Welcome back to another installment of “Fantasy Whiplash!,” where we floor it around the turns each Tuesday with the fantasy football news and notes that affect your team and league.
Let’s speed through the news, hugging the turns and making a pit stop for waiver claims to improve your squad. Maybe we’ll even slam on the breaks for musings, starts/sits, and off-the-cuff thoughts.
Check your attention span at the door, where we’re going; you aren’t going to need it. Let’s ride.
Fantasy Football News & Notes for Week 3
Fantasy Football News
The (Fantasy) Gods Must Be Crazy
Bench players are outscoring your starters, and a slew of new injuries and “questionable” tags have rapidly become “inactive” ones. When the dust settled, innumerable managers were eliminated from Survivor pools. Big performances were left on waivers, and last-minute fill-ins failed the test (I’m looking at you, Jeff Wilson Jr.) The coup de grace was Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr leading the league in quarterback fantasy points. Geno Smith and Sam Darnold also made the cut for the top 10. Who had that on their Bingo card?
Which News Do You Want First?
Let’s start with the bad: Your team is probably in shambles, and it’s only Week 3. These are the times you curse teams for not playing anyone in the preseason. Sure, that’s all hunky-dory for your hometown team, but dammit, these fantasy players need reps before “Peaceful, Breece-y Thielen” rolls them out against the “Knuckle Children!”
Unfortunately, they didn’t. There is good news, however. Take some solace in the fact that (knock on wood) there have been a precious few season-ending injuries at skill positions.
There are some changes in the signal-caller position, though. The first domino has already fallen when the much-beleaguered Bryce Young was officially replaced by Andy Dalton, aka “The Red Rifle.” That dude just sticks around and always ends up the starter shortly before a Bengals game (Sept. 29).
Tua Tagovailoa (QB, Miami Dolphins)
I’ll not spend too much time on Tua Tagovaloa, as his situation has been discussed ad nauseam. Everyone’s thoughts are with him after his latest concussion after a brutal collision, coincidentally with Damar Hamlin, who was part of another scary moment in the past when he suffered cardiac arrest on Jan. 2, 2023, resulting in the cancellation of the remainder of the Bills-Bengals game.
While everyone waits to find out whether Tagovailoa will return to the field, he reportedly “doesn’t have any plans to retire” and will meet with neurologists, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Backup quarterback Skylar Thompson is in line to start on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, and Miami has also signed Tyler Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad
Water-Cooler News Items
Here’s your anti-moron elixer to guzzle before standing around at work making small talk. You’ll sound knowledgeable about football, but I can do nothing about that outfit.
- We were right about one of the quarterbacks looking completely overmatched in Green Bay on Sunday. However, it turned out to be Anthony Richardson (17-34, one TD and three INTs) and not the much-maligned Malik Willis (12-14 and one TD). He also out-rushed Richardson for 41 yards to 37 in the Packers’ 16-10 victory.
- Kansas City and Cincinnati turned in another great matchup, proving to be one of the marquee rivalries in the NFL. An Evan McPherson missed extra point, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Ja’Marr Chase and a questionable pass interference call on Cincinnati sealed the Bengals’ fate in the 26-25 loss. It soiled another game in which Joe Burrow statistically outplayed Patrick Mahomes.
- The Los Angeles Rams are now down their top two receivers after Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury during LA’s drubbing at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals 41-10. Kupp appears likely to join teammate Puka Nacua on the short-term Injured Reserve (IR), calling into question his future with the Rams, according to Athlon Sports.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers have scored 31 points in two weeks. Good enough for 2-0 and Justin Fields to keep this job.
- Calvin Ridley is still really fast, as displayed on his first Titans touchdown.
What to Watch for Around the NFL
Return of the Quarterbacks
A few quarterbacks are beginning to shake off their offseason doldrums. After all, as noted, this is essentially the preseason for them. As the leaders go, so goes the team. We’re seeing more and more of the league’s top receivers peppered with targets:
Fantasy Football Wide Receivers Target leaders for Week 2 through the Early Games of the Main Slate:
1) Amon-Ra St. Brown (20)
2) Malik Nabers (18)
3) Jaxon Smith-Njigba (16)
4) DK Metcalf (14)
5) Davante Adams (12)— James Danielson (@snag1025) September 15, 2024
That was just wide receivers through the first slate. Tack on Nico Collins, DeVonta Smith and D.J. Moore (10 each).
And for those of you expecting regression from Jameson Williams once Amon-Ra St. Brown was targeted… nope. Williams had 11 by his lonesome, totaling 30 for the wide receiver duo just this week.
Due Diligence
The point is, it’s been preseason, bringing low-scoring games and rookies like Caleb Williams enduring tough sledding in the early going. As the quarterbacks get more accurate, we’ll begin to see the numbers en masse. The whole mess of injuries has been compounded by the fact that we already were behind the eight-ball where scoring is concerned.
