Welcome to week 3 of the fantasy football season! We witnessed some SERIOUS tragedy in week 2 especially at the RB position with the likes of AP, Doug Martin, Jonathan Stewart, Danny Woodhead, Ameer Abdullah, and others facing multi-week injuries. These injuries have left us in a dire situation when it comes to RBs in week 3 which makes the following rankings even more important. The QBs, WRs, and TEs faired slightly better this week with the exception of Josh McCown and Jimmy Garoppollo catching the injury bug.
Not only were tragedies witnessed at the RB position, but they were also witnessed in the form of a Patriots vs. Texans game on Thursday night that may have provided the least relevant fantasy output since the game was invented. We saw down games from Deandre Hopkins, Will Fuller, Julian Edelman, and maybe the most disappointing GRONK appearance. The only bright spot in the night was LaGarrette Blount who rushed for 105 yards and 2 TDs. I am very pleased to say that the following rankings exclude any players from the “game” last night.
Quarterbacks
- Aaron Rodgers, GB QB vs. DET
- Drew Brees, NO QB vs. ATL
- Cam Newton, CAR QB vs. MIN
- Matt Ryan, ATL QB at NO
- Carson Palmer, ARI QB at BUF
- Andrew Luck, IND QB vs. SD
- Eli Manning, NYG QB vs. WAS
- Ben Roethlisberger, PIT QB at PHI
- Phillip Rivers, SD QB at IND
- Ryan Tannehill, MIA QB vs. CLE
- Derek Carr, OAK QB at TEN
- Matthew Stafford, DET QB at GB
- Marcus Mariota, TEN QB vs. OAK
- Blake Bortles, JAC QB vs. BAL
- Russell Wilson, SEA QB vs. SF
Matt Ryan has been one of the best fantasy QBs in the league this year… I know its only been two weeks, but it feels like his match-ups just keep getting better drawing the NO Saints in week 3. The Saints and the Giants game in week 2 was not quite the shootout extravaganza I expected, but that doesn’t prove that the saints pass D is any better than what we saw in 2015 and in week 1. Ryan is also the benefit of having Julio Jones (hopefully) at his disposal. I would like to point out that if Julio can not go on Monday night, I would drop Matt Ryan in these rankings to #11 behind Derek Carr.
If Ryan Tannehill is on your waiver wire and you are desperate for a QB this week, run to pick him up NOW! He has an amazing matchup against the Cleveland Browns that is only being helped further by the fact that Joe Haden may not be playing. Tannehill did amazing in garbage time against the Patriots in week 2 and salvaged his week after a poor showing in the first half. I expect Tannehill to take full advantage of the Browns defense and throw at least 2 TDs with over 300 passing yards.
Runnings Backs
- DeAngelo Williams, PIT RB at PHI
- C.J. Anderson, DEN RB at CIN
- David Johnson, ARI RB at BUF
- Matt Forte, NYJ RB at KC
- Melvin Gordon, SD RB at IND
- DeMarco Murray, TEN RB vs. OAK
- Ezekiel Elliott, DAL RB vs. CHI
- Spencer Ware, KC RB vs. NYJ
- Mark Ingram, NO RB vs. ATL
- LeSean McCoy, BUF RB vs. ARI
- Todd Gurley, LA RB at TB
- Latavius Murray, OAK RB at TEN
- Eddie Lacy, GB RB vs. DET
- Isaiah Crowell, CLE RB at MIA
- Charles Sims, TB RB vs. LA
Melvin Gordon is now the number 1 running back in SD. Even before Danny Woodhead went down with an ACL tear in week 2 Gordon was off to a hot start. Now that he is the top dog in the SD backfield I only expect him to get even more touches and keep improving his game. Gordon takes on the Colts defense this week that has let up 125 yards per game to runnings backs (28th in the NFL) and 3 TDs. I project 110 yards rushing and 1 TD in week 3.
If we pressed rewind and went back to the NFL pre-season I would never believe that I would be ranking Todd Gurley outside of the Top 10 running backs in any week against any defense, but here we are. It doesn’t feel like it is Gurley’s fault. We have seen the remarkable talent and physical skills that he has, but his team is not providing any support. He lacks a QB that provides any down field threat and the offensive line does not seem to open any holes for him. I don’t think the road gets any easier for Gurley against the Buccaneers who are only allowing 79 yards per game to the running back which is 8th in the NFL.
Wide Receivers
- Antonio Brown, PIT WR at PHI
- Julio Jones, ATL WR at NO
- Mike Evans, TB WR vs. LA
- Odell Beckham Jr., NYG WR vs. WAS
- Dez Bryant, DAL WR vs. CHI
- Allen Robinson, JAC WR vs. BAL
- Amari Cooper, OAK WR at TEN
- Brandin Cooks, NO WR vs. ATL
- Alshon Jeffrey, CHI WR at DAL
- Jordy Nelson, GB WR vs. DET
- Jarvis Landry, MIA WR vs. CLE
- Larry Fitzgerald, ARI WR at BUF
- T.Y. Hilton, IND WR vs SD
- Travis Benjamin, SD WR at IND
- A.J. Green, CIN WR vs. DEN
- Kelvin Benjamin, CAR WR vs. MIN
- Jordan Matthews, PHI WR vs. PIT
- Willie Snead, NO WR vs. ATL
- Marvin Jones, DET WR at GB
- Stefon Diggs, MIN WR at CAR
- Sterling Shepard, NYG WR vs. WAS
- Tajae Sharpe, TEN WR vs. OAK
- Jeremy Maclin, KC WR vs. NYJ
- Doug Baldwin, SEA WR vs. SF
- Devante Parker, MIA WR vs. CLE
It happened … Antonio Brown had his down week last week only catching 4 balls for 39 yards against the Bengals. The Bengals have had Brown’s number for the past few years and I truly think that we have seen his lowest fantasy output for the season now. I expect Brown to be his normal fantasy BEAST self against the Eagles this week in an all Pennsylvania shoot-out. I am projecting 9 catches for 120 yard and 1 TD in week 3.
Jarvis Landry is the compliment to the section on Ryan Tannehill above. As mentioned, I expect the Dolphins to be able to throw all over the poor Browns Pass defense and Landry is Tannehill’s number 1 target. Landry is a PPR monster who will finally find the TD pay dirt in week 3 against Cleveland. I project 7 catches for 75 yards and 1 TD.
Tight Ends
- Jordan Reed, WAS TE at NYG
- Delanie Walker, TEN TE vs. OAK
- Greg Olsen, CAR TE vs. MIN
- Julius Thomas, JAC TE vs. BAL
- Travis Kelce, KC TE vs NYJ
- Dennis Pitta, BAL TE at JAC
- Jason Witten, DAL TE vs. CHI
- Eric Ebron, DET TE at GB
- Dwayne Allen, IND TE vs SD
- Jacob Tamme, ATL TE at NO
- Gary Barnidge, CLE TE at MIA
- Coby Fleener, NO TE vs. ATL
Dennis Pitta is back, he had a huge week against the Browns in week 2 with 9 catches for over 100 yards. I expect Pitta to continue his comeback tour against the Jaguars this week. The Jaguars are 3rd worst in the league when it comes to receiving touchdowns allowing 6 in two weeks. I project Flacco will continue to call Pitta’s number due to their historic chemistry and expect Pitta to have 7 catches for 65 yards and 1 TD in week 3.
Leave a Reply