2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Target Report Preview: Don't Sleep on Deebo Samuel

Published: Sep 28, 2023

Updated: Sep 28, 2023

Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. And to earn a target, you need to be deemed “open” by the quarterback. It’s one big trickle-down effect. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are near the top of fantasy football ADP: They can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets, but that also trickles down to the fantasy managers drafting those pass-catchers and starting them in their lineups each week.

In this season’s Fantasy Football Target Report, we’ll take a weekly team-by-team look into these target earners and separate the wheat from the chaff. To properly lead into what we’ll be looking at this season, we’ll have to establish a baseline of the most important things we’re looking at with targets and other receiving metrics that paint the full picture for who we should be rostering, who we should be adding, and who we can drop. Combing the box score stats doesn’t paint a clear picture of the players we should target, roster, and start. Fantasy football rankings can only paint so much of the picture as well.

Everything we’ll be talking about here and this season in this season’s Fantasy Football Target Report will be some of the best statistics and metrics that correlate with fantasy football production. Think of targets as a page in a coloring book, just the outline yet to be colored. Coloring on that page adds context and flavor to that page. That’s what we’ll be doing with targets — adding more context than just some target totals and saying, “go add this player,” which doesn’t help anybody.

This season, we're adding a video component, so if you want to get some of the juiciest nuggets of the target report in video form, check out the Target Report Bulletpoints for Week 4!

	LEGEND
Targets	Passes thrown in the direction of a receiver, whether intended or not
Receptions	Passes caught by a pass-catcher
Rec. Yards	Yards gained from a completed pass by the pass-catcher.
TD	Receiving touchdowns
Air Yards	The distance between where the pass is thrown from a quarterback to where the intended receiver either catches or doesn’t catch the ball. Caught or not caught, the air yards are recorded regardless. This statistic is significant for determining the quarterback and coaching staff's predictive value in an offense and their intent.
Air Yards Team Share %	A pass-catcher’s percentage share of a team's air yards in a given week.
Route %	Percentage of routes a pass-catcher runs on a pass play per dropback on their team.
Snap %	Percentage of snaps a pass-catcher plays on an offensive series on their team.
Target Share %	Percentage of targets a pass-catcher receives in a given week on their team.
Yards per Target	Receiving yards a player gets on average per target. YPT is another intent-based metric but more predictive with the more targets a player receives.
TPRR	Targets per route run (TPRR) is a metric that measures how often a receiver is targeted vs. the amount of routes they run. A higher TPRR means that the player is better at earning targets when he's on the field. A low raw route number or low route % coupled with a high TPRR means that the pass-catcher is efficient at earning targets and could be in line for more routes depending on the team situation. 25%+ TPRR = Elite 17-18% = Close to replacement level Sub 17% = Not fantasy relevant
aDOT	aDOT is "average depth of target". It’s the average depth of all targets caught or incomplete by a targeted pass-catcher. Shows how a receiver is used in his team’s offense (vertical threat, short area target, etc.)
YPRR	A metric that contextualizes the efficiency of a pass-catcher with how many receiving yards per route run. It's a much better metric than yards per reception.
WOPR	WOPR is a weighted average incorporating a player's share of team targets and air yards.
RACR	RACR is a ratio dividing receiving yards by total air yards. It measures how many receiving yards a player creates for every air yard thrown at him. The percentage of a team's air yards that a player commands based on his average depth of target and volume of targets. Most RACR numbers for running backs skew wildly by the nature of the running back position, which rarely earns air yards.

Bye Weeks:

Week 5: CLE, LAC, SEA, TB
Week 6: GB, PIT
Week 7: CAR, CIN, DAL, HOU, NYJ, TEN
Week 9: DEN, DET, JAX, SF
Week 10: KC, LAR, MIA, PHI
Week 11: ATL, IND, NE, NO
Week 13: BAL, BUF, CHI, LV, MIN, NYG
Week 14: ARI, WAS

NOTE:

Always Start Your Studs: These are players you should be starting in all formats, regardless of matchup. Use your judgment in shallower leagues where startable players are plentiful.

Start ‘Em: Players that should be starting most weeks on your fantasy rosters.

Keep Them Rostered: Players that should be rostered in most formats but shouldn't be started unless you’re in a pinch or during bye weeks. Maybe they’re not startable due to various issues like a backup quarterback playing, a player coming back from injury, a contingent running back, or are just unproductive, consistent, or dependable at the moment. League size designations or other designations (bench stash, etc.) will be in parenthesis next to players for deeper leagues. Depending on your league, this is a general recommendation, so use your best judgment.

Example: Parris Campbell (deeper 12 & 14-team), Jerome Ford (bench stash).

Add ‘Em: Players that warrant an add due to circumstances, productivity, or metrics that show they’re being utilized heavily in their offenses. These will usually have a format in which they should be added.

Listing a player as “12-team leagues” assumes that player also be an addition in deeper 12-team and 14-team formats as well.

Dump ‘Em: Players that you should be dropping from your rosters. Use your judgment in deeper leagues where players with usefulness on waivers aren’t as plentiful.

Any player not listed in any of these categories for a particular team is assumed to not be rosterable in most fantasy formats.

NFL Target Report
Arizona Cardinals

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Marquise Brown	WR	7	5	61	1	83	63.4%	100.0%	95.1%	33.3%	8.7	28.0%	11.9	2.44	0.944	0.735	25	58
Rondale Moore	WR	6	4	8	0	13	9.9%	64.0%	54.1%	28.6%	1.3	37.5%	2.2	0.50	0.498	0.615	16	33
Zach Pascal	WR						0.0%	16.0%	23.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	14
Michael Wilson	WR	2	2	86	0	44	33.6%	80.0%	67.2%	9.5%	43.0	10.0%	22.0	4.30	0.378	1.955	20	41
Zach Ertz	TE	2	2	6	0	-2	-1.5%	64.0%	59.0%	9.5%	3.0	12.5%	-1.0	0.38	0.132	-3.000	16	36
Trey McBride	TE	1	1	2	0	1	0.8%	36.0%	49.2%	4.8%	2.0	11.1%	1.0	0.22	0.077	2.000	9	30
Geoff Swaim	TE						0.0%	28.0%	52.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	32
James Conner	RB	2	2	18	0	-3	-2.3%	48.0%	63.9%	9.5%	9.0	16.7%	-1.5	1.50	0.127	-6.000	12	39
Keaontay Ingram	RB	1	1	8	0	-5	-3.8%	4.0%	14.8%	4.8%	8.0	100.0%	-5.0	8.00	0.045	-1.600	1	9
Emari Demercado	RB						0.0%	28.0%	18.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	11

I'm not sure anybody saw this one coming, but you have to give the Cardinals some credit: they’ve been pretty competitive in all three games for a team that has zero reason to be. This upset over the Cowboys in Week 3 capped it off.

No surprise here, as James Conner reigns supreme over all running backs in Arizona, with his utilization hitting 70% of all running back opportunities in Week 3.

The Cardinals only threw the ball 21 times, so Zach Ertz (two targets, 2-6) couldn’t “Jason Witten” his way into a bunch of catches for 11 yards. He only received two targets on 64% of routes — a season-low. In fact, Ertz’s routes have fallen each week from a 91% high in Week 1. He’s trending downward big time, and it could be in favor of the much more athletic Trey McBride, who hasn’t quite taken over the routes or production, but he was a second-round pick last season and flashed when Ertz was injured.

The only real wide receiver highlights here were Marquise Brown (team-leading seven targets, 5-61-1) catching a short touchdown late on 100% route participation and Rondale Moore (six targets, 4-8; 45-yard rushing TD) getting a long touchdown on the ground to cap a WR24 finish on the week.

Week 3 Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Marquise Brown, James Conner

Keep Them Rostered: Rondale Moore, Zach Ertz (deeper 12 & 14-team), Michael Wilson (deeper 14-team)

Add ‘Em: Trey McBride (speculative add if you’re in need of tight end production deeper into the season)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Atlanta Falcons

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Drake London	WR	6	2	31	0	52	17.9%	91.5%	92.5%	15.8%	5.2	14.0%	8.7	0.72	0.362	0.596	43	62
Mack Hollins	WR	4	1	23	0	67	23.0%	76.6%	71.6%	10.5%	5.8	11.1%	16.8	0.64	0.319	0.343	36	48
KhaDarel Hodge	WR	1	1	15	0	10	3.4%	14.9%	19.4%	2.6%	15.0	14.3%	10.0	2.14	0.064	1.500	7	13
Scott Miller	WR						0.0%	12.8%	14.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	6	10
Kyle Pitts	TE	9	5	41	0	107	36.8%	89.4%	77.6%	23.7%	4.6	21.4%	11.9	0.98	0.613	0.383	42	52
Jonnu Smith	TE	8	5	37	0	53	18.2%	68.1%	71.6%	21.1%	4.6	25.0%	6.6	1.16	0.443	0.698	32	48
MyCole Pruitt	TE	1	1	10	0	4	1.4%	8.5%	26.9%	2.6%	10.0	25.0%	4.0	2.50	0.049	2.500	4	18
Bijan Robinson	RB	6	4	27	0	2	0.7%	74.5%	80.6%	15.8%	4.5	17.1%	0.3	0.77	0.242	13.500	35	54
Tyler Allgeier	RB	3	2	17	0	-4	-1.4%	25.5%	29.9%	7.9%	5.7	25.0%	-1.3	1.42	0.109	-4.250	12	20
Keith Smith	FB						0.0%	4.3%	14.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	10

Arthur Smith’s bad karma from the fantasy football community finally reared its ugly head as Smith’s Falcons could only muster six points on the road against the Detroit Lions.

If this isn’t a microcosm for Kyle Pitts’ NFL career so far, I don’t know what is.

Do tight ends typically burn defensive backs? Pitts (nine targets, 5-41, 89% route participation) led the Falcons in every receiving category in Week 3, but you know, bless their hearts, they actually tried to get Pitts the ball.

Drake London (six targets, 2-31, 92% of routes) had a 28-yard catch, which would be about it for him for Week 3. Jonnu Smith (5-37) earned eight targets for some reason. I legitimately couldn’t tell you why.

Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 45 rushing and 44 receiving yards as they both were bottled up by the Lions. The split was essentially the same as last week, with Robinson taking 75% of the routes and 80% of the snaps and Allgeier grabbing the rest.