The truth of the matter is that just about everyone is dealing with injuries. Every tweet seems to be “Here’s my list of IR bums preventing me from winning.”
There’s no empathy in fantasy football, and there shouldn’t be. Fantasy managers are all going through the same issues. You have to trust your process, order your waiver claims in an advantageous way, and, above all, don’t panic. Plenty of teams start 0-2 or 1-1 and right the ship. Plenty more start 2-0 and get complacent.
Make Sure To Waive As You Go By
There are a lot of possibilities on the fantasy football waiver wire this week, and quite a few of them are shots in the dark. That said, you never know when you might pick up a league-winner on a whim. It is important to recognize your needs for the season, not just the points you score in Week 3.
Here are some of my favorites from the creme de la creme down to the fliers:
- Quentin Johnston (WR, Los Angeles Chargers): I said last week that Quentin Johnston looked like the wideout to roster in Los Angeles, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t go for five receptions, 51 yards and two touchdowns. He’s likely still on waivers in your league, and I like him as a season-long addition if you’ve got someone droppable or headed to your IR spot.
- Andrei Iosivas (WR, Cincinnati Bengals): It’s important to note that Andrei Iosivas will still be on the field when Tee Higgins eventually returns. “Yoshi” won’t be an every-week flex immediately but is a great plug-and-play who has the trust of Joe Burrow in the endzone.
- Josh Downs (WR, Indianapolis Colts): I’ve been saying for weeks that rostering Alec Pierce is fool’s gold, and I think that comes to light this week. Josh Downs is back practicing from an ankle injury after catching 68 balls from the slot a year ago. He should resume his spot as No. 2 in the Indy pecking order and could provide the safety blanket that Richardson needs.
- Jauan Jennings (WR, San Francisco 49ers): Jauan Jennings has seven catches for a hair over 100 yards, but he finds himself as the de facto WR2 behind Brandon Aiyuk, thanks to a calf injury to Deebo Samuel, expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. Jennings has the size and strength to play like Samuel and will be much more involved in the passing game.
- Demarcus Robinson (WR, Los Angeles Rams): Demarcus Robinson’s stats don’t jump off the page, but he was Points Per Reception (PPR) WR23 from Weeks 12-18 of 2023. Without Kupp on the field, he could absorb a ton of targets. He’s played over 90% of snaps each of the last two weeks.
Worth A Look
- Braelon Allen (RB – NYJ) & Jaylen Wright (RB – MIA): If you have a roster spot available, these two running backs are poised to jump ats any opportunity. Braelon Allen played 32% of snaps behind Breece Hall and produced 56 yards from scrimmage and two TDs. Jaylen Wright did not get very involved for Miami, but neither did Wilson Jr. (two catches) as the De’Von Achane show rolled. However, with Raheem Mostert dragging around his oxygen tank and Achane’s propensity for getting “owies,” Wright and his speed will be seen on the field more often.
- For those that aren’t ride-or-die with their early tight end picks, you might look at streaming. Hunter Henry, Colby Parkinson, Mike Gesicki and Jonnu Smith could be plug-and-play matchups.
- If you like riding the hot hand or lost Jordan Love or Tagovailoa to injury, it’s time to stop ignoring Derek Carr. Maybe Sam Darnold, too.
- One last thought: If you think you know what Kansas City is going to do at running back, you don’t. Carson Steele, Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine should all be used differently every week, or the Chiefs may never run again. Who knows? I suppose if you insist on adding one, it should probably be Steele. I’d recommend the wait-and-see approach, though.
Wins Come in Bunches
Hit the waiver wire, and make sure you always pay attention to who other managers have given up on too early! Scoring more points in one week is a Band-Aid. Making moves for the rest of the season based on talent and opportunity sets a team up for the long haul!
“Whiplash!” will be back next Tuesday with more tasty fantasy football news, nuggets and morsels to devour. Until then, I’ll see you on Sunday morning from 10 a.m. ET until the games start. Tag me for all your last-minute start/sit questions!
Check out all of our Week 3 fantasy football content:
- Fantasy Football Week 3 News & Notes (2024)
- NFL Week 3 PrizePicks Player Predictions (2024)
- Week 3 NFL DFS Picks & Lineup Advice (2024)
- Week 3 Fantasy Football Trade Targets (2024)
- Week 3 Fantasy Football Advice Mailbag
- Week 3 Shore Thing Sleepers (2024)
- Week 3 In the Scope Targets (2024)
Thanks for checking out this week’s Whiplash! Track me down on X @BuyAndSellYou for more redraft and dynasty fantasy football content. You’ll find me fielding your last-minute start/sit questions from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET every single Sunday!
*Photo Credit: Jim Dedmon – USA TODAY Sports*
