Week three brought parody back into the general landscape of the NFL. The Colts, Panthers, Jaguars, Falcons, Packers, and Broncos were able to pull off upset wins. What does this mean for fantasy? Maybe nothing. My theory has been the parody of the NFL has transitioned to fantasy football. Talent is everywhere. In my opinion, fantasy leagues have been more balanced than ever. Depending on your league size, good talent can be found on the waiver because of the number of skilled players making weekly impacts. To all the fantasy owners sitting at 0-3 and 1-2. The season isn’t over. Injuries and trades can balance the scales of power. Let us dive into Fantasy Express week 3 highlights.
Overlooking a Fantasy Machine
Like many other fantasy managers, I doubt my fantasy skills for overlooking Saquon Barkley in the first round of drafts. Last year I told myself no matter what draft pick I had, I was going to take Barkley hoping for a bounce-back season. That never happened, as Barkley spent the majority of last season injured. This year I was going to let Barkley fall to his ADP, and boy, was that a mistake. Currently, Barkley is projected as RB10 on Fantasy Pros for the rest of the season. Fantasy managers who were able to get Barkley in the second are happy about their return. His 20.6 points in week three against the Cowboys give him 61.3 in half-point PPR leagues. Barkley finished the week as RB5 and currently sits as RB2 overall behind Nick Chubb.
Mobile Quarterbacks Lead the Charge
Four of the top-scoring quarterbacks in week five were “mobile” quarterbacks. Are the days of a true pocket passer over? Don’t ask Justin Herbert, who may be unable to answer that questions after a poor outing with rib cartilage damage. Lamar Jackson was the star of the week. While only passing for 218 yards, he managed to throw four touchdowns. Lamar also went over the century mark in rushing. Finishing the game with 107 rushing yards and one more touchdown on the ground. His 40.42 fantasy points for the week cemented him in as the week’s top quarterback.
Not to my surprise Jalen Hurts finished the week as QB2. Torching the Commanders for 340 passing yards and three touchdowns. Josh Allen threw for the most yards in week three, posting 400 in the air against the Miami defense. These three men aren’t going anywhere in terms of the weekly leaderboard. Lamar wants to get paid, the media wants Hurts to prove himself, and well the Bills will do anything to win a Super bowl.
The Stars Fade in the Receiving Room
The wide receiver leader board for week three has owners checking the settings to make sure they looked it up right. Devonta Smith, Mac Hollins, Hollywood Brown, Amari Cooper, and Zay Jones rounded out the top five scoring wide receivers. It doesn’t end there. You have to keep scrolling down to find your big-name wide receiver. Names like Chris Olave, Russell Gage, and Tyler Boyd landed in the top ten this week. Cooper Kupp, AJ Brown, Stefon Diggs, and Justin Jefferson all underperformed. Jefferson had one catch for fourteen yards. Ouch!
Fantasy Express Week 3 Game Ball
Has Trevor Lawrence finally arrived? Trevor Lawrence completed 28-39 for 262 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s Week 3 upset win over the Chargers. Lawrence looked confident on the field. He spread the ball around, and most importantly, his team won. The week three performance ranked fifth for quarterbacks. Lawrence should soak up the victory as much as possible. Week for welcomes the fierce Eagles defense. The birds sacked Carson Wentz nine times and look to be a complete defense, poising a tough task for Lawrence. Enjoy the Fantasy Express Week 3 Highlights game ball.
Key Injuries
Fantasy owners were looking to their bench or waiver wire to replace big names like Keenan Allen or Trey Lance this week. While Justin Herbert was strong enough to play Sunday, others like David Montgomery will be missing time. Montgomery left his week three matchup against the Texans with a knee/ankle injury. Fantasy owners of him or not will be placing their bids for Khalil Herbert if he isn’t already owned.
Michael Thomas suffered a toe injury leading to Chris Olaves’ big day. The Detroit Lions got banged up in their loss to Minnesota this week. Look for questionable tags on Amon-ra St. Brown and DeAndre Swift. Brown should be okay, but Swift owners should be planning a strategy to work around the injury. In the same game, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook left in the third quarter because of a separated shoulder. Cook isn’t expected to miss time. He has a lengthy history of shoulder injuries, which should worry fantasy owners. Don’t be surprised if Joe Mixon doesn’t practice this week but still plays. He is dealing with a sore ankle.
The Fantasy Express is a weekly podcast done on Tuesday night at eight pm. We at Fantasy Express strive to provide our followers with an unbiased opinion. No, we aren’t always right, but this is a free service done voluntarily. Fantasy Pros or Yahoo Fantasy Sports provided the stats and rankings.
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