Week 3 Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Bijan Robinson

Start ‘Em: Drake London, Kyle Pitts (start if you have no better options)

Keep Them Rostered: Tyler Allgeier (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Baltimore Ravens

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Rashod Bateman	WR	3	1	6	0	38	21.3%	73.7%	69.4%	10.0%	2.0	10.7%	12.7	0.21	0.299	0.158	28	50
Zay Flowers	WR	10	8	48	0	28	15.7%	100.0%	93.1%	33.3%	4.8	26.3%	2.8	1.26	0.610	1.714	38	67
Nelson Agholor	WR	4	4	39	0	29	16.3%	86.8%	72.2%	13.3%	9.8	12.1%	7.3	1.18	0.314	1.345	33	52
Devin Duvernay	WR	1	0	0	0	21	11.8%	23.7%	25.0%	3.3%	0.0	11.1%	21.0	0.00	0.133	0.000	9	18
Mark Andrews	TE	5	4	35	0	36	20.2%	86.8%	81.9%	16.7%	7.0	15.2%	7.2	1.06	0.392	0.972	33	59
Isaiah Likely	TE	2	1	20	0	25	14.0%	15.8%	26.4%	6.7%	10.0	33.3%	12.5	3.33	0.198	0.800	6	19
Gus Edwards	RB						0.0%	28.9%	44.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	11	32
Melvin Gordon	RB	2	2	23	0	5	2.8%	34.2%	40.3%	6.7%	11.5	15.4%	2.5	1.77	0.120	4.600	13	29
Kenyan Drake	RB	3	2	31	0	-4	-2.2%	21.1%	15.3%	10.0%	10.3	37.5%	-1.3	3.88	0.134	-7.750	8	11
Patrick Ricard	FB						0.0%	5.3%	26.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	19

The backfield has turned sour like milk you forgot in the fridge. It’s gotten moldy, just like the running backs who worked in with Gus Edwards. Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake both mixed into the rotation, with Gordon playing 40% of the snaps to Edwards’ 44%. Gordon ran the most routes of the trio but took a lot of the early-down work from Edwards as well.

Getting Justice Hill may muddy things up here post-J.K. Dobbins, so I can’t imagine starting any of these running backs unless it’s 1) bye week szn, or 2) the workload consolidates considerably to two of the backs. Otherwise, you can’t trust any of them.

Zay Flowers (8-48, 100% route participation) is Rondale Moore but much quicker, and his team actually uses him consistently. Flowers earned 10 targets at a low 2.8-yard aDOT, so it was mostly line-of-scrimmage looks for him, but hey, the Ravens are making a concerted effort to drum up touches and schemed looks for him, and that’s what we want.

What we DON’T want is Nelson Agholor (four targets, 4-39) seeing more routes (87%) than Rashod Bateman (three targets. 1-6) in a week that Odell Beckham was out. If there is one slight saving grace, it’s that Bateman has increased his routes each week from 57% to this week’s 74%. That’s why he has as long of a leash as he does.

Week 3 Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews

Start ‘Em: Zay Flowers

Keep Them Rostered: Odell Beckham (missed Week 3 - ankle), Gus Edwards, Justice Hill (missed Week 3 - toe; deeper 12 & 14-team), Rashod Bateman (I’d say hold, but he’s much closer to being an outright drop than a hold. One more week.)

Add ‘Em: Melvin Gordon (he’s… cheap?)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Buffalo Bills

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Stefon Diggs	WR	12	8	111	0	122	42.4%	91.4%	66.2%	38.7%	9.3	37.5%	10.2	3.47	0.877	0.910	32	45
Gabe Davis	WR	4	1	35	1	100	34.7%	91.4%	76.5%	12.9%	8.8	12.5%	25.0	1.09	0.437	0.350	32	52
Trent Sherfield	WR	3	2	18	0	24	8.3%	20.0%	45.6%	9.7%	6.0	42.9%	8.0	2.57	0.203	0.750	7	31
Deonte Harty	WR	3	2	15	0	16	5.6%	25.7%	19.1%	9.7%	5.0	33.3%	5.3	1.67	0.184	0.938	9	13
Khalil Shakir	WR	1	1	5	0	3	1.0%	11.4%	23.5%	3.2%	5.0	25.0%	3.0	1.25	0.056	1.667	4	16
Dawson Knox	TE	2	1	11	0	20	6.9%	68.6%	60.3%	6.5%	5.5	8.3%	10.0	0.46	0.145	0.550	24	41
Dalton Kincaid	TE	2	2	3	0	-1	-0.3%	65.7%	51.5%	6.5%	1.5	8.7%	-0.5	0.13	0.094	-3.000	23	35
Quintin Morris	TE						0.0%	0.0%	27.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	19
James Cook	RB	3	2	14	0	3	1.0%	57.1%	61.8%	9.7%	4.7	15.0%	1.0	0.70	0.152	4.667	20	42
Damien Harris	RB						0.0%	5.7%	13.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	9
Latavius Murray	RB	1	1	6	0	1	0.3%	28.6%	25.0%	3.2%	6.0	10.0%	1.0	0.60	0.051	6.000	10	17
Reggie Gilliam	FB						0.0%	2.9%	14.7%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	10

Stefon Diggs dominated the Bills’ passing game with 39% of targets and an 8-111 line on 12 targets. In a blowout, there was really only room for him to earn targets here. Gabe Davis (1-35-1) scored a touchdown with his only reception on four targets.

Both Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid ran routes on 66-69% of dropbacks, and both saw two targets each. That won’t cut it, and the fantasy faithful who were hoping they would get what we’ve seen from Sam LaPorta and, to a lesser degree, Luke Musgrave have to be disappointed.

James Cook (15 carries, three targets) still has the stranglehold on this offense with Latavius Murray (five carries, one target) working in ahead of Damien Harris. Cook still had 62% of all running back opportunities in a blowout win, which should tell you just who is getting the work in this backfield.

Week 3 Buffalo Bills Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs

Start ‘Em: James Cook

Keep Them Rostered: Gabe Davis, Dalton Kincaid (borderline 12-team starter), Dawson Knox (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Carolina Panthers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Adam Thielen	WR	14	11	145	1	138	29.6%	90.5%	93.7%	24.6%	10.4	24.6%	9.9	2.54	0.575	1.051	57	74
DJ Chark	WR	11	4	86	1	188	40.3%	96.8%	93.7%	19.3%	7.8	18.0%	17.1	1.41	0.571	0.457	61	74
Jonathan Mingo	WR	6	3	21	0	46	9.9%	28.6%	32.9%	10.5%	3.5	33.3%	7.7	1.17	0.227	0.457	18	26
Terrace Marshall	WR	8	5	35	0	60	12.8%	66.7%	59.5%	14.0%	4.4	19.0%	7.5	0.83	0.300	0.583	42	47
Laviska Shenault	WR	1	1	0	0	-1	-0.2%	7.9%	12.7%	1.8%	0.0	20.0%	-1.0	0.00	0.025	0.000	5	10
Ihmir Smith-Marsette	WR						0.0%	4.8%	3.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	3
Hayden Hurst	TE	3	1	11	0	27	5.8%	61.9%	60.8%	5.3%	3.7	7.7%	9.0	0.28	0.119	0.407	39	48
Ian Thomas	TE	1	1	8	0	-1	-0.2%	11.1%	16.5%	1.8%	8.0	14.3%	-1.0	1.14	0.025	-8.000	7	13
Tommy Tremble	TE	1	1	15	0	16	3.4%	22.2%	27.8%	1.8%	15.0	7.1%	16.0	1.07	0.050	0.938	14	22
Miles Sanders	RB	9	5	38	0	12	2.6%	57.1%	65.8%	15.8%	4.2	25.0%	1.3	1.06	0.255	3.167	36	52
Chuba Hubbard	RB	3	2	2	0	-18	-3.9%	30.2%	32.9%	5.3%	0.7	15.8%	-6.0	0.11	0.052	-0.111	19	26

I mean, Andy Dalton had 58 pass attempts and 63 total dropbacks, so you can imagine how this went for some of the pass-catchers here. Four receivers earned six or more targets, with Adam Thielen (14 targets, 11-145-1) and D.J. Chark (11 targets, 4-86-1) earning double-digits and scoring touchdowns. Even Miles Sanders had nine of them! The main thread here is that with Dalton under center, this offense is going to have a ton of volume.

It’s clear Bryce Young is struggling in a way most young quarterbacks do in the NFL and it’s his job as long as he’s healthy. Still, if Young can’t make this offense function, it’s not great for any of the pass-catchers. Thielen is clearly a fading star on a team that’s finding pieces to use for the future, so if a sell-high moment exists for Thielen, it’s right this second.

Miles Sanders (82% of RB opportunities) is still a dead-zone running back, despite what people will tell you about “WORKLOAD” and “VOLUME ONLY MATTERING”. Efficiency matters too, and he’s not been great. Nine targets certainly help, but that’s likely his season high this season by a large margin. Sanders’ not-so-great efficiency isn’t probably enough of a concern to make Chuba Hubbard a real, actual thing in fantasy outside of a contingency basis. Sanders’ workload is safe for now.

Week 3 Carolina Panthers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Miles Sanders, Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo (deeper 12 & 14-team; left Week 3 - concussion), Chuba Hubbard (deeper 12 & 14-team), D.J. Chark (deeper 12 & 14-team), Bryce Young (deeper 12 & 14-team; missed Week 3 - ankle)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Hayden Hurst (it’s Joever.)

Chicago Bears

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
DJ Moore	WR	6	3	41	1	134	43.4%	100.0%	100.0%	30.0%	6.8	20.7%	22.3	1.41	0.754	0.306	29	51
Darnell Mooney	WR	1	0	0	0	26	8.4%	72.4%	70.6%	5.0%	0.0	4.8%	26.0	0.00	0.134	0.000	21	36
Chase Claypool	WR	4	1	15	0	94	30.4%	89.7%	86.3%	20.0%	3.8	15.4%	23.5	0.58	0.513	0.160	26	44
Tyler Scott	WR	3	1	6	0	42	13.6%	20.7%	19.6%	15.0%	2.0	50.0%	14.0	1.00	0.320	0.143	6	10
Cole Kmet	TE	2	2	22	0	13	4.2%	72.4%	76.5%	10.0%	11.0	9.5%	6.5	1.05	0.179	1.692	21	39
Robert Tonyan	TE						0.0%	13.8%	15.7%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	8
Khalil Herbert	RB	2	2	4	0	-4	-1.3%	37.9%	54.9%	10.0%	2.0	18.2%	-2.0	0.36	0.141	-1.000	11	28
Roschon Johnson	RB	2	2	11	0	4	1.3%	31.0%	45.1%	10.0%	5.5	22.2%	2.0	1.22	0.159	2.750	9	23
Travis Homer	RB						0.0%	6.9%	3.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	2
Khari Blasingame	FB						0.0%	0.0%	9.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	5

If I were Bears’ principal owner Virginia McCaskey, I would have tried to set any eligible Chicago Bear up with Taylor Swift for the Karma alone. It’s the only thing that would have been modern about the Bears. Sadly, she was rooting for the other side — the Kansas City Chiefs — and the Chiefs throttled the Bears 41-10. This game, Bears fans will remember it All Too Well.

Justin Fields threw for 99 yards. DJ Moore (3-41-1) caught the only touchdown, took 30% of targets, and accounted for almost half of Fields’ passing yards. He was also the only Bear who caught more than two passes. This team is in shambles.

