I know this is a column to discuss RBs, WRs and TEs, but I did want to take a moment to talk about how worried I am about Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud, who are both outside of the top 14 fantasy QBs heading into Week 4.
Richardson was supposed to run for a ton of yards and touchdowns this season, but he has only one rushing TD through Week 3. There he was on Sunday, helping to push Trey Sermon into the end zone on a goal-line carry. TREY. SERMON. I know I’m supposed to preach patience or something, but I’m getting nervous.
And then there is Stroud. He was getting the it’s ok pat on the back from Sam Darnold after throwing two INTs in the Texans’ blowout loss to the Vikings. Yes, this is a flex column, but if Richardson and Stroud don’t get their (stuff) together, it might not matter who I’m flexing from the Colts and Texans this week.
Now, on to the rest of the notes …
- Speaking of players who have let us down this season, I’m looking at you, CeeDee Lamb, who posted just 8.7 fantasy points in Week 3. He has a matchup against the Giants on Thursday night, and he did have 39.5 fantasy points the last time he played against them (Week 10 of last season). Oh, and the Giants allowed 27.6 fantasy points to Amari Cooper on Sunday.
- Let’s talk about Saquon Barkley for a moment. If you were able to nab him at the end of the first round of your draft, you are probably doing pretty well. Saquon has scored more than 33 fantasy points in two of his three games this season.
- Jonathan Taylor had a tough matchup against the Bears and still ended up with 26.5 fantasy points. He’s posted 100-plus rushing yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2021.
- I’m ready for DK Metcalf to have another big game on Monday might against the Lions. He has put up 20-plus fantasy points in each of the last two games, while Detroit has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to receivers this year.
- Garrett Wilson isn’t somebody you need to be concerned about. I know he has just two receiving touchdowns in the last 18 games, which is kind of bad, especially when Allen Lazard is just coming in and stealing all types of scoring opportunities from him. But I think it’s just a matter of time before we see more from Wilson.
- I was worried about Malik Nabers coming into this season, given he had the struggling Daniel Jones as his QB, but Nabers is the first player in NFL history with 20-plus receptions and three or more receiving TDs in his first three career games. He also leads the league in air-yard share (57.6%).
- I was all in on Aaron Jones this year. He’s been fantastic in the first three weeks, currently ranking as the fantasy RB9. Now he has a REVENGE GAME against the Packers this week.
- Amari Cooper bounced back from a slow start rather nicely in Week 3 (7 catches for 86 yards, 2 TDs). He had a 24-yard touchdown reception on the first play from scrimmage against the Giants. That will help.
- I’m growing a little concerned about J.K. Dobbins. He’s currently the fantasy RB12, but he didn’t look great against the Steelers. Obviously, Pittsburgh has a great defense and his Week 4 opponent (Chiefs) doesn’t have a defense at the same level right now. They don’t. Don’t get mad at me. The thing is, teams know that if you stop the run, you can stop the Chargers. This isn’t Ann Arbor.
- I like Najee Harris this week. He’s had 18-plus touches in each of his three games this season, and Mike Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday that Jaylen Warren will be limited in practice with a knee injury, while Harris won’t have any limitations. This week the Steelers visit the Colts, who aren’t great against the run. Not that you would know it from watching the Bears struggle to move the ball on the ground against them. It’s going to be bad when the Steelers smoke them this week. And yes, I could do without people asking me “hey, do you miss Justin Fields yet?” It’s like having your ex living her best life on IG and your friends keep bringing it up.
- I had identified Bucky Irving as a player to watch coming into the season, which was a take you were all agreeable to (you weren’t). Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after Sunday’s game that Irving has earned more snaps. He’s obviously going to carry the ball more, because Rachaad White is wildly inefficient. If Irving starts to get more looks in the passing game, we could be talking about him as a high-end fantasy RB2.
- You have to love how the Panthers rebounded with Andy Dalton replacing Bryce Young. Hey, former Bears QBs are 4-0 as starters this season. I don’t know if people really think of Dalton as a former Bear, but he is one! Diontae Johnson had 14 targets in Dalton’s first start of the season. I believe DJ will be the guy we expected him to be coming into this season thanks to Carolina’s QB change. And the Panthers draw the Bengals in Week 4. Can we really use the Bengals defense as a choice matchup in fantasy? I think that we can.
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