The New England Patriots have LeGarrette Blount back after his suspension and he is a fantasy start option for Tom Brady in Week 3 when the Pats take on the Jaguars. The team has some solid starter options for fantasy football owners, including Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola as the best receivers/tight end picks for Brady.
The Patriots and the Bills played a very entertaining and offensively slanted game on Sunday, as the Pats held on for a 40-32 win on the road. The Patriots have started the season 2-0 along with the Jets and now the team has another solid matchup coming with the Jaguars on the schedule. Blount returned from his suspension against the Bills in Week 2 and he did not get much work, with just two carries for four yards in the rushing game.
The Patriots often can go with the hot hand when it comes to running backs and that makes Dion Lewis a worthy handcuff option, at least for a few more weeks. Lewis got the bulk of the work with Blount out and Bill Belichick continued to use him against the Bills. The team often game plans by matchups and the Patriots may have felt Lewis was the better option on Sunday. Blount also was out for a game and the team may want to bring him back slowly to get his timing right.
Blount was the lead back for the team last season and he likely will take over that spot in the coming weeks. Blount is a worthy start against the Jaguars, as they are not a great defense despite shutting down the Dolphins this week. The Patriots offense has been humming along the past two weeks and it could be in line for another big day this weekend. Blount comes in after rushing for 547 yards and five touchdowns last season and fantasy owners should expect things to even out over the next few weeks for the running back.
Lewis has been impressive to start the season and he has been a surprise for fantasy owners, rushing for 109 yards in two games and adding 10 catches for 149 yards. PPR league owners should look at Lewis as an option as a FLEX or RB3 pick, as he likely will get work as the third down back and as the main backup or "1B" starter next to Blount when he gets a full load again. Lewis played in all but 13 snaps on offense against the Bills and fantasy owners should keep an eye on that number against the Jaguars to see how the split goes this week with Blount.
Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are all solid start options for Tom Brady this week, as Brandon LaFell remains out. Aaron Dobson is a solid sleeper in deeper leagues only and owners should be looking to start Edelman and Amendola from this group for Week 3. Gronk has once again shown why he is the best tight end in the league, as he had 113 yards and a TD last week and already has four touchdown catches and 207 receiving yards this season in two games.