Roschon Johnson (53% of all RB opportunities) might soon be a thing in this offense, but the offense is bad, so that’s an unfortunate thing to deal with. Still, Khalil Herbert and Johnson are about neck and neck now with Johnson trailing slightly in snaps (55% to 45%) and routes (41% to 31%). Both are low-end flex plays, but the door has been open for a little bit for Johnson to steal more opportunity away.

Week 3 Chicago Bears Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Justin Fields, DJ Moore

Keep Them Rostered: Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson (developing standalone role), Cole Kmet (deeper 12 & 14-team), Darnell Mooney (14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Cincinnati Bengals

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Ja'Marr Chase	WR	15	12	141	0	142	44.4%	100.0%	96.1%	32.6%	9.4	29.4%	9.5	2.76	0.800	0.993	51	74
Tee Higgins	WR	8	2	21	0	87	27.2%	96.1%	85.7%	17.4%	2.6	16.3%	10.9	0.43	0.451	0.241	49	66
Tyler Boyd	WR	9	5	39	0	59	18.4%	88.2%	76.6%	19.6%	4.3	20.0%	6.6	0.87	0.423	0.661	45	59
Charlie Jones	WR	2	1	6	0	6	1.9%	5.9%	3.9%	4.3%	3.0	66.7%	3.0	2.00	0.078	1.000	3	3
Andrei Iosivas	WR						0.0%	3.9%	10.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	8
Drew Sample	TE	1	1	7	0	-4	-1.3%	17.6%	44.2%	2.2%	7.0	11.1%	-4.0	0.78	0.024	-1.750	9	34
Mitchell Wilcox	TE	3	2	10	0	12	3.8%	23.5%	41.6%	6.5%	3.3	25.0%	4.0	0.83	0.124	0.833	12	32
Tanner Hudson	TE	4	2	30	0	33	10.3%	58.8%	46.8%	8.7%	7.5	13.3%	8.3	1.00	0.203	0.909	30	36
Joe Mixon	RB	2	1	5	0	-12	-3.8%	56.9%	75.3%	4.3%	2.5	6.9%	-6.0	0.17	0.039	-0.417	29	58
Trayveon Williams	RB	2	0	0	0	-3	-0.9%	13.7%	18.2%	4.3%	0.0	28.6%	-1.5	0.00	0.059	0.000	7	14
Chase Brown	RB						0.0%	2.0%	1.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	1

A passing game you can set your watch to: Ja’Marr Chase (15 targets, 12-141, he’s back, folks.), Tee Higgins (eight targets, 2-21) and Tyler Boyd (nine targets, 5-31) accounted for 70% of the Bengals’ targets in Week 3 and all ran at least 88% of routes per dropback. A tale as old as time.

Joe Burrow still doesn’t look super GREAT, but he looked better here. It’s still an offense that will pass a ton in all game scripts but haven’t been very efficient with it. If the bargain-basement floor is a ton of volume but acting like the Buccaneers last season with Tom Brady, that’s a pretty good floor.

Joe Mixon is solid and dominating the backfield (19 carries, two targets) adding a score in the third quarter.

Week 3 Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Burrow (still recovering from calf injury, was a GTD for Week 3), Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon

Start ‘Em: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Tyler Boyd, Irv Smith (deeper 12 & 14-team, missed Week 3 - hamstring), Trayveon Williams (14-team leagues; contingent back)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Cleveland Browns

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Amari Cooper	WR	8	7	116	1	145	62.0%	94.6%	80.3%	25.8%	14.5	22.9%	18.1	3.31	0.821	0.800	35	57
Elijah Moore	WR	9	9	49	0	10	4.3%	91.9%	76.1%	29.0%	5.4	26.5%	1.1	1.44	0.465	4.900	34	54
Donovan Peoples-Jones	WR	4	3	49	0	53	22.6%	83.8%	88.7%	12.9%	12.3	12.9%	13.3	1.58	0.352	0.925	31	63
Cedric Tillman	WR						0.0%	5.4%	15.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	11
David Bell	WR						0.0%	2.7%	14.1%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	10
Marquise Goodwin	WR						0.0%	10.8%	7.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	5
David Njoku	TE	4	4	20	0	4	1.7%	73.0%	73.2%	12.9%	5.0	14.8%	1.0	0.74	0.206	5.000	27	52
Jordan Akins	TE						0.0%	8.1%	18.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	13
Harrison Bryant	TE						0.0%	24.3%	35.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	9	25
Jerome Ford	RB	3	2	33	1	18	7.7%	59.5%	56.3%	9.7%	11.0	13.6%	6.0	1.50	0.199	1.833	22	40
Pierre Strong	RB						0.0%	5.4%	11.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	8
Kareem Hunt	RB	3	2	22	0	4	1.7%	13.5%	19.7%	9.7%	7.3	60.0%	1.3	4.40	0.157	5.500	5	14

The Browns took a trip down the Tennessee Titans’ pass funnel and Deshaun Watson had his best game as a Cleveland Brown. Only six Browns caught a pass but Amari Cooper (eight targets, 7-116-1, 95% routes) and Elijah Moore (nine targets, 9-49, 92% routes) combined for over half of the Browns’ targets. Moore’s 1.1-yard aDOT was a bit concerning, but the volume made it work in Week 3.

In the post-Nick Chubb era for the Browns, Jerome Ford (50% of all RB opportunities, rushing TD) saw just shy of 60%/60% (routes/snaps) in Week 3, with Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong getting some throwaway carries later on when the game was well in hand.

Week 3 Cleveland Browns Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, Jerome Ford (first crack at back)

Keep Them Rostered: David Njoku (just 11 targets and 20 air yards on the season, huh?), Kareem Hunt (deep 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Pierre Strong (saw mostly late-late game work behind Hunt)

Dallas Cowboys

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
CeeDee Lamb	WR	7	4	53	0	52	27.5%	93.6%	82.7%	19.4%	7.6	15.9%	7.4	1.20	0.484	1.019	44	67
Brandin Cooks	WR	6	2	17	0	52	27.5%	83.0%	80.2%	16.7%	2.8	15.4%	8.7	0.44	0.443	0.327	39	65
Michael Gallup	WR	7	6	92	0	71	37.6%	80.9%	69.1%	19.4%	13.1	18.4%	10.1	2.42	0.555	1.296	38	56
Jalen Tolbert	WR						0.0%	12.8%	17.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	6	14
KaVontae Turpin	WR						0.0%	2.1%	2.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	2
Jake Ferguson	TE	7	5	48	0	29	15.3%	61.7%	69.1%	19.4%	6.9	24.1%	4.1	1.66	0.399	1.655	29	56
Luke Schoonmaker	TE	1	0	0	0	0	0.0%	10.6%	23.5%	2.8%	0.0	20.0%	0.0	0.00	0.042	0.000	5	19
Peyton Hendershot	TE	1	1	3	0	1	0.5%	38.3%	45.7%	2.8%	3.0	5.6%	1.0	0.17	0.045	3.000	18	37
Tony Pollard	RB	3	3	-1	0	-8	-4.2%	78.7%	86.4%	8.3%	-0.3	8.1%	-2.7	-0.03	0.095	0.125	37	70
Rico Dowdle	RB	3	3	25	1	-11	-5.8%	14.9%	13.6%	8.3%	8.3	42.9%	-3.7	3.57	0.084	-2.273	7	11
Hunter Luepke	RB	1	1	12	0	3	1.6%	4.3%	9.9%	2.8%	12.0	50.0%	3.0	6.00	0.053	4.000	2	8

Just when you think the Cowboys have turned a corner and might be the class of the NFC, they give everybody the biggest rug pull of the season so far by losing to Jonathan Gannon’s Cardinals. To be fair, Gannon is pretty familiar with the Cowboys from his time with the Eagles, but still. This is pretty #bad.

In the trailing script, Dak Prescott got to sling it for 40 pass attempts, but Michael Gallup (seven targets, 6-92, 81% routes) was the only player who really did anything usable with it, and nobody started him. CeeDee Lamb ran a bunch of routes (94%) and went for a so-so 4-53 on seven targets. Just bad all around in the passing game.

Tony Pollard is leading (and dominating) the NFL in high-value touches, as he’s averaging 9.3 HVTs per game and per Rotoviz, leads the NFL by 3.7 per game among running backs who have played in at least two games. The Cowboys offense has been a HVT goldmine through three weeks and it’s going to flow through Pollard. You love to see it.

Week 3 Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: CeeDee Lamb, Tony Pollard

Start ‘Em: Dak Prescott (borderline 12-team starter)

Keep Them Rostered: Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup (deeper 12 & 14-team), Jake Ferguson (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Denver Broncos

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Jerry Jeudy	WR	7	5	81	0	122	31.0%	82.5%	75.8%	19.4%	11.6	21.2%	17.4	2.45	0.509	0.664	33	47
Courtland Sutton	WR	11	8	91	1	110	28.0%	95.0%	95.2%	30.6%	8.3	28.9%	10.0	2.39	0.654	0.827	38	59
Marvin Mims	WR	5	3	73	0	127	32.3%	27.5%	24.2%	13.9%	14.6	45.5%	25.4	6.64	0.435	0.575	11	15
Brandon Johnson	WR	3	2	12	0	21	5.3%	57.5%	59.7%	8.3%	4.0	13.0%	7.0	0.52	0.162	0.571	23	37
Lil'Jordan Humphrey	WR						0.0%	17.5%	21.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	13
Adam Trautman	TE	2	0	0	0	-1	-0.3%	90.0%	87.1%	5.6%	0.0	5.6%	-0.5	0.00	0.082	0.000	36	54
Chris Manhertz	TE	1	0	0	0	12	3.1%	5.0%	21.0%	2.8%	0.0	50.0%	12.0	0.00	0.063	0.000	2	13
Nate Adkins	TE	1	1	11	0	1	0.3%	10.0%	9.7%	2.8%	11.0	25.0%	1.0	2.75	0.043	11.000	4	6
Javonte Williams	RB	3	2	23	0	-1	-0.3%	30.0%	41.9%	8.3%	7.7	25.0%	-0.3	1.92	0.123	-23.000	12	26
Samaje Perine	RB	3	2	15	0	2	0.5%	30.0%	30.6%	8.3%	5.0	25.0%	0.7	1.25	0.129	7.500	12	19
Jaleel McLaughlin	RB						0.0%	17.5%	21.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	13
Michael Burton	FB						0.0%	10.0%	11.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	7

Impeach Sean Payton.

Karmically, the Broncos deserve it for not playing Marvin Mims (11 routes, 12 less than Brandon Johnson)

Courtland Sutton (11 targets, 8-91-1, 95% routes) looks legitimately as good as he’s looked in a long time, thinking before his ACL tear in 2019/2020. He almost had three touchdowns on the day (again, blame Johnson) and has been the preferred target for Russell Wilson so far this season. Jerry Jeudy (seven targets, 5-81) also had his best game of the young season, so maybe there’s some room here for the Broncos to possibly have two fantasy starters and a lid lifter in Mims, but he’s got to get the routes. He’s a hold on benches for now.

