Watson and Matthew Golden every week going forward; Jordan Love is now a viable low-end streaming QB1 given the schedule through Week 7-8.
• Prioritize Dontavian Wicks off waivers this week (rising toward 65%+ rostered) — start him over Burden, Wilson, and Odunze even with Devonta Smith active.
• Downgrade Chris Godwin and treat Egbuka cautiously until Baker Mayfield's process (deep-ball rate, sack rate) actually corrects; don't chase Tampa Bay pass-catchers this week.
• Monitor Bucky Irving's snap share before locking him in as a bell-cow; he's still the preferred start over Aaron Jones, but workload could be capped in blowout scripts.
• If Zay Flowers sits, start Rashad Bateman as a top-20 receiver; even if Flowers plays, keep Bateman rostered as a mid-teens flex given the seven-target/touchdown trend against a weak Dallas defense.