'Thursday Night Football' this week doesn't have the feel of another shootout, as the Panthers and their top-ranked defense travel to play the AFC South's overmatched and banged-up Texans (8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network). This matchup has a low total in relation to other contests with a 43.5 over/under, but like the Giants-Washington last week, it could surprise a little with two well-schemed offenses. There are some easy "starts" for your Week 3 fantasy football lineups and a few players squarely on the start 'em, sit 'em bubble.
With that in mind, here's a look at whom you should deploy and avoid on TNF, plus some DFS picks for FanDuel and DraftKings single-game slates:
WEEK 3 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Panthers: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Sam Darnold
Darnold should not be forced into one-QB starting leagues with plenty of juicy matchups across the board, but he definitely has superflex and two-QB appeal. He is playing well, and the matchup is solid given the digits both Trevor Lawrence and Baker Mayfield squeezed out on the Texans defense.
TNF DFS LINEUPS: DK Showdown | FD single game
Start: RB Christian McCaffrey.
He's baaaack. Although we're worried about Carolina overusing him long-term, we will take the 59 touches in two games for 324 yards and a TD. It is a Run CMC game all the way.
Start: WR D.J. Moore
Moore is back in his groove as McCaffrey's primary supporting playmaker, catching 14-of-19 targets for with 159 yards and TD. He's also added a 14-yard rush. He will get consistent looks from Darnold against mostly zone looks.
WEEK 3 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo
Start: WR Robby Anderson
Anderson has seen just nine targets in two games, catching for four for 95 yards, including a 57-yard TD in Week 1. So, he's back to being more boom or bust as a fantasy play after reuniting with Darnold. Anderson can get past the Texans' defense for a home-run shot, but he also might not be needed much. The big-play threat is probably worth a deep-league WR3 play, more so in standard-leaning than PPR.
MORE WEEK 3 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Start: TE Dan Arnold
Arnold has seen seven targets, catching five for 61 yards and showing good athleticism and hands down the seam. There will be opportunities to do damage in the middle against the Texans, who didn't handle either the Jaguars or Browns tight ends well.
WEEK 3 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Sit: K Zane Gonzalez
The Panthers are having kicking issues early without Joey Slye (now kicking for the Texans).
WEEK 3 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Start: Panthers DST
The Panthers lead the league in total defense, run defense, pass defense and sacks (with 10). Haason Reddick and Brian Burns have combined for half of those off the edge. They are an aggressiv,e big-play defense and also have three interceptions. They will make the night rough on Texans first-time starting rookie Davis Mills.
Texans: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Sit: QB Davis Mills
Mills, despite major knee injury issues at Stanford, showed enough pro-style passing promise to earn himself a third-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. But Mills was meant to be a developmental rookie behind Deshaun Watson and Tyrod Taylor. Now he's thurst into the starting role in a short week. Although there might be some surprise with little film available on him, the Panthers should get the better of him when the game counts. You can do better for garbage production in season-long leagues.
Sit: RBs Mark Ingram and Phillip Lindsay
They are more the "running backs" in this ugly committee. They need volume and/or a touchdown to salvage any fantasy football value. There's little chance of either happening.
Start (If desperate in PPR): RB David Johnson
Johnson has a TD himself this year, and he should be used more in the passing game with wide receiver injuries to Danny Amendola (hamstring) and rookie Nico Collins (shoulder). He has caught five-of-six targets so far for 40 yards, so he should be a frequent dump-off target/security blanket for Mills in the second half. He can be flexed in deep PPR-leaning leagues.
Start: WR Brandin Cooks
Cooks has been on four teams. He's played with many quarterbacks. Although Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Jared Goff, Watson and Taylor all are considerable contrasts to Mills, he has proven he can get the job done anywhere in some way. He will do it with volume on Thursday night. Expect around seven catches for 75 yards if that's enough WR3 production for you
Sit: K Joey Slye
Slye is filling in for Ka'imi Fairbairn (leg) and is a former Panthers kicking in a revenge game. He might end up back in Carolina given its kicking mess when Fairbairn is healthy. That said, you can't trust him in a low-scoring affair for his team.
Sit: Texans DST
While the Panthers are tied for DST3 in scoring so far this season, it might surprise you to know that the Texans are tied for DST15 with the Raiders. They will finish well below that this week while the Panthers might shoot up to No. 1.
Panthers vs. Texans: FanDuel single-game lineup
- MVP (1.5X): RB Chrisitan McCaffrey $17,500
- AnyFLEX: WR Brandin Cooks $13,000
- AnyFLEX: QB Davis Mills $12,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Robby Anderson $10,000
- AnyFLEX: TE Dan Arnold $7,500
We had to run with CMC as the MVP. The Mills-Cooks stack follows that the Texans would face a negative game script. There's a good chance Anderson makes a big scoring play, while Arnold should be more involved for Darnold after being effective last week.
Panthers vs. Texans: DraftKings Showdown lineup
- Captain (1.5x): RB Christian McCaffrey $20,100
- FLEX: WR Brandin Cooks $10,000
- FLEX: WR Robby Anderson $7,800
- FLEX: RB David Johnson $5,400
- FLEX: TE Dan Arnold $4,800
- FLEX: WR Anthony Miller $1,000
The same philosophy applies for McCaffrey, Cooks, Anderson and Arnold here, too. Miller should get more chances on the cheap with Collins and Amendola unavailable. Johnson should be catching a chunk of short passes from Mills, making him OK for the price in this full-point PPR format.