The Broncos’ progression of Javonte Williams (30% routes/42% snaps)is still in a bit of a holding pattern as he’s being worked in pretty slowly. You’ve still got to start him, but the routes and everything else should develop more as we get further into the season.

Week 3 Denver Broncos Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Javonte Williams

Start ‘Em: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy

Keep Them Rostered: Samaje Perine (contingent play with a little standalone value), Russell Wilson, Marvin Mims

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Detroit Lions

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Amon-Ra St. Brown	WR	12	9	102	0	101	36.1%	100.0%	94.3%	38.7%	8.5	35.3%	8.4	3.00	0.833	1.010	34	66
Kalif Raymond	WR	6	4	55	0	96	34.3%	52.9%	35.7%	19.4%	9.2	33.3%	16.0	3.06	0.530	0.573	18	25
Josh Reynolds	WR						0.0%	73.5%	77.1%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	25	54
Marvin Jones	WR						0.0%	29.4%	41.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	10	29
Antoine Green	WR						0.0%	14.7%	20.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	5	14
Sam LaPorta	TE	11	8	84	1	87	31.1%	82.4%	74.3%	35.5%	7.6	39.3%	7.9	3.00	0.750	0.966	28	52
Brock Wright	TE						0.0%	20.6%	41.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	29
James Mitchell	TE						0.0%	0.0%	2.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	2
Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	2	1	2	0	-4	-1.4%	50.0%	60.0%	6.5%	1.0	11.8%	-2.0	0.12	0.087	-0.500	17	42
Craig Reynolds	RB						0.0%	23.5%	28.6%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	8	20
Zonovan Knight	RB						0.0%	8.8%	10.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	7
Jason Cabinda	FB						0.0%	8.8%	14.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	10

Only four Lions caught a pass in Week 3, but that’s definitely fine as we still got fantasy goodness from the guys we love, and Kalif Raymond.

Amon-Ra St. Brown (12 targets, 9-102, 100% route participation) is #good.

Sam LaPorta (11 targets, 8-84-1, 82% routes) is awesome. Back in my day, people told us that rookie tight ends didn’t produce in their first year because almost every tight end not named Evan Engram was not good. Well, LaPorta IS good and has the talent PLUS the opportunity to take advantage of here. LaPorta is averaging 14.2 fantasy points per game, has the second-highest target share among tight ends at 22.7%, has the highest yards per route run of any tight end with 10+ targets at 2.19, the fifth-highest targets per route run at 26%, is there anything he can’t do? LaPorta deserves to be in the same breath as the elites at the tight end position.

For the rest of the season, it goes Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, Darren Waller, then LaPorta. He’s a top-five tight end and a must-start going forward. Lock him in.

Without David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs took more of the prototypical running back role, was pretty efficient (4.7 YPC on 19 carries) and took 73% of RB opportunities in Week 3. Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight took quite a bit of the low-value touches (33% - 7-of-21) off of Gibbs’ plate. Still, I’m very much bullish here as it did a bit to quell some “Gibbs is a satellite back” talk, which is preposterous.

Week 3 Detroit Lions Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Amon-Ra St. Brown

Start ‘Em: Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff, Sam LaPorta, David Montgomery (missed Week 3 - thigh)

Keep Them Rostered: Josh Reynolds (deeper 12-team leagues), Jameson Williams (suspended for 6 games; stash in deeper 12-team leagues)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Green Bay Packers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Romeo Doubs	WR	12	5	73	1	157	30.8%	86.0%	86.1%	27.9%	6.1	27.9%	13.1	1.70	0.634	0.465	43	68
Jayden Reed	WR	7	3	63	0	97	19.0%	74.0%	65.8%	16.3%	9.0	18.9%	13.9	1.70	0.377	0.649	37	52
Samori Toure	WR	3	0	0	0	84	16.5%	42.0%	41.8%	7.0%	0.0	14.3%	28.0	0.00	0.220	0.000	21	33
Dontayvion Wicks	WR	6	4	45	0	57	11.2%	68.0%	65.8%	14.0%	7.5	17.6%	9.5	1.32	0.288	0.789	34	52
Malik Heath	WR	2	0	0	0	29	5.7%	14.0%	13.9%	4.7%	0.0	28.6%	14.5	0.00	0.110	0.000	7	11
Luke Musgrave	TE	8	6	49	0	76	14.9%	86.0%	86.1%	18.6%	6.1	18.6%	9.5	1.14	0.383	0.645	43	68
Tucker Kraft	TE						0.0%	10.0%	12.7%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	5	10
Josiah Deguara	TE						0.0%	8.0%	21.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	17
Ben Sims	TE						0.0%	0.0%	3.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	3
AJ Dillon	RB						0.0%	42.0%	51.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	21	41
Emanuel Wilson	RB	4	3	23	0	9	1.8%	46.0%	39.2%	9.3%	5.8	17.4%	2.3	1.00	0.152	2.556	23	31
Patrick Taylor	RB	1	1	6	0	1	0.2%	8.0%	10.1%	2.3%	6.0	25.0%	1.0	1.50	0.036	6.000	4	8

Well, the Packers were legitimately #notgreat for three quarters until they turned everything on in the fourth quarter. Cardiac Pack, anyone?

Romeo Doubs was the clear star here for the Packers as he caught the go-ahead touchdown and added a relatively inefficient (but we’ll take it!) five catches and 83 yards on 12 targets. He also ran routes on 86% of Jordan Love’s dropbacks as one of the trio (including Jayden Reed) that will pair with Christian Watson’s eventual return, which looks like it will be in Week 4 against the Lions. Dontayvion Wicks (six targets, 4-45, 68% routes) is looking like Watson’s direct backup rather than somebody who is going to be contributing heavily to this young receiving corps.

A.J. Dillon’s 3.0 YPC is not doing himself any favors and has really dropped his stock big time with Aaron Jones’ absence. It’s been so bad that Patrick Taylor and Emanuel Wilson even worked him behind Dillon in a competitive game on a team that, when healthy, only uses the third running back on special teams or in blowouts. That’s pretty damning for Dillon.

Week 3 Green Bay Packers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Aaron Jones (missed Week 3 - hamstring)

Start ‘Em: Christian Watson (missed Week 1-3 - hamstring)

Keep Them Rostered: Romeo Doubs, Jordan Love, Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed, AJ Dillon

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Houston Texans

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Name	Pos	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Robert Woods	WR	6	3	34	0	66	27.0%	90.3%	76.8%	20.7%	5.7	21.4%	11.0	1.21	0.500	0.515	28	43
Nico Collins	WR	3	2	34	0	20	8.2%	77.4%	66.1%	10.3%	11.3	12.5%	6.7	1.42	0.213	1.700	24	37
John Metchie	WR	2	2	13	0	-2	-0.8%	16.1%	26.8%	6.9%	6.5	40.0%	-1.0	2.60	0.098	-6.500	5	15
Tank Dell	WR	7	5	145	1	136	55.7%	83.9%	60.7%	24.1%	20.7	26.9%	19.4	5.58	0.752	1.066	26	34
Dalton Schultz	TE	3	1	9	0	29	11.9%	74.2%	67.9%	10.3%	3.0	13.0%	9.7	0.39	0.238	0.310	23	38
Teagan Quitoriano	TE	1	0	0	0	0	0.0%	6.5%	33.9%	3.4%	0.0	50.0%	0.0	0.00	0.052	0.000	2	19
Brevin Jordan	TE	2	2	13	1	1	0.4%	16.1%	17.9%	6.9%	6.5	40.0%	0.5	2.60	0.106	13.000	5	10
Dameon Pierce	RB	3	3	28	0	2	0.8%	38.7%	53.6%	10.3%	9.3	25.0%	0.7	2.33	0.161	14.000	12	30
Devin Singletary	RB	2	2	4	0	-8	-3.3%	41.9%	39.3%	6.9%	2.0	15.4%	-4.0	0.31	0.080	-0.500	13	22
Mike Boone	RB						0.0%	6.5%	7.1%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	4
Andrew Beck	FB						0.0%	22.6%	50.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	28

We touched on this the first two weeks of the season, but the Texans are an #exciting offense again! Honestly, the Texans hit on C.J. Stroud in a big way, and he (as well as PFF Bobby Slowik, offensive coordinator) transformed this offense and lifted the boats of Nico Collins (three targets, 2-34), Robert Woods (six targets, 3-34), and most notably, rookie Tank Dell. Dell (seven targets, 5-145-1) looks like a legit future star so far after three weeks.

Dalton Schultz (7-47 in three games COMBINED), what is it you say you do here? He’s been a poor fit, and Stroud doesn’t seem so inclined to target him consistently.

Week 3 Houston Texans Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Tank Dell

Keep Them Rostered: C.J. Stroud, Dameon Pierce, Robert Woods, C.J. Stroud, Dalton Schultz (14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Indianapolis Colts

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Michael Pittman	WR	11	9	77	0	62	18.1%	100.0%	100.0%	26.2%	7.0	22.4%	5.6	1.57	0.519	1.242	49	84
Alec Pierce	WR	7	3	43	0	161	46.9%	93.9%	96.4%	16.7%	6.1	15.2%	23.0	0.93	0.579	0.267	46	81
Josh Downs	WR	12	8	57	0	72	21.0%	83.7%	79.8%	28.6%	4.8	29.3%	6.0	1.39	0.576	0.792	41	67
Isaiah McKenzie	WR	1	1	3	0	-1	-0.3%	10.2%	10.7%	2.4%	3.0	20.0%	-1.0	0.60	0.034	-3.000	5	9
Mo Alie-Cox	TE						0.0%	10.2%	29.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	5	25
Kylen Granson	TE	4	2	9	0	22	6.4%	67.3%	52.4%	9.5%	2.3	12.1%	5.5	0.27	0.188	0.409	33	44
Andrew Ogletree	TE	2	1	11	0	18	5.2%	20.4%	33.3%	4.8%	5.5	20.0%	9.0	1.10	0.108	0.611	10	28
Zack Moss	RB	3	2	23	1	10	2.9%	44.9%	76.2%	7.1%	7.7	13.6%	3.3	1.05	0.128	2.300	22	64
Trey Sermon	RB	2	1	4	0	-1	-0.3%	18.4%	21.4%	4.8%	2.0	22.2%	-0.5	0.44	0.069	-4.000	9	18

I just want to say this hurts me too, with quite a bit of exposure to Alec Pierce (seven targets, 3-43, 94% routes). Still, Josh Downs (12 targets, 8-57, 84% routes) is the guy we want here as an actual target earner out of the slot. Downs’ role has expanded bit by bit each week, and Pierce is essentially MVS right now. Not #good.

