What You Need to Know From Week 3

Photo: Jeff Hanisch, USA Today Sports

NYG @ SF

• Daniel Jones is going to be on our benches whenever he faces a good defense. This week, he gets Seattle, so we can probably start him and hope for a ceiling game.
• There's no back worth playing in place of Saquon Barkley. We'll see if he's ready for Monday night.
• Darren Waller isn't going to get free against a good defense, not with this still underwhelming group at wide receiver. It's reasonable to bench him in tough matchups, but don't drop him and keep him in your lineup against Seattle.
• When Brandon Aiyuk sits, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel will eat. This sentence probably works no matter which order the three names appear in.
• Brock Purdy's weekly ceiling is still not as high as a running QB1, Tua Tagovailoa, or quarterbacks who play for teams with poor defenses, but against a poor defense like the Giants, he can put up QB1 numbers.
• Maybe it was just the short week of rest, but the 49ers gave Elijah Mitchell 14 touches behind Christian McCaffrey. He's still a priority injury upside backup because of the quality of this offense and his performances in the past.

ATL @ DET

• The Lions jumped out to a lead and gave us the pass-heavy game script we wanted for Desmond Ridder's value this week. But he failed to rise to the occasion, and the Lions defense appears to be improving, especially against the run. We'll get to watch the Lions face Jordan Love on Thursday night.
• Kyle Pitts got enough targets to at least not be a bust this week, but Jonnu Smith did, too. Give Pitts another shot vs. the Jaguars this week. If Pitts goes down, Smith could matter in fantasy leagues, maybe even more valuable than Pitts is right now (which isn't hard).
• Drake London's value isn't going to be simply tied to game script as 38 pass attempts still didn't result in a good game for him. He's a weekly boom/bust WR3/Flex but worth trying again this week vs. the somewhat soft Jaguars pass defense.
• Jared Goff had one bad decision but otherwise was good, especially with his offensive line disintegrating in front of him. The injuries on the line and the quality of Green Bay's defense (especially in Lambeau) probably mean we won't see a ceiling game from this offense this week.
• Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight split what was left of David Montgomery's role after the team made Jahmyr Gibbs the #1 back with more inside running. Even though Gibbs hasn't popped in fantasy leagues yet, their willingness to trust him over Reynolds/Knight is a good sign for his short and long-term ceiling. The passing game involvement wasn't there vs. Atlanta, but the Lions led for most of the game. Keep Gibbs in as an RB2/Flex if Montgomery sits this week.
• Josh Reynolds was blanketed by A.J. Terrell, so Kalif Raymond got more looks in the downfield passing game. Reynolds is just a what the heck this week and not an essential hold after a hot start.
• Sam LaPorta had his first big play long touchdown, and he also became the first tight end in NFL history to have 5 or more catches in his first three games. He's a bonafide fantasy TE1 and every-week start.

LAC @ MIN

• The Chargers skewed extremely pass-heavy again but not just because they were facing a good run defense. The Vikings got pushed around by the Eagles in Week 2, but the Chargers running game was stuck in neutral. Despite losing Mike Williams for the year, Herbert's value is up. Joshua Kelley isn't an essential hold with no lineup trust and a bye coming next week, likely followed by Austin Ekeler's return.
• Joshua Palmer is ahead of Quentin Johnston, but both are worth pickups. Palmer is the priority as Johnston wasn't seen by the team as ready for the larger role he'll have to play now.
• Gerald Everett and Donald Parham inch closer to consistent relevance with Williams' injury. Everett is getting more targets and is the better threat after the catch, but Parham has caught all three of the tight end touchdowns. This team is giving us TE1-level production but split between two players. If one of them goes down or Everett starts getting some red zone looks, we'll have something here.
• Kirk Cousins isn't slowing down in the stat column and should be considered a top 6-7 fantasy quarterback going forward, including this week vs. Carolina.
• Alexander Mattison was better this week after the team added Cam Akers but left the door open because of a drop in the red zone and fumble issues (again). Akers is only an add in deep leagues as it's unclear if this running game is truly right yet.

NO @ GB

• Derek Carr went down with an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder. It's not clear how long he'll be out, but he's unlikely to play in Week 4 vs. Tampa. Jameis Winston was very conservative in relief, nursing a big lead that the team blew, although he made enough plays to set up a last-minute go-ahead field goal that rookie UDFA kicker Blake Grupe missed. The passing game should be okay with Winston, but it's not 100% clear that it will be.
• Neither Tony Jones nor Kendre Miller stood out with Jamaal Williams on injured reserve. Alvin Kamara will have a chance to seize control of this backfield in his return from a suspension this week.
• Rashid Shaheed had a punt return score and was on the field most of the time, but didn't record a catch. Winston has a good deep arm, but Shaheed is just a what-the-heck flex against Tampa and not an essential hold with Michael Thomas staying healthy so far.
• Jordan Love was rough at first but came on in the fourth quarter to erase a 17-point deficit in his first start at Lambeau. He has a lot of promise as a fantasy quarterback once Christian Watson and Aaron Jones return. Watson plans to play on Thursday vs. Detroit.
• AJ Dillon isn't worth starting even when Aaron Jones sits. He's droppable in typical leagues.
• Romeo Doubs caught the game-winning score in close quarters and has Love's trust in the red zone. Rookies Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave were both one good throw away from a strong fantasy game. It's not clear how this target tree will share out when all hands are on deck, but Love is making this a productive passing game despite low volume and inexperience.

HOU @ JAX

• C.J. Stroud had a solid fantasy game even though the Texans led for most of the game with special teams and defense pitching in big contributions. He's looking like a QB2/Superflex hit and matchup QB1 in 1QB leagues.
• Dameon Pierce at least had a touchdown set up by a Tank Dell long bomb reception, but the Texans offensive line just isn't opening holes. It probably won't against the Steelers, so Pierce is just a flex play in Week 4.
• Nico Collins and Robert Woods weren't as strong for fantasy with Stroud throwing less this week, but Dell caught two deep balls, including the score that iced the game. Dell is a strong WR3/Flex option this week and could be one of the waiver pickups of the year. Collins is still worth putting in your Week 4 lineup.
• Trevor Lawrence and the offense had too many miscues against an improving Texans defense that might not be the fantasy lineup target we thought they were after two weeks. Lawrence isn't an automatic QB1 start vs. Atlanta.
• Travis Etienne was strong, and we should still expect big games from opposing backfield vs. Houston. We'll see if one or both of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren can actually come through for fantasy teams this week. If Tank Bigsby hadn't vulture a short score, it would have been an even better day for Etienne.
• Calvin Ridley struggled with drops, so he's shaping up as a boom/bust WR3/Flex going forward. He has a tough matchup vs. former teammate AJ Terrell this week, so if you're stacked at wide receiver, you might bench him this week.
• Christian Kirk at least caught a score, but it was an underwhelming week for the passing game in general and disappointing with Zay Jones' absence, concentrating targets at wide receiver on Kirk and Ridley.