Eight Burning Questions for Week Three: David Johnson and More

joe.gallina@rotoexperts.com 12:00 am, September 21st, 2018RotoExperts Special for the Associated PressAre the Cardinals really as bad as they’ve appeared this season and can you still put David Johnson in my lineup every week?The Cardinals are 0-2. They’ve scored just six points and given up the sixth -points in football through the first two games of the season. Their passing attack has suffered through QB Sam Bradford’s awful play. He’s averaging just four yards per pass attempt and will soon likely be replaced by rookie Josh Rosen. David Johnson was a Top Three overall pick in Points Per Reception scoring leagues but he’s 27th in PPR scoring. With the Cards playing from behind for virtually the entire season Johnson’s been limited to just 22 rushing attempts, 26th most in the NFL. The Cardinals also haven’t been taking advantage of Johnson’s pass-catching skills. He was targeted just twice last week. Head coach Steve Wilks claims he’ll line up out of the slot on occasion moving forward, which should help Johnson’s fantasy production. Based on your investment in his draft slot, Johnson remains a must-start for now. However, if you try trading him based 2018 production you’ll be dealing him based on extremely low fantasy value. It still wouldn’t hurt to put his name on your league’s trading block. See what type of offers you receive. Your league mates will certainly low ball you, but you never know. Someone might surprise you and offer a trade based on his preseason value.What’s with all the drama surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and can you still put Antonio Brown in your starting lineup every week?The Steelers are winless in 2018 (0-1-1) and there are reports that head coach Mike Tomlin has lost what appears to be an already splintered locker room. The Le’Veon Bell holdout seems to be adding to the friction surrounding the team as at least two offensive linemen have publicly taken the star RB to task. Historically teams with that type of dissension have been known to collapse, and in some cases they’ve banded together and just kept on winning. As for Antonio Brown, his emotions are getting the best of him. He’s posting ill-advised tweets threatening a reporter’s jaw and daring the Steelers to trade him. Despite that, he still leads the team in targets (33) and remains matchup-proof. He’s still susceptible to QB Ben Roethlisberger’s home/road splits, and the Steelers may struggle through a tough upcoming schedule, but you always start Brown.Should you start Buccaneers QB Ryan Fitzpatrick this week?Fitzpatrick leads all Fantasy Football QBs in passing yards and all position players in total fantasy points. He faces a Steelers team that is having issues playing on the road, and also gave up six TDs to Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes last week. Fitzpatrick has gotten the most out of his top offensive weapons, including WR DeSean Jackson and TE O.J. Howard. If your primary Fantasy Football QB’s performances have been less than stellar, Fitzpatrick provides you with an opportunity to reap the benefits of one of the hottest performers in fantasy sports.Should you start Patrick Mahomes every week or try trading him? Mahomes’ consensus Average Draft Position made him the 16th QB selected overall in preseason drafts. Through two games of the NFL season Mahomes has scored the second-most fantasy points among all position players. If fantasy owners drafted Mahomes late, or picked him up off the waiver wire, they most likely also had a QB on their roster they originally thought would have a better chance of being more productive. If you own Mahomes and a good backup QB in leagues where you’re starting one QB per week, it might make sense to try to trade one of them. Which one? Well, Mahomes’ fantasy value may never be higher than it is at this point of the season. It doesn’t hurt to put some feelers out there.

…