Michael Pittman (11 targets, 9-77, 100% routes) has been excellent so far, and it making me eat some crow too, which is crazy considering that a lot of these Colts pieces on offense were so cheap in drafts, especially in the passing game. Pittman has earned at least 11 targets in each game, and hey, we can’t scoff at that. Gardner Minshew has been solid for the volume aspect of this passing game, where we didn’t know if that would be present in the Anthony Richardson version of this offense.

Zack Moss saw a whopping 32 touches even with Moss losing about half of his routes, but that’s alright if he’s seeing that kind of volume weekly. The Jonathan Taylor question will be answered after Week 4…

Week 3 Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Michael Pittman

Start ‘Em: Anthony Richardson (missed Week 3 - concussion), Zack Moss

Keep Them Rostered: Jonathan Taylor (PUP until Week 5), Josh Downs

Add ‘Em: Josh Downs (snatched WR2 role from Alec Pierce)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Jacksonville Jaguars

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Calvin Ridley	WR	7	3	40	0	108	39.0%	82.6%	80.8%	17.5%	5.7	18.4%	15.4	1.05	0.535	0.370	38	59
Christian Kirk	WR	6	4	54	1	84	30.3%	91.3%	86.3%	15.0%	9.0	14.3%	14.0	1.29	0.437	0.643	42	63
Jamal Agnew	WR	5	4	49	0	53	19.1%	65.2%	56.2%	12.5%	9.8	16.7%	10.6	1.63	0.321	0.925	30	41
Tim Jones	WR	3	2	11	0	21	7.6%	30.4%	32.9%	7.5%	3.7	21.4%	7.0	0.79	0.166	0.524	14	24
Evan Engram	TE	8	7	67	0	20	7.2%	84.8%	71.2%	20.0%	8.4	20.5%	2.5	1.72	0.351	3.350	39	52
Luke Farrell	TE	1	1	4	0	-3	-1.1%	13.0%	34.2%	2.5%	4.0	16.7%	-3.0	0.67	0.030	-1.333	6	25
Brenton Strange	TE	2	2	7	0	2	0.7%	15.2%	28.8%	5.0%	3.5	28.6%	1.0	1.00	0.080	3.500	7	21
Travis Etienne	RB	5	4	50	0	-8	-2.9%	58.7%	71.2%	12.5%	10.0	18.5%	-1.6	1.85	0.167	-6.250	27	52
Tank Bigsby	RB	1	0	0	0	1	0.4%	8.7%	12.3%	2.5%	0.0	25.0%	1.0	0.00	0.040	0.000	4	9
D'Ernest Johnson	RB	2	2	6	0	-1	-0.4%	19.6%	16.4%	5.0%	3.0	22.2%	-0.5	0.67	0.072	-6.000	9	12

The thing about Jacksonville: what if they just ran hot at the end of last season? They’re probably still a really good football team and I’m just vamping here. I truly want to believe.

After Calvin Ridley’s Week 1, where we thought he was back, he’s followed that up with five receptions for 72 yards in his next two games combined. The offense really just feels okay but not great, but the steam needs to get picked up here.

Christian Kirk (six targets, 4-54-1) found the end zone on six targets, and Evan Engram (eight targets, 7-67) led the team in most receiving categories, except swag. That went to “Swagnew” himself, Jamal Agnew (five targets, 4-49), who saw 65% of routes with Zay Jones inactive.

Tank Bigsby stole another touchdown on two carries, and I wrote my congressman a strongly-worded letter about how these crimes against Travis Etienne (75% of all RB opportunities) cannot go unpunished.

Week 3 Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Calvin Ridley, Travis Etienne, Trevor Lawrence

Start ‘Em: Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, Zay Jones (deeper 12 & 14-team leagues)

Keep Them Rostered: Tank Bigsby (contingent and apparently a touchdown-stealing play too)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Kansas City Chiefs

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Kadarius Toney	WR	1	1	-1	0	-4	-1.6%	4.9%	2.6%	2.7%	-1.0	50.0%	-4.0	-0.50	0.029	0.250	2	2
Skyy Moore	WR	6	4	42	0	57	22.9%	58.5%	64.9%	16.2%	7.0	25.0%	9.5	1.75	0.403	0.737	24	50
Marquez Valdes-Scantling	WR	2	1	37	0	41	16.5%	63.4%	53.2%	5.4%	18.5	7.7%	20.5	1.42	0.196	0.902	26	41
Rashee Rice	WR	7	5	59	0	45	18.1%	51.2%	50.6%	18.9%	8.4	33.3%	6.4	2.81	0.410	1.311	21	39
Justyn Ross	WR	1	0	0	0	6	2.4%	26.8%	37.7%	2.7%	0.0	9.1%	6.0	0.00	0.057	0.000	11	29
Justin Watson	WR	3	2	51	0	51	20.5%	53.7%	40.3%	8.1%	17.0	13.6%	17.0	2.32	0.265	1.000	22	31
Travis Kelce	TE	8	7	69	1	54	21.7%	70.7%	61.0%	21.6%	8.6	27.6%	6.8	2.38	0.476	1.278	29	47
Noah Gray	TE	2	1	9	0	15	6.0%	61.0%	61.0%	5.4%	4.5	8.0%	7.5	0.36	0.123	0.600	25	47
Blake Bell	TE						0.0%	4.9%	28.6%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	22
Isiah Pacheco	RB	3	2	16	0	-8	-3.2%	39.0%	41.6%	8.1%	5.3	18.8%	-2.7	1.00	0.099	-2.000	16	32
Jerick McKinnon	RB	3	3	19	2	-5	-2.0%	31.7%	28.6%	8.1%	6.3	23.1%	-1.7	1.46	0.108	-3.800	13	22
Clyde Edwards-Helaire	RB	1	1	2	0	-3	-1.2%	19.5%	29.9%	2.7%	2.0	12.5%	-3.0	0.25	0.032	-0.667	8	23

If bet if Taylor Swift were to Speak Now, we could get some clarity on the Chiefs’ wide receiver room. The only piece of clarity (maybe?) is that Rashee Rice (seven targets, 5-59, 51% routes) might be the best player in that room. He earned the second-most targets next to Travis Kelce (eight targets, 7-59-1, 71% routes - still growing) and had two touchdowns gift-wrapped but was down both times at the 1-yard-line. It's tough stuff, but if there’s anybody with real room to grow in his routes based on his performance, it’s Rice. The rest of the room has been that bad. I’m about done with Skyy Moore (4-42), as he’s hit a season-low 50% routes despite earning six targets. Forgetting him was like tryin' to know somebody you never met.

The running back room is still a gross split, but Jerick McKinnon caught two touchdowns on just 32% routes. He let us know he’s still alive, but McKinnon (32% routes / 29% snaps) is not exactly a player you need to be jamming into lineups with the way Isiah Pacheco (39% / 42%) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (20% / 30%) work into this three-headed backfield.

Week 3 Kansas City Chiefs Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes

Start ‘Em: Isiah Pacheco

Keep Them Rostered: Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Jerick McKinnon (deeper 12 & 14-team leagues), Rashee Rice (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: Rashee Rice (long-term viable Chiefs WR; say no more)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Las Vegas Raiders

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Davante Adams	WR	19	13	172	2	240	52.6%	98.0%	97.2%	44.2%	9.1	39.6%	12.6	3.58	1.031	0.717	48	70
Jakobi Meyers	WR	12	7	85	0	154	33.8%	83.7%	86.1%	27.9%	7.1	29.3%	12.8	2.07	0.655	0.552	41	62
Hunter Renfrow	WR	2	2	17	0	13	2.9%	57.1%	51.4%	4.7%	8.5	7.1%	6.5	0.61	0.090	1.308	28	37
Tre Tucker	WR						0.0%	18.4%	16.7%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	9	12
De Andre Carter	WR	1	1	16	0	-3	-0.7%	12.2%	11.1%	2.3%	16.0	16.7%	-3.0	2.67	0.030	-5.333	6	8
Austin Hooper	TE						0.0%	67.3%	77.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	33	56
Michael Mayer	TE	1	0	0	0	12	2.6%	38.8%	47.2%	2.3%	0.0	5.3%	12.0	0.00	0.053	0.000	19	34
Josh Jacobs	RB	5	3	18	0	14	3.1%	63.3%	81.9%	11.6%	3.6	16.1%	2.8	0.58	0.196	1.286	31	59
Zamir White	RB						0.0%	2.0%	1.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	1
Ameer Abdullah	RB	3	2	16	0	26	5.7%	20.4%	16.7%	7.0%	5.3	30.0%	8.7	1.60	0.145	0.615	10	12
Jakob Johnson	FB						0.0%	8.2%	8.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	6

72% of the team’s targets went to Davante Adams (19 targets, 13-172-2) and the returning Jakobi Meyers (12 targets, 7-85). That’s pretty good.

I’m willing to capitulate a bit on the Davante Adams concern; I had Adams as a fade in the first round and was steadfast in that Jimmy Garoppolo was a bad match for Adams’ skillset. Clearly, that hasn’t been the case, and I get to eat the crow of those decisions for the rest of the season. But hey, at least I have Garrett Wilson, right?

This offense is so concentrated that nobody else really matters. Josh Jacobs (82% snaps, 63% routes) SHOULD matter but really hasn’t in three weeks. Could his 2022 be an extreme outlier? I’d say Jacobs (83 total yards, 22-of-25 running back opportunities in Week 3) is better than he’s shown but not as good to sustain his 2022 production into 2023, but the truth is somewhere in the middle. I do like him as a buy-low for fantasy managers looking to pick up a big regression candidate for pennies on the dollar.

Week 3 Las Vegas Raiders Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs

Start ‘Em: Jakobi Meyers

Keep Them Rostered: N/A

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Los Angeles Chargers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Keenan Allen	WR	20	18	215	0	124	36.4%	92.0%	89.4%	41.7%	10.8	43.5%	6.2	4.67	0.880	1.734	46	59
Mike Williams	WR	8	7	121	1	105	30.8%	74.0%	66.7%	16.7%	15.1	21.6%	13.1	3.27	0.466	1.152	37	44
Quentin Johnston	WR	3	2	10	0	2	0.6%	26.0%	24.2%	6.3%	3.3	23.1%	0.7	0.77	0.098	5.000	13	16
Joshua Palmer	WR	7	4	66	1	107	31.4%	68.0%	60.6%	14.6%	9.4	20.6%	15.3	1.94	0.438	0.617	34	40
Derius Davis	WR	1	1	3	0	-5	-1.5%	8.0%	9.1%	2.1%	3.0	25.0%	-5.0	0.75	0.021	-0.600	4	6
Gerald Everett	TE	6	6	30	0	7	2.1%	48.0%	57.6%	12.5%	5.0	25.0%	1.2	1.25	0.202	4.286	24	38
Donald Parham	TE	2	2	4	2	2	0.6%	34.0%	51.5%	4.2%	2.0	11.8%	1.0	0.24	0.067	2.000	17	34
Tre' McKitty	TE						0.0%	6.0%	15.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	10
Stone Smartt	TE						0.0%	20.0%	25.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	10	17
Joshua Kelley	RB	1	1	5	0	-1	-0.3%	26.0%	74.2%	2.1%	5.0	7.7%	-1.0	0.38	0.029	-5.000	13	49
Isaiah Spiller	RB						0.0%	12.0%	24.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	6	16

With Mike Williams going down to an ACL tear that will sit him down for the rest of 2023, our next question revolves around the next man up for the Chargers: Joshua Palmer or Quentin Johnston?

