Cincinnati Bengals
Start ‘em
A.J. Green is the next premier receiver who gets to test a soft Dolphins secondary that got shredded by New England Patriots receivers and most recently Terrelle Pryor, who posted an absurd 8-144-0 line in Week 3. Green should feast and is a must-start after two “down” performances against the Steelers and Broncos.
Jeremy Hill got a much-needed ground game going against a stout front seven, logging 97 yards before the Bengals shifted to a pass-heavy game plan. After the Dolphins’ fluky shutdown of the Seahawks in Week 1, they have allowed 4.7 yards per carry in the ensuing two games. If Hill is to build momentum from his big Week 3 showing, it could happen Thursday night.
Start ‘em?
Though Gio Bernard is second on the Bengals in targets drawn, snaps will be an issue with a game script that may allow the Bengals to lean on the ground game. Hill is clearly the preferred goal-line back, and Bernard has lots of work to do if he is to make up for not sniffing the end zone. It’s possible, but Bernard is more of a low-end flex option for Week 4.
Andy Dalton hasn’t given fantasy owners much reason to stream him with a difficult draw in Week 3 and a pair of middling matchups to start the season. Things should open up on Thursday night for him, but with the departures of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and wide receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, and the continued injury absence of tight end Tyler Eifert, Dalton’s floor is fair to question. Fantasy owners could do worse than Dalton against the Dolphins but must be prepared for his downside.
Sit ‘em
Brandon LaFell, C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Boyd aren’t seeing enough targets to be anything other than desperate flex options.
Miami Dolphins
Start ‘em
Jarvis Landry is a PPR beast, leading the NFL with 24 catches and third in the league with 34 targets. He and DeVante Parker are start-worthy against a Bengals secondary that just surrendered a pair of 100-yard performances to Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas.
Sit ‘em
Ryan Tannehill has five turnovers in his past two games, and though the yardage could be there this week, he is proving to be too volatile of an option to trust when higher upsides likely exist on benches and waiver wires in several formats.
The Bengals will also be getting Vontaze Burfict back from suspension, just throwing another negative factor at an already cluttered and ineffective Dolphins backfield. No running back is worth starting on Thursday night against the Bengals as a result. Dion Sims has streamer appeal, but fantasy owners likely have better options at tight end. Kenny Stills should be an afterthought in standard format leagues as well due to usage concerns.