Week 3 Headlines & Insights!
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Welcome back! This week I’m posting on Tuesday to help us get a head start on value shifts to make those trades and waiver wire claims. Quick reminder that I retweet all the good stuff I come across on Twitter if you want more frequent updates during the week. I also post these summaries on various social media platforms if you’d like to join the conversation about any of the headlines.
Good luck in Week 3!
Notable Injury Updates:
Week 2 was a bloodbath, so I’ll only list the most significant injuries this week. I’m sure I’ll miss one or twelve. Here’s a handy tool for browsing all injury news.
NYG RB Saquon Barkley has a torn ACL and is done for the season.
CAR RB Christian McCaffrey is out 4-6 weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
DEN WR Courtland Sutton “tore up his knee” and is done for the season.
TB WR Chris Godwin cleared from concussion protocol.
GB WR Davante Adams removal from week 2 sounds like it was precautionary.
DET WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring) expected back Week 3.
DEN QB Drew Lock has a rotator cuff strain. Team says 3-5 weeks. IR possible.
LAR RB Cam Akers separated some rib cartilage. Should be “OK.”
IND WR Parris Campbell (PCL) sidelined indefinitely. Possibly for the season.
SF RB Tevin Coleman (knee) expected to miss “multiple weeks.”
SF RB Raheem Mostert (MCL sprain) likely out Week 3.
SF QB Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) considered week-to-week.
Articles, Insights, Analysis, Hype:
ATL WR Calvin Ridley “leads the NFL receiving touchdowns since 2018 with 21 in 31 games — Julio Jones has 21 in his past 61 games.”
MIA "Tight end" Mike Gesicki through two weeks: * Lined up slot or wide on 92% of his snaps * Run a route on 63 of Fitz's 86 dropbacks * Team-high 20.7% target share * 11-160-1 despite facing NE and BUF.
PHI RB Miles Sanders “was indeed unleashed in 2020 debut yesterday: * 83% of the RB carries * 70% of the RB targets * 77% of the total snaps * 20 carries plus 7 targets”
Benjamin Watson and Mike Wallace gush over LV TE Darren Waller: Watson says only two athletes he’s played with were in Waller’s class — Jimmy Graham and Randy Moss. Sidenote: LV TE Darren Waller saw 45.7% of the Raiders’ targets in week 2.
Post and discussion on /r/Dynastyff: Week 2 Rookie Report.
IND RB Jonathan Taylor “gets the New York Jets (280 rush yards, 3 rush TD allowed through 2 games) in Week 3 Adam Gase will scheme to stop Parris Campbell (out indefinitely)” Taylor out-touched teammate Nyheim Hines 28-1 in Week 2.
AZ QB Kyler Murray has: “▪︎ More rush yds than Christian McCaffrey ▪︎ More rush TD than Ezekiel Elliott ▪︎ More pass yds than Patrick Mahomes Redefining DUAL-THREAT” Might as well add this sweet clip of Murray doin’ his thing.
“Justin Herbert’s 21.2% target rate to Chargers RBs was a complete 180 from Tyrod’s 3.3% rate in Week 1. Not a stretch to think [LAC RB] Austin Ekeler’s usage will vary weekly pending who’s under center.”
Cowboys rookie WR CeeDee Lamb has out-targeted Michael Gallup for their first two games. In Week 2 CeeDee Lamb led the team in receiving yards with 106.
CAR WR Robby Anderson “is yet another example of a player improving drastically after leaving Adam Gase. 6/114/1 in Week 1 and posted 9/109 against Tampa. He's not just a deep threat, either. Getting screens and underneath looks.”
LAR TE Tyler Higbee “has played 122 snaps, run 31 routes and handled 9 targets. Gerald Everett has played 53 snaps, run 14 routes and handled 2 targets. Not even a contest.”