Palmer has run routes on 68% of Justin Herbert’s dropbacks this season, and before his Week 3, Palmer had a grand total of three targets and two receptions for 11 yards. Once Williams left, Palmer ran 100% of the routes, and the Chargers used much more 12 personnel, with Donald Parham getting on the field more, which is certainly suboptimal if you’ve got shares of Johnston. Palmer will get the immediate routes spike in this offense as more of the short to intermediate route player. Johnston has only run a route on 28% of Herbert’s dropbacks this season but has the best chance of filling the Mike Williams role in this Chargers offense as a deeper average depth of target boundary-type wide receiver. We’re wondering if his routes will jump up and get on the field more for fantasy goodness. To answer that, I’ll quote Axl Rose, “All we need is just a little patience.”

Palmer will have the immediate target-earning role in Los Angeles, and both Palmer and Johnston should be added if they’re available. The Chargers are top-10 in three-WR sets at 59%, so with the passing volume definitely there, there’s room for both Palmer and Johnston in the target tree for the Chargers, but don’t be surprised if it’s more Palmer in the short-term and Johnston getting the routes spike and being the long-term Chargers WR play later on in the season.

At least Keenan Allen — the WR1 through three weeks who earned a whopping 20 targets and put up an 18-215 line in Week 3— is a full-blown stud.

Week 3 Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Keenan Allen, Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler (missed Week 2-3 - ankle)

Start ‘Em: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Joshua Kelley, Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnson

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Mike Williams (out for season - torn ACL)

Los Angeles Rams

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Van Jefferson	WR	3	1	46	0	87	27.5%	95.0%	94.5%	9.4%	15.3	7.9%	29.0	1.21	0.333	0.529	38	52
Tutu Atwell	WR	9	4	50	1	110	34.8%	92.5%	87.3%	28.1%	5.6	24.3%	12.2	1.35	0.666	0.455	37	48
Puka Nacua	WR	7	5	72	0	76	24.1%	97.5%	96.4%	21.9%	10.3	17.9%	10.9	1.85	0.496	0.947	39	53
Ben Skowronek	WR	1	1	3	0	-2	-0.6%	12.5%	21.8%	3.1%	3.0	20.0%	-2.0	0.60	0.042	-1.500	5	12
Tyler Higbee	TE	5	5	71	0	46	14.6%	92.5%	96.4%	15.6%	14.2	13.5%	9.2	1.92	0.336	1.543	37	53
Brycen Hopkins	TE						0.0%	0.0%	3.6%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	2
Kyren Williams	RB	7	2	27	0	-1	-0.3%	82.5%	100.0%	21.9%	3.9	21.2%	-0.1	0.82	0.326	-27.000	33	55

When a defense wants to scheme against your best offensive player (Puka Nacua) and he STILL puts up 5-72 on seven targets, I’d say that’s pretty bullish.

Scoring the lone touchdown in Week 3 for the Rams was Tutu Atwell (nine targets, 4-50-1) — the torch-bearer of Short King Summer. Besides Atwell, Tyler Higbee (5-71) earned five targets in his best game of 2023. If this offense can be Nacua, Atwell, and Cooper Kupp once he returns, anybody would take that.

Sean McVay has said he does want another running back to mix in with Kyren Williams, but he was the only running back who earned a snap in Week 3 for the Rams. Ride the wave, even if Williams was a bit normal (10 carries, 38 yards; seven targets, 2-27) this week.

Week 3 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Cooper Kupp (IR - hamstring; eligible to return in Week 5), Puca Nacua

Start ‘Em: Kyren Williams

Keep Them Rostered: Tutu Atwell, Matthew Stafford, Tyler Higbee

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Van Jefferson (He stinks and you can do better. Will be vaporized once Kupp returns)

Miami Dolphins

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Tyreek Hill	WR	11	9	157	1	126	68.1%	75.9%	53.4%	39.3%	14.3	50.0%	11.5	7.14	1.066	1.246	22	39
Braxton Berrios	WR	2	2	33	0	17	9.2%	48.3%	50.7%	7.1%	16.5	14.3%	8.5	2.36	0.171	1.941	14	37
Cedrick Wilson	WR						0.0%	31.0%	46.6%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	9	34
River Cracraft	WR	1	1	13	0	10	5.4%	44.8%	34.2%	3.6%	13.0	7.7%	10.0	1.00	0.091	1.300	13	25
Robbie Chosen	WR	1	1	68	1	41	22.2%	51.7%	57.5%	3.6%	68.0	6.7%	41.0	4.53	0.209	1.659	15	42
Durham Smythe	TE	1	1	15	0	10	5.4%	24.1%	35.6%	3.6%	15.0	14.3%	10.0	2.14	0.091	1.500	7	26
Julian Hill	TE	1	0	0	0	5	2.7%	72.4%	78.1%	3.6%	0.0	4.8%	5.0	0.00	0.072	0.000	21	57
Raheem Mostert	RB	7	7	60	1	-11	-5.9%	62.1%	50.7%	25.0%	8.6	38.9%	-1.6	3.33	0.333	-5.455	18	37
De'Von Achane	RB	4	4	30	2	-13	-7.0%	37.9%	41.1%	14.3%	7.5	36.4%	-3.3	2.73	0.165	-2.308	11	30
Chris Brooks	RB						0.0%	6.9%	17.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	13
Alec Ingold	FB						0.0%	24.1%	37.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	27

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, the Miami Dolphins put up 70 points on the Denver Broncos and essentially did anything they wanted to do. Mike McDaniel has the fastest collection of weapons in the NFL, one of them being De’Von Achane. Achane put up 203 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards, and four total touchdowns. His backfield mate Raheem Mostert also put up four total touchdowns on the day, so our job here is to dissect what this means going forward for Achane for fantasy purposes.

Looking at this in black and white is probably the wrong way to look at it. I’m not thinking of this entire backfield as “what specific role will each player have”, as it’s pretty evident that a head coach will utilize the speed and explosiveness of Achane and scheme touches and opportunities for him each week. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. To quote Ben Gretch, “you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube”.

Achane obviously isn’t going to be putting up 200 yards and four touchdowns each week, but we know the upside here because we’ve SEEN it. Mostert has been the workhorse so far this season. Jeff Wilson is coming back in Week 5. Normally, I’d be worried about a pie being split multiple ways, but this isn’t any run-of-the-mill offense we’re talking about. No offense has more upside than this one and you want a piece or multiple pieces of THE most explosive offense in football.

Oh, and Tyreek Hill (11 targets, 9-157-1) is pretty good too. The scariest part? The Dolphins scored 70 points without Jaylen Waddle.

Week 3 Miami Dolphins Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle (missed Week 3 - concussion), Tua Tagovailoa

Start ‘Em: Raheem Mostert, DeVon Achane

Keep Them Rostered: Jeff Wilson (IR - rib/finger)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Durham Smythe (flipped snaps/routes with UDFA Julian Hill)

Minnesota Vikings

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Justin Jefferson	WR	13	7	149	1	162	42.4%	96.4%	94.0%	27.1%	11.5	24.5%	12.5	2.81	0.703	0.920	53	78
Jordan Addison	WR	8	6	52	0	74	19.4%	80.0%	71.1%	16.7%	6.5	18.2%	9.3	1.18	0.386	0.703	44	59
K.J. Osborn	WR	3	1	36	1	38	9.9%	94.5%	92.8%	6.3%	12.0	5.8%	12.7	0.69	0.163	0.947	52	77
Trishton Jackson	WR						0.0%	0.0%	1.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	1
Brandon Powell	WR	1	1	5	0	5	1.3%	7.3%	6.0%	2.1%	5.0	25.0%	5.0	1.25	0.040	1.000	4	5
T.J. Hockenson	TE	11	8	78	0	87	22.8%	92.7%	90.4%	22.9%	7.1	21.6%	7.9	1.53	0.503	0.897	51	75
Josh Oliver	TE	2	2	4	1	4	1.0%	14.5%	31.3%	4.2%	2.0	25.0%	2.0	0.50	0.070	1.000	8	26
Johnny Mundt	TE						0.0%	5.5%	8.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	7
Alexander Mattison	RB	7	5	32	0	5	1.3%	61.8%	80.7%	14.6%	4.6	20.6%	0.7	0.94	0.228	6.400	34	67
Ty Chandler	RB	2	1	4	0	7	1.8%	12.7%	14.5%	4.2%	2.0	28.6%	3.5	0.57	0.075	0.571	7	12
C.J. Ham	FB	1	1	7	0		0.0%	7.3%	9.6%	2.1%	7.0	25.0%	0.0	1.75	0.031	0.000	4	8

Justin Jefferson (13 targets, 7-149-1); a #good football player.

66% of targets went to Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson (11 targets, 8-78), and Jordan Addison (eight targets, 6-52). Addison saw most of his targets later on when the game was see-sawing back and forth. His routes also continue to rise up to 80% in Week 3, so the Addison thesis is still very much developing, but he’s looked every bit the receiver that could eventually help break fantasy later on in the season when he’s running 95%+ routes next to Jefferson, Planet Earth’s alpha wide receiver.

K.J. Osborn’s (five targets, 1-36-1) routes continue to hover around the ~94% range, and he scored a touchdown here too. He’s a semi-distant fourth target in this passing offense. He should get there sporadically as the guy the defense forgets about when awesome pass-catchers are pulling coverage and attention away.

Still retaining his role “by default” is Alexander Mattison, and I say that because he had a pretty good week this week with 4.7 YPC, 125 total yards and seven targets. Cam Akers still looms, and we’ll see if he can make enough dent in this rushing attack to make any kind of difference.

