It’s time for Week 3 of The List! Each week, you can expect positional rankings and top 150 FLEX rankings to help you win your fantasy football leagues!
It is only Week 3, and fantasy rosters are in absolute shambles. We haven’t even gotten the crisp fall football air yet, and dreams have been crushed. Fantasy football is officially back. There are a lot of injuries for us to keep tabs on, so let’s dive into the most important ones for this week and what they mean for you!
- Let’s start with potentially one of the most impactful injuries for the week, AJ Brown. Brown is currently week to week with a hamstring injury. It’s an enormous blow to rosters and a situation to monitor. Unfortunately, hamstring injuries can be difficult. I expect that you will be without your top wideout for another 2+ weeks across the season. The Eagles may start to incorporate Jahan Dotson more into the offense than they did in Week 2, but the primary beneficiaries will be DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and, of course, Saquon Barkley. Smith is going to be a locked and loaded WR2 with upside, depending on matchups, for as long as Brown is out. Goedert gets a slight bump, but he should land inside the TE1s as a volume play for most weeks rather than straddling that TE1/TE2 line. For Barkley, it is hard to get him much higher most weeks, but he should be an easy top-five running back each week as he is leaned on more in Brown’s absence; he saw 27 opportunities in Week 2 and played 90% of the snaps (up from 80% in Week 1).
- Deebo Samuel is expected to miss a few weeks with a calf injury that he sustained in Week 2. It’s an enormous blow for the Niners and fantasy managers who were loving the value Deebo was providing (eclipsed 18 fantasy points in Weeks 1 and 2). For fantasy, you aren’t rushing to pick up Jauan Jennings. Brandon Aiyuk should look to have his first game with a full complement of snaps, and the 49ers may lean more run-heavy than they were planning with Jordan Mason’s emergence in the early parts of the season. I do think Isaac Guerendo is worth a bench stash as a handcuff who could have elite volume thrust into his lap at a moment’s notice. Expect a BOOM week from Aiyuk in Week 3.
- Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury that could force the Rams to put him up on IR alongside their other starting wide receiver, Puka Nacua. The Rams have lost nearly half of their starters in the first two weeks of the season. The answer for who you should be pivoting to in fantasy football is rarely going to be the same person from week to week. That being said, the names that should be on your radar, if they aren’t already, are Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson, and Jordan Whittington. Whittington may be the upside play, but my money would be on Robinson to lead the Rams in targets until they get either of their star pass-catchers back. Colby Parkinson could see a nice bump in volume, but his Week 2 performance left fantasy managers wanting more.
- In one of the more unfortunate scenes during Week 2, Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion, which has him heading to the IR while he gets more opinions on his future in the NFL. We hope for the best for Tua and his family. For fantasy purposes, this means that the entire team takes a big step back. De’Von Achane may be able to provide value independent of quarterback play, but outside of Achane, it gets much worse. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both dropped into the WR2 and WR4 range, respectively. It may seem drastic, but it’s warranted when we look at their production in Miami with a non-Tua player at quarterback.
- The Chiefs were also hit by the injury bug in Week 2, losing Isiah Pacheco with a fractured fibula. Pacheco heads to IR, and the Chiefs are now looking to a future with Carson Steele, Samaje Perine, and the newly signed Kareem Hunt. Hunt may be able to get up to speed quickly, but he is a shadow of who he was the last time he played in Kansas City. The unfortunate reality is that we are most likely looking at three or four (with Clyde Edwards-Helaire returning soon) RB4s with RB3 upside. Steele has the athleticism that should allow him to dominate scoring opportunities, but he won’t impact the game as a receiver where Hunt and Perine are going to split touches. It is a tough look for fantasy managers, and I would not be going out of my way to buy any of these backs for now.
- Joe Mixon left Sunday night’s game with an ankle injury. Reports this week say he shouldn’t miss too much time. That being said, I would not be surprised to see the Texans take caution with their veteran running back. For fantasy purposes, Mixon belongs on your bench unless he gets in multiple practices this week. In his stead, Cam Akers and Dameon Pierce should be working in tandem. Neither is too exciting, and Pierce is not a great fit for the Texans’ offensive system. If you are desperate for a running back, Akers is a fine stash, just in case Mixon ends up missing more time than expected.
- Evan Engram was a surprise inactive in Week 2, hurting his hamstring during pre-game warmups. Engram has been underutilized, and the Jaguars have been a bit of a mess to start the year. He is currently week to week, which does not bode well for his Week 3 status. I would look elsewhere for this week with plans towards Week 4 just to be safe. Some names I like are Hunter Henry, Parkinson, and Mike Gesicki.
The List: Week 3