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September 24, 2024, 4:37 pm
Every week I will do a quick drive thru of the all the games and cover the relevant fantasy points. I will look at things that might be fluky or here to stay and try and point everyone in the right direction for the future. We never want to overreact to a small-sample size, but sometimes getting in too early is still better than missing the boat entirely.
Jets 24 – Patriots 3
If you simply ignored Week 1, this game made a lot more sense. The Jets are good and the Pats are bad. On a short week this is pretty much always the case to back the better team at home. The Jets D has gotten back on track and was able to limit Rhamondre Stevenson to only 23 rushing yards. The Pats offense is anemic and Jacoby Brissett has yet to pass over 200 yards and didn’t even get over 100 this game. Drake Maye is coming and he could make Demario Douglas relevant after a mini-breakout with seven grabs. Douglas is a PPR machine and is the clear-cut WR1 on this team. He’s a solid add in 14 team leagues with 3WR spots. The Jets got up comfortable in this game and didn’t have to do much in the second half. Aaron Rodgers isn’t back, back, but he’s still very good. Tyler Conklin exploded for 93 yards, but he’s going to be hit-or-miss each week. Allen Lazard looks like he might be a fixture on this team and has three TDs through three games. The problem is Garrett Wilson who just can’t get going and has no one else to blame this season. He’s still an all-world talent and still scored his first TD, but he’s only averaging 50 yards per game so far this season. Breece Hall didn’t get going and the emergence of Braelon Allen is cutting into his workload a little bit, but this was more about the game being put away than a threat long term. Either way Hall probably went from getting 90% of the carries to 70%
Pickup of the game: Tyler Conklin – Priority low
Giants 22 – Browns 15
The Giants pulled off the upset on the road much to the chagrin of the Browns. Daniel Jones did enough to win, but it’s Malik Nabers who gets all the flowers. He is full-fledged WR1 and could be the WR1 by the end of the season. Devin Singletary broke out of his slump and could have had two TDs if he didn’t kneel down at the end zone. Jones was able to not turn the ball over vs. an elite defense on the road, so maybe there is hope for him. The Giants are still a stayaway unless you roster Nabers, but Wan’Dale Robinson keeps getting a huge target share. He’s deep-league flex option if you really need a WR. The Browns love to shoot themselves in the foot and Deshaun Watson took eights sacks and lost the ball twice. This game should shock the Browns to their core and even Amari Cooper waking up for two TDs couldn’t save them. Jerome Ford was a letdown in a potential smash spot and the Browns need Nick Chubb back desperately. Jerry Jeudy went back to being Jerry Jeudy and the Browns are back to being a mess.
Pickup of the game – WR Wan’Dale Robinson – Priority medium
Steelers 20 – Chargers 10
Don’t play any fantasy players vs. the Steelers. It’s just not worth it. Gus Edwards did nothing and JK Dobbins was only slightly better. After being 61 yards over his expected rushing production over the season’s first couple games, Dobbins was 33 yards under his expected rushing yards in Week 3 against the Steelers. Quentin Johnston is shedding his rookie bust label and has three TDs so far this season. Make sure he’s not on the wire. Justin Herbert got hurt and the Chargers only had 14 completions. This game was sloppy. Hopefully Herbert will be fine, but Taylor Heinicke isn’t anyone’s answer. Justin Fields showed more than he had in the first two weeks and while he was useless on the ground, he was able to hit Calvin Austin for a 55-yard strike through the air. The Steelers only need one or two TDs to win any game they are in. The Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren debate is over for now. Warren is still a high-end stash, but he needs an injury to be worth starting in almost any format. George Pickens is awesome, but it’s not a great situation for him to ever get truly loose.
Pickup of the game – WR Calvin Austin – Priority low
Vikings 34 – Texans 7
This was a true shocker as the Vikings D is apparently for real, but consider me still not convinced. CJ Stroud looked more like Bryce Young and had two INTs and was pulled late for Davis Mills. Stefon Diggs got on track with heavy volume and Nico Collins got some garbage time yards to salvage his line. Tank Dell was decent too and the three WRs had their best cumulative game despite the blowout. Cam Akers wasn’t great, but this was never really a game, but he was able to score in the receiving game. If Joe Mixon can’t go in Week 4, he’s a low-end flex play. Sam Darnold is a monster and threw for four TDs and appears to have avoided a serious injury. Darnold can’t possibly sustain the 10.4 percent touchdown rate he’s posted over the season’s first three games, but don’t put limitations on what JJ brings to the table. Aaron Jones looks great with 150 all-purpose yards, but how long will it last and Ty Chandler is the clear backup. Justin Jefferson is QB proof, matchup proof and one of the only elite WRs pulling their weight. He’s the best in the game and it’s not close. Jalen Nailor is carving out a role, but with only 17 completions in the game and six going to JJ, it’s tough to get too big a slice of pie.
Pickup of the Game – RB Cam Akers– Priority medium
Eagles 15- Saints 12
This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair and it ended up as a dud. Derek Carr was held in check until the final drive and only finished with 142 passing yards. Chris Olave got hot late and scored the game-winning TD, he’s locked and loaded as a high-end WR2 every week. Rashid Shaheed put up a goose egg and that’s what happens with high volatile players. This game was more of a one-off than the norm, but the Saints are still more of a question mark than a known quantity. Alvin Kamara is though and had almost 30 touches, but still wasn’t able to score. The Eagles miss AJ Brown, but Saquon Barkley can pick up the slack. He busted a 65 yard run for a score and had another two TDs. He’s looking like the best player in fantasy so far. DeVona Smith isn’t blowing anyone away as the WR1, but he’s still getting it done with seven grabs for 79 yards. Dallas Goedert though went nuts and somehow racked up 170 receiving on 10 grabs. Somehow he didn’t score, but he’s getting a lot more volume with Brown out. Jalen Hurts keeps throwing stupid INTs and had one of the worst fantasy games of his career despite racking up over 300 passing yards.
Pickup of the game – No one
Broncos 26 – Buccaneers 7
This was another surprising blowout as the Broncos dominated from start to finish. This let Bo Nix feel the game instead of chasing it and he finally looked like a potential NFL starter. He still threw the ball 36 times which is far too many, but he had zero TOs. Nix ran for 47 yards and three other players had at least five carries. Jaleel McLaughlin has the highest ceiling and had a nice TD despite only averaging 1.4 YPR. Courtland Sutton had a solid game without scoring and he’s a low-end play, but he now has 350 air yards on the season, the fourth most in the NFL. The entire Denver team is a fantasy graveyard and it’s impossible to trust anyone week-to-week. Tyler Baddie got nine rushes and broke one for 43 yards. He looks good, but the volume isn’t assured. The Buccs had looked great, but Baker Mayfield was feeling himself too much and got smoked on couple poor-timed scrambles. Chris Godwin scored again, no shocker and he’s the WR1 on this team. Mike Evans might be slowing down and he’s now had three straight underwhelming games. Bucky Irving is a man on a mission. He will be the RB1 sooner rather than later. He’s got too much burst to be contained and jumps off the page compared to Rachaad White. He’s someone you should try and trade for before he blows up.
Pickup of the game – RB Tyler Baddie – Priority Medium,
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