“Since Day 1 of Training Camp I like what I've seen from [PHI WR] Jalen Reagor. He's not JUST a gadget guy. Not JUST a deep threat or a decoy. He'll do some dirty work and make tough catches over the middle of the field. Made some tough grabs in this one while also getting some YAC chances”
[IND TE] Mo Alie-Cox “filling in for jack doyle (ankle) in week 2: *67% snap share (39% week 1) *63% route participation (40% week 1) *25% target share (5.5% week 1) * 110 receiving yards on 22.0 ypr”
Thread on /r/DynastyFF on why you should consider buying GB RB AJ Dillon while his value is low. At the very least check out this Twitter breakdown.
Three NFL teams (Falcons, Bills, Seahawks) have two WRs in the top 12 so far.
"Arians also said that despite [TB RB] Leonard Fournette's 103 yards rushing, two touchdowns and 13 receiving yards, he's comfortable with Ronald Jones remaining the starter and isn't making a change there. Jones rushed for 23 yards on seven carries and caught two passes for four yards."
RB Antonio Gibson, WR Jalen Reagor, WR Tee Higgins, and WR Michael Pittman Jr. were some of the biggest rookie snap count risers in Week 2.
Clip of SEA WR DK Metcalf torching one of the best corners in the league, slowing down to catch an underthrown ball, then taking it to the house.
List of wide receivers who've played two games while seeing 20% or more of their team's targets (not including SNF and MNF games.)
WAS RB Antonio Gibson “is happening: 14 touches, 52 yards, TD. McKissic 8 touches Barber 1 touch” Gibson had a 66.7% snap share.
Redditor posts theory that TEN WR A.J. Brown’s injury is more serious than we've been led to believe.
Rookie CIN QB Joe Burrow had 60 pass attempts with 0 interceptions in Week 2.
Cold Water:
LV WR Henry Ruggs “is a fantastic decoy for Darren Waller. His role is exactly the same as at Bama, 4th option in the passing game.”
Anthony Lynn elaborating on why Tyrod Taylor is still his starter: "There's a lot we didn't get done with [LAC QB Justin Herbert] on the field yesterday. He's a backup for a reason."
“In the first game without Marlon Mack (Achilles), [IND RB] Nyheim Hines played on 9-of-73 snaps, got zero carries and saw one target.”
Tools & Resources:
With all the injuries it’s going to be an interesting round on the waiver wire. Here’s some waiver wire articles from CBSFantasy, NumberFire, FantasyPros, ExpandtheBoxscore, PFF and Yahoo.
Super helpful recaps, insights, and takeaways of Week 2 games from PFF, QB List, FantasyAlarm, RazzBall, The Fantasy Footballers, Rotoworld and FantasyPros.
Fantasy usage model Week 3.
Some Week 3 matchup targets for streaming options.
A couple of tight end targets before Week 3.
Some Podcasts I Enjoyed This Week:
PodLink seems to be down this week so I’m linking directly to where I listened to each podcast.
Rotoworld Football Podcast: Josh Norris chats with every blurber following Sunday's slate of games, finding the details you might have missed in your fantasy scores and what we can learn from each outcome.
The Audible: Week 2 Recap.
The Fantasy Footballers: Week 2 Studs & Stinkers + Injuries, Injuries, Injuries!
Breakout Finder Podcast: Laviska Shenault Laser Light Show
The Fun Stuff:
The Jets and the Giants racing for the #1 pick in the 2021 draft.
“It appears that a Zero-Everything fantasy football draft strategy was the way to go in 2020. Congrats to those who went that direction.”
Clips of Patrick Mahomes being Patrick Mahomes.
The 49ers had so many injuries on Sunday that their MRI machine got injured.
Hopkins and Murray going for a stroll.
DK Metcalf campaigning for Russell Wilson's MVP. Deandre Hopkins also campaigns for Kyler Murray’s MVP.
Clip of rookie PIT WR Chase Claypool’s 84 yard touchdown.
Pretty nice touchdown run for an undrafted free-agent. (video)
Twitter thread of people sharing their most injury-filled rosters.
A ridiculous list of QBs that are earning more than Cam Newton this year.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer: "I told them, we can't start winning until we stop losing."
Can’t understand how the LA Rams can keep handing out all these huge contracts and stay under the cap? Neither can the Rams.
Old football film: Jump pass pop with 2 downfield laterals for a TD.