The injuries continued in Week 2 in a major way so we need to address those and their impacts for your fantasy rosters first!
- 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 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.
Now for the players who will be in your lineups this week. The good news is that even with some brutal injuries, you can make a case for around 40-45 wide receivers to be in lineups this week, whether at WR or FLEX. The green and yellow tiers of players (WR1-WR31) all have some solid usage and matchups to take advantage of. When looking at each tier, there are some players to note as you set your lineups.
- First is Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk has been slowly integrated into the offense as an offseason hold-in. In Week 3, he could be set up for a BOOM week. No Christian McCaffrey and no Deebo Samuel mean we could see the first hints of alpha usage for the 2023 breakout. After two down weeks he lands inside my top-10 wide receivers for the first time all season.
- The next name we need to discuss is Tyreek Hill. The loss of Tua Tagovailoa cannot be overstated for Hill. He has averaged under 50 yards per game for the Dolphins when Tua is not under center. Both Hill and Jaylen Waddle dropped in my rest-of-season rankings. As you prepare for Tua’s absence, you can expect Hill to land more in the high-end WR2 range and Waddle in the high-end WR4 or low-end WR3 range.
- The orange tier of players (WR32-WR41) is the all-big-play team. These are the players who have rock-bottom floors but could be threats for a big play or a touchdown in Week 3. I don’t love rolling them out there, but in a FLEX spot, they can make up for a big expected point differential in your matchups.
WR Rankings: Week 3