Week 3 Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson

Start ‘Em: Kirk Cousins, Jordan Addison, Alexander Mattison (deeper 12-team)

Keep Them Rostered: K.J. Osborn (deeper 12 and 14-team), Cam Akers (hold until we see how his role develops)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New England Patriots

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	3	1	5	0	40	14.5%	66.7%	76.1%	11.1%	1.7	15.0%	13.3	0.25	0.268	0.125	20	54
DeVante Parker	WR	3	2	19	0	48	17.4%	86.7%	73.2%	11.1%	6.3	11.5%	16.0	0.73	0.288	0.396	26	52
Kendrick Bourne	WR	5	4	46	0	50	18.1%	70.0%	53.5%	18.5%	9.2	23.8%	10.0	2.19	0.405	0.920	21	38
Demario Douglas	WR	3	1	15	0	71	25.7%	43.3%	26.8%	11.1%	5.0	23.1%	23.7	1.15	0.347	0.211	13	19
Hunter Henry	TE	5	2	17	0	31	11.2%	73.3%	85.9%	18.5%	3.4	22.7%	6.2	0.77	0.356	0.548	22	61
Mike Gesicki	TE	1	1	18	0	13	4.7%	46.7%	46.5%	3.7%	18.0	7.1%	13.0	1.29	0.089	1.385	14	33
Pharaoh Brown	TE	2	2	71	1	22	8.0%	13.3%	35.2%	7.4%	35.5	50.0%	11.0	17.75	0.167	3.227	4	25
Rhamondre Stevenson	RB	4	1	3	0	0	0.0%	73.3%	64.8%	14.8%	0.8	18.2%	0.0	0.14	0.222	0.000	22	46
Ezekiel Elliott	RB	1	1	7	0	1	0.4%	26.7%	38.0%	3.7%	7.0	12.5%	1.0	0.88	0.058	7.000	8	27

They make me write about each team in this article, which confirms that this team played the Jets in Week 3, and the game did indeed happen.

Nobody has ever started Pharoah Brown in a fantasy league, but of course, with all the tight end talk revolving around Hunter Henry (five targets, 2-17) and Mike Gesicki (one target, 1-18), Brown scores a 58-yard touchdown. The only other touchdown in this game by either side was by a fullback, just like we drew it up.

The Patriots have the lowest pass rate over expected (PROE) of any team this season (-16.3%) through three weeks, and boy, did it show. Kendrick Bourne (five targets, 4-46, 70%) had the only other line over 20 receiving yards for the Patriots. Yikes.

Even if the production hasn't followed through three weeks, Rhamondre Stevenson still sees a ton of volume (73% routes / 65% snaps). Ezekiel Elliott had his most efficient day as a runner by far (16 carries, 80 yards, 5.0 YPC), but only one of his 17 total touches was a high-value touch (one reception).

Week 3 New England Patriots Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Rhamondre Stevenson

Start ‘Em: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne (deeper 12-team), Ezekiel Elliott (deeper 12 & 14-team), JuJu Smith-Schuster (deeper 12 & 14-team), Mike Gesicki (deeper 12 & 14-team). Mac Jones (deeper 12 &14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New Orleans Saints

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Chris Olave	WR	11	8	104	0	108	37.4%	92.1%	80.3%	32.4%	9.5	31.4%	9.8	2.97	0.747	0.963	35	49
Michael Thomas	WR	9	6	50	0	52	18.0%	89.5%	75.4%	26.5%	5.6	26.5%	5.8	1.47	0.523	0.962	34	46
Rashid Shaheed	WR	2	0	0	0	91	31.5%	84.2%	72.1%	5.9%	0.0	6.3%	45.5	0.00	0.309	0.000	32	44
Keith Kirkwood	WR	1	0	0	0	8	2.8%	5.3%	27.9%	2.9%	0.0	50.0%	8.0	0.00	0.063	0.000	2	17
Lynn Bowden	WR						0.0%	7.9%	8.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	5
Juwan Johnson	TE	4	2	12	0	13	4.5%	65.8%	70.5%	11.8%	3.0	16.0%	3.3	0.48	0.208	0.923	25	43
Taysom Hill	TE	1	1	9	0	14	4.8%	21.1%	29.5%	2.9%	9.0	12.5%	14.0	1.13	0.078	0.643	8	18
Jimmy Graham	TE	1	1	8	1	8	2.8%	23.7%	27.9%	2.9%	8.0	11.1%	8.0	0.89	0.063	1.000	9	17
Kendre Miller	RB	1	1	0	0	-4	-1.4%	26.3%	34.4%	2.9%	0.0	10.0%	-4.0	0.00	0.034	0.000	10	21
Tony Jones	RB	4	4	21	0	-1	-0.3%	44.7%	49.2%	11.8%	5.3	23.5%	-0.3	1.24	0.174	-21.000	17	30
Adam Prentice	FB						0.0%	5.3%	18.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	11

Neither Kendre Miller nor Tony Jones looked that good against the Packers, so Alvin Kamara, I guess you’re up next after your three-game suspension.

Jimmy Graham landed the plane and scored a touchdown in the year 2023. Chris Olave (11 targets, 8-104) was #good, and Michael Thomas (eight targets, 6-50) combined for 59% of targets with Olave. Rashid Shaheed didn’t do anything on offense (two catchless targets) but had a punt return for a touchdown. There wasn’t much on offense before or after Derek Carr left the game with a shoulder injury.

Week 3 New Orleans Saints Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Chris Olave

Start ‘Em: Michael Thomas, Derek Carr (left Week 3 - shoulder), Alvin Kamara (returning Week 4), Juwan Johnson

Keep Them Rostered: Rashid Shaheed, Kendre Miller, Jamaal Williams (on IR - hamstring)

Add ‘Em: Jameis Winston (streamer if Carr can’t go in Week 4)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New York Giants

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Darius Slayton	WR	6	3	32	0	72	35.5%	83.3%	84.0%	18.8%	5.3	20.0%	12.0	1.07	0.530	0.444	30	42
Isaiah Hodgins	WR	1	0	0	0	16	7.9%	61.1%	66.0%	3.1%	0.0	4.5%	16.0	0.00	0.102	0.000	22	33
Parris Campbell	WR	6	6	24	0	19	9.4%	38.9%	42.0%	18.8%	4.0	42.9%	3.2	1.71	0.347	1.263	14	21
Jalin Hyatt	WR						0.0%	36.1%	32.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	13	16
Wan'Dale Robinson	WR	5	4	21	0	21	10.3%	25.0%	22.0%	15.6%	4.2	55.6%	4.2	2.33	0.307	1.000	9	11
Sterling Shepard	WR						0.0%	2.8%	4.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	2
Darren Waller	TE	7	3	20	0	68	33.5%	75.0%	82.0%	21.9%	2.9	25.9%	9.7	0.74	0.563	0.294	27	41
Daniel Bellinger	TE	1	1	8	0	2	1.0%	30.6%	60.0%	3.1%	8.0	9.1%	2.0	0.73	0.054	4.000	11	30
Matt Breida	RB	3	3	1	0	-5	-2.5%	61.1%	82.0%	9.4%	0.3	13.6%	-1.7	0.05	0.123	-0.200	22	41
Gary Brightwell	RB	3	2	31	0	10	4.9%	13.9%	18.0%	9.4%	10.3	60.0%	3.3	6.20	0.175	3.100	5	9

The Giants ran 46 plays and were held very much in check by a superior 49ers team. That showed in the stat sheet as no Giant totaled more than 32 receiving yards, and only Matt Breida ran in a touchdown.

This passing game — aside from Darren Waller (team-leading seven targets, 3-20) — has no juice and a bunch of guys. Wan’Dale Robinson made his debut and earned five targets (4-21) on just 25%, so maybe there’s some room here to earn more going forward as he gets integrated into the offense more. Still, it’s very ugly.

Week 3 New York Giants Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Saquon Barkley (missed Week 3 - ankle), Darren Waller

Start ‘Em: Daniel Jones (borderline 12-team starter)

Keep Them Rostered: Jalin Hyatt (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: Wan’Dale Robinson (speculative add)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New York Jets

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Garrett Wilson	WR	9	5	48	0	49	30.8%	100.0%	96.8%	33.3%	5.3	22.5%	5.4	1.20	0.716	0.980	40	61
Allen Lazard	WR	5	3	39	0	62	39.0%	100.0%	96.8%	18.5%	7.8	12.5%	12.4	0.98	0.551	0.629	40	61
Mecole Hardman	WR						0.0%	5.0%	3.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	2
Randall Cobb	WR	2	1	12	0	6	3.8%	85.0%	73.0%	7.4%	6.0	5.9%	3.0	0.35	0.138	2.000	34	46
Tyler Conklin	WR						0.0%	67.5%	76.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	27	48
C.J. Uzomah	TE	5	3	26	0	38	23.9%	27.5%	44.4%	18.5%	5.2	45.5%	7.6	2.36	0.445	0.684	11	28
Jeremy Ruckert	TE	1	1	9	0	7	4.4%	0.0%	1.6%	3.7%	9.0	0.0%	7.0	0.00	0.086	1.286	0	1
Breece Hall	TE						0.0%	32.5%	49.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	13	31
Dalvin Cook	RB	2	1	9	0	2	1.3%	17.5%	25.4%	7.4%	4.5	28.6%	1.0	1.29	0.120	4.500	7	16
Michael Carter	RB	3	3	11	0	-5	-3.1%	20.0%	23.8%	11.1%	3.7	37.5%	-1.7	1.38	0.145	-2.200	8	15
Nick Bawden	FB						0.0%	0.0%	7.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	5

The Jets signed Trevor Siemian as if he’s some huge upgrade to Zach Wilson… I mean, he probably is, but I’m being dramatic.

Anything that can help get Garrett Wilson (nine targets, 5-48, 100% routes) and Breece Hall (20-of-26 running back opportunities, 27 total yards) going. We’re pot committed here with Wilson, so we’ve got to at least bet on the talent shining through here. Same with Hall. If you have better options, start them by all means. There’s always a line where we think, “yeah, we should be starting Wilson/Hall”, but that line has sunk so far down that it churns my stomach.

Week 3 New York Jets Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Garrett Wilson (we’re pot-committed)

Keep Them Rostered: Breece Hall, Dalvin Cook (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: Allen Lazard (we can barely get the good WR relevant, do we think there’s room for two?)

Philadelphia Eagles

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
A.J. Brown	WR	14	9	131	0	121	38.5%	85.0%	82.5%	40.0%	9.4	41.2%	8.6	3.85	0.870	1.083	34	66
DeVonta Smith	WR	5	4	28	0	58	18.5%	100.0%	98.8%	14.3%	5.6	12.5%	11.6	0.70	0.344	0.483	40	79
Olamide Zaccheaus	WR	3	2	58	1	57	18.2%	67.5%	55.0%	8.6%	19.3	11.1%	19.0	2.15	0.256	1.018	27	44
Britain Covey	WR						0.0%	7.5%	5.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	4
Dallas Goedert	TE	7	5	41	0	32	10.2%	90.0%	92.5%	20.0%	5.9	19.4%	4.6	1.14	0.371	1.281	36	74
Jack Stoll	TE	2	1	6	0	12	3.8%	32.5%	51.3%	5.7%	3.0	15.4%	6.0	0.46	0.112	0.500	13	41
Grant Calcaterra	TE						0.0%	10.0%	15.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	4	12
D'Andre Swift	RB	2	1	8	0	2	0.6%	50.0%	53.8%	5.7%	4.0	10.0%	1.0	0.40	0.090	4.000	20	43
Kenneth Gainwell	RB	2	1	5	0	32	10.2%	40.0%	46.3%	5.7%	2.5	12.5%	16.0	0.31	0.157	0.156	16	37

A.J. Brown (14 targets, 9-131) is pretty, pretty #good. He got 40% of targets in this one, with his two running mates DeVonta Smith (five targets, 4-28) and Dallas Goedert (seven targets, 5-41) playing second and third fiddle here. All three players in his condensed target tree aren’t going to hit each week, especially in a week where the Eagles had 40 rushing attempts. Unfortunately, the touchdown went to Olamide Zaccheaus (three targets, 2-58-1, 68% routes), which helped .5% of best ball teams and virtually 0% of managed leagues.

