Week 2 is over, and we are on our way to fantasy football glory, but only after we tackle Week 3. Here are a few guys I like this week and three I’d prefer to look elsewhere on my roster. Let’s dive in.
Holding myself accountable, here is how my callouts last week faired. I am judging my ‘hit or miss’ against a full-PPR format.
Start ‘Em
Joe Burrow, QB – Cincinnati Bengals
Week 3 Matchup: @ Washington Commanders
We’ve been here before, this slow and ridiculous start that the Bengals continue to go through every year. In four of the last five years, the Bengals have started 0-2. This is the get-right game the Real Slim Shady was looking for. At this point, it seems like Tee Higgins should be ready for the Monday night bout against the Commanders, and Ja’Marr Chase looks to be back in football shape. Now we take those weapons and let them loose, facing the worst defense against opposing wide receivers, and it spells success for Burrow. Currently, the Commanders allow the most points to both the wide receiver position and quarterback, which comes in at over 23 points per game this season.
D.J. Moore, WR – Chicago Bears
Week 3 Matchup: vs Indianapolis Colts
Is this it, folks? Is this the game that Caleb Williams throws his first touchdown? I think so! To say D.J. Moore has been disappointing isn’t entirely fair. The top-to-bottom team has revealed problems, but this matchup may be the one to refocus this offense. The Colts’ defense is playing just putrid ball right now. They are allowing points to the wide receiver position at a bottom seven rate, and it only gets worse when their best defender, DeForest Buckner, is heading to IR. The Bears line should give Williams enough time to get Moore the ball. The Bears should be missing Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen as well, which leaves many more targets for Moore.
Chris Olave, WR – New Orleans Saints
Week 3 Matchup: @ Philadelphia Eagles
So the Saints are the hottest team in the NFL right now, but their young star receiver has brought in six receptions. Much of this has been on the back of Kamara’s five touchdowns he’s scored or Rashid Shaheed’s back-to-back games with bomb touchdown plays. The peripheral numbers for Olave have still been in the top of the league. If you add that with him going down on the one-yard line last week, the view on Olave can look a lot different. This game is set for a decent over under and a Saints team implied total over 26 points leaves a good chance for some points. This is the kicker, though: the Eagles are allowing over 41 points to the position this season with their young secondary.
Sit ‘Em
Devin Singletary, RB – New York Giants
Week 3 Matchup: @ Cleveland Browns
I was a bit excited coming into the season with the price of Devin Singletary. He wouldn’t take much to draft him, and he seemed to be in line for as solid of a workload as you could find at that location. Through two games, we have seen Singletary with 15 and 17 opportunities, and that may just not be enough. Cleveland could keep him in check, while last week’s game against the Commanders left us with misleading numbers. This matchup in Cleveland will prove to be a challenge and I don’t see Daniel Jones putting these Giants in good situations.
Michael Pittman, WR – Indianapolis Colts
Week 3 Matchup: @ Chicago Bears
If we saw a good game for DJ Moore, there must be bad on the other side. Michael Pittman is the loser on this end. Pittman just hasn’t been what he was last year with Gardner Minshew. Anthony Richardson is consistently looking downfield, which is a huge gap in the Colts’ 2023 offense. On top of that, we should see the season debut of the Colts’ budding second-year receiver, Josh Downs, who had a great report with Richardson all summer. The Bears are in the middle of the pack playing the receiver position but are in the top 10 against the quarterback, so if Richardson has to take over, it most likely would be with his legs. Sitting Pittman seems like the route in the future until the Colts offense better understands itself.
Aaron Jones, RB – Minnesota Vikings
Week 3 Matchup: @ Houston Texans
It’s been so much fun seeing the Vikings pull off two wins to start the season. Sam Darnold has played well, and many offensive pieces have proved to return value, but I’m seeing us hit the wall this week with Aaron Jones. He gave us a great week one, with targets in the passing game and over 6 yards per carry in the running game. After a harder matchup with San Fransisco last week we saw Jones plummet in the efficiency metric. Also, Ty Chandler has begun to show his speed and elusiveness in the run game. Through the first two games, the Texans have allowed just 12.2 PPR points to the running back position. This proves to be a challenging game script for the Vikings. If he makes his day, it will have to be on the back of receptions, and the Texans’ front seven will make him work for every yard.
– Brian Hartman, @TooMuch_Brian on X
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)