Zay Flowers is active in Brazil, which means he is playing through the hamstring that cost him Week 2 and two full weeks of practice. He was upgraded to limited work on Friday and carried a questionable tag into Sunday. The version of Flowers we saw in the opener caught five of six targets for 150 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis. The version taking the field against Dallas will likely be on a pitch count. Find out whether you should start or sit Zay Flowers in Week 3.
Zay Flowers Start or Sit Advice for Week 3
The opener is the reason he could stay in your lineup. Flowers drew 25.0% of Baltimore’s targets that afternoon and 43.2% of the team’s air yards, turning them into 150 yards on 67 air yards and 83 YAC with a 54-yard score.
Dallas is a defense you want to attack, though the surface numbers do not say so loudly. The Cowboys have allowed 31.1 PPR points per game to receivers, right at the league midpoint, but they drew the Giants and Washington, offenses throwing about 14% below the league mark. Two sacks and zero interceptions in two games means clean pockets and no reason for a quarterback to be careful. They concede 20.0 targets per game and are down cornerback Cobie Durant with a hamstring issue and safety Malik Hooker with a fractured forearm. Stefon Diggs turned six looks into two touchdowns against them last week.
The Biggest Fantasy Risk for Zay Flowers in Week 3
The pitch count. A player who missed two full weeks of practice and got one limited session in before kickoff is not walking into a full workload, and Baltimore has every reason to ration his snaps in a game it expects to control on the ground. That ceiling does not appear anywhere on an injury report, which is what makes it dangerous for a lineup decision.
The hamstring underneath it is the deeper problem. A receiver whose value runs through acceleration and separation is the wrong player to bet on at less than full speed, and 83 YAC on five catches requires a healthy burst to repeat. Soft-tissue injuries recur in-game, too, so even a reasonable snap share can end early.
The target hierarchy also shifted while he was out. Mark Andrews holds a 24.5% share on 13 targets, and Rashod Bateman has 10 targets with 28.1% of the air yards including a nine-target, 88-yard, one-touchdown game in Flowers’ absence. Neither disappears now, and Flowers has zero red zone targets on the season with a secondary role near the end zone to begin with. Baltimore throws just 28.0 times per game at a 48.7% pass rate and runs it 29.5 times for 5.25 yards per carry, with Derrick Henry already holding four touchdowns. Dallas allows 3.46 yards per carry, so the Ravens may not need to throw much at all.
Fantasy Outlook for Zay Flowers in Week 3
Sit Flowers in Week 3. The matchup is the one thing in his favor, and rationed snaps in a 28-attempt offense cancel it out. Three catches for 45 yards is the projection, with a real chance of less if Baltimore gets a lead and shelves the passing game.
The way this call goes wrong is one deep ball, which is how he got 150 yards in the opener. It is live, but you buy it with a floor near zero and a chance he exits early. Bench him for any healthy starter and revisit in Week 4.
Find more Week 3 fantasy football start/sit coverage here!