D’Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell pretty much split down the middle here, with Swift having a 50/40 split in routes, a slight edge in snaps, and 18 total running back opportunities to Gainwell’s 16. Swift was awesome yet again (138 total yards) and bears the question: why is there a split in the first place? Gainwell ended up with 14 carries, but as far as the dreaded “eye test”, Swift is passing with flying colors here in comparison and seems like a much better fit in Philadelphia for what they want to do.

Week 3 Philadelphia Eagles Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith

Start ‘Em: Dallas Goedert, D’Andre Swift

Keep Them Rostered: Kenneth Gainwell

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Pittsburgh Steelers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
George Pickens	WR	6	4	75	0	51	23.3%	100.0%	88.7%	22.2%	12.5	20.0%	8.5	2.50	0.496	1.471	30	55
Allen Robinson	WR	4	4	24	0	17	7.8%	80.0%	80.6%	14.8%	6.0	16.7%	4.3	1.00	0.277	1.412	24	50
Calvin Austin	WR	6	2	72	1	95	43.4%	86.7%	72.6%	22.2%	12.0	23.1%	15.8	2.77	0.637	0.758	26	45
Miles Boykin	WR						0.0%	3.3%	12.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	8
Pat Freiermuth	TE	4	3	41	1	48	21.9%	76.7%	79.0%	14.8%	10.3	17.4%	12.0	1.78	0.376	0.854	23	49
Darnell Washington	TE						0.0%	26.7%	46.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	8	29
Najee Harris	RB	1	0	0	0	8	3.7%	30.0%	50.0%	3.7%	0.0	11.1%	8.0	0.00	0.081	0.000	9	31
Jaylen Warren	RB	4	3	23	0	0	0.0%	46.7%	45.2%	14.8%	5.8	28.6%	0.0	1.64	0.222	0.000	14	28
Connor Heyward	FB	2	0	0	0	0	0.0%	10.0%	21.0%	7.4%	0.0	66.7%	0.0	0.00	0.111	0.000	3	13

The Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren soap opera continues on with Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico on Sunday Night Football, mentioning almost ad nauseum about (paraphrasing) getting more plays in the playbook for Warren. Harris’ routes dropped down to 30% from Week 1 & 2’s 47% and Warren is seeing his route and snap percentages climb a little bit each week as our generation’s Tony Pollard to Harris’ Ezekiel Elliott. Dare I say Warren is a startable flex going forward? The offense hasn’t been world-beating by any means, but Kenny Pickett was at least solid enough to string up some solid plays and keep the pressure on the Raiders here.

Calvin Austin (six targets, 2-72-1, 87% routes) got a deep bomb touchdown in the first quarter, Pat Freiermuth (four targets, 3-41-1, 77% routes) caught a short touchdown in the fourth quarter, and George Pickens (six targets, 4-75, 100% route participation) was solid enough. It certainly could have been worse, but it’s a rapport that can serve as a foundation for the health of the total offense when Diontae Johnson returns.

Week 3 Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Diontae Johnson (placed on IR - hamstring; eligible to return in Week 6)

Start ‘Em: Najee Harris, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth

Keep Them Rostered: Kenny Pickett, Jaylen Warren (standalone play as well as a priority contingent play), Calvin Austin (deeper 12 & 14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

San Francisco 49ers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Deebo Samuel	WR	12	6	129	1	70	44.0%	92.3%	81.9%	35.3%	10.8	33.3%	5.8	3.58	0.838	1.843	36	68
Jauan Jennings	WR	3	2	31	0	21	13.2%	46.2%	37.3%	8.8%	10.3	16.7%	7.0	1.72	0.225	1.476	18	31
Ronnie Bell	WR	2	2	24	1	23	14.5%	28.2%	37.3%	5.9%	12.0	18.2%	11.5	2.18	0.189	1.043	11	31
Ray-Ray McCloud	WR						0.0%	53.8%	45.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	21	38
George Kittle	TE	9	7	90	0	68	42.8%	87.2%	83.1%	26.5%	10.0	26.5%	7.6	2.65	0.696	1.324	34	69
Charlie Woerner	TE						0.0%	17.9%	32.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	7	27
Ross Dwelley	TE						0.0%	7.7%	14.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	12
Brayden Willis	TE						0.0%	0.0%	6.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	5
Christian McCaffrey	RB	5	5	34	0	-11	-6.9%	51.3%	61.4%	14.7%	6.8	25.0%	-2.2	1.70	0.172	-3.091	20	51
Elijah Mitchell	RB	3	3	2	0	-12	-7.5%	25.6%	33.7%	8.8%	0.7	30.0%	-4.0	0.20	0.080	-0.167	10	28
Jordan Mason	RB						0.0%	0.0%	4.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	4
Kyle Juszczyk	FB						0.0%	41.0%	50.6%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	16	42

Without Brandon Aiyuk on Thursday night, it shortened up the target tree to where we felt a little better about starting George Kittle (nine targets, 7-90) and he didn’t disappoint. Neither did Deebo Samuel, who crushed (12 targets, 6-129-1) on a shorter (5.8-yard) aDOT and also earned a rushing attempt.

Christian McCaffrey (119 total yards, five targets, TD) did McCaffrey things, and even Elijah Mitchell saw 14 touches on the night too, in a game that was well in hand. Good players doing good things in a good matchup. Fantasy football isn’t hard.

Week 3 San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk (missed Week 3 - shoulder)

Start ‘Em: Deebo Samuel, George Kittle

Keep Them Rostered: Elijah Mitchell (contingent play), Brock Purdy (safe “break glass in case of emergency” fantasy QB)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Seattle Seahawks

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
DK Metcalf	WR	8	6	112	0	118	38.9%	84.2%	72.0%	23.5%	14.0	25.0%	14.8	3.50	0.626	0.949	32	54
Tyler Lockett	WR	7	3	34	0	92	30.4%	92.1%	81.3%	20.6%	4.9	20.0%	13.1	0.97	0.521	0.370	35	61
Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	2	1	10	0	13	4.3%	63.2%	44.0%	5.9%	5.0	8.3%	6.5	0.42	0.118	0.769	24	33
Jake Bobo	WR	2	1	5	1	9	3.0%	28.9%	41.3%	5.9%	2.5	18.2%	4.5	0.45	0.109	0.556	11	31
Cody Thompson	WR						0.0%	2.6%	9.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	7
Noah Fant	TE	5	4	41	0	31	10.2%	50.0%	62.7%	14.7%	8.2	26.3%	6.2	2.16	0.292	1.323	19	47
Colby Parkinson	TE	4	3	38	0	30	9.9%	52.6%	70.7%	11.8%	9.5	20.0%	7.5	1.90	0.246	1.267	20	53
Brady Russell	TE						0.0%	0.0%	6.7%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	5
Kenneth Walker	RB	3	3	59	0	17	5.6%	26.3%	50.7%	8.8%	19.7	30.0%	5.7	5.90	0.172	3.471	10	38
Zach Charbonnet	RB	2	1	-1	0	-5	-1.7%	42.1%	42.7%	5.9%	-0.5	12.5%	-2.5	-0.06	0.077	0.200	16	32
DeeJay Dallas	RB	1	1	-2	0	-2	-0.7%	10.5%	13.3%	2.9%	-2.0	25.0%	-2.0	-0.50	0.039	1.000	4	10

Not much surprise here with the Seahawks; DK Metcalf (eight targets, 6-112) and Tyler Lockett (seven targets, 3-34) dominated Geno Smith’s looks to the tune of 44% of the available targets. Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s (two targets, 1-10, 63% routes) time will come. You cannot call him anything close to a bust; JSN was never a Week 1 play.

Zach Charbonnet’s role (22% routes / 27% snaps to 42% / 43% in Week 3) keeps growing little by little in Seattle, but Kenneth Walker keeps producing, so we certainly can’t turn our noses against it. Walker scored two touchdowns for the second straight week and put up 156 total yards. Walker actually lost about 25% of his routes from last week but was so efficient on what he DID get that it didn’t really even matter that he lost them.

Week 3 Seattle Seahawks Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker

Start ‘Em: Geno Smith, Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Keep Them Rostered: Zach Charbonnet (contingent play)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Mike Evans	WR	10	5	60	1	149	56.4%	82.1%	80.9%	40.0%	6.0	43.5%	14.9	2.61	0.995	0.403	23	38
Chris Godwin	WR	5	3	32	0	48	18.2%	89.3%	87.2%	20.0%	6.4	20.0%	9.6	1.28	0.427	0.667	25	41
Trey Palmer	WR	1	1	8	0	8	3.0%	85.7%	72.3%	4.0%	8.0	4.2%	8.0	0.33	0.081	1.000	24	34
Deven Thompkins	WR	4	2	6	0	49	18.6%	21.4%	21.3%	16.0%	1.5	66.7%	12.3	1.00	0.370	0.122	6	10
Rakim Jarrett	WR						0.0%	10.7%	12.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	6
Cade Otton	TE	2	1	16	0	13	4.9%	82.1%	93.6%	8.0%	8.0	8.7%	6.5	0.70	0.154	1.231	23	44
Ko Kieft	TE						0.0%	3.6%	21.3%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	1	10
David Wells	TE						0.0%	7.1%	8.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	4
Rachaad White	RB	3	3	24	0	-3	-1.1%	92.9%	91.5%	12.0%	8.0	11.5%	-1.0	0.92	0.172	-8.000	26	43
Sean Tucker	RB						0.0%	7.1%	8.5%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	4

The Eagles stymied the Buccaneers and Tampa only ran 44 plays, so looking for anything of value is difficult, except Mike Evans is Mike Evans, so his 5-50-1 on 10 targets definitely qualifies. Evans should have had more than his receiving line suggests, namely an end-zone shot that I was arguing with JB Barry in our group chat that Baker Mayfield’s first-quarter ball to him should have been a touchdown has “Mayfield thrown his fastball instead of his changeup”.

No other Buccaneer besides Chris Godwin (five targets, 3-32, 89% routes) earned more than 24 receiving yards and while this passing game has been a bit better than anticipated through three weeks, the Eagles are a buzzsaw and cut through Tampa pretty easily.

Rachaad White had 92% routes / 92% snaps — both season highs — which is great for White to get 17-of-19 running back opportunities; he just wasn’t efficient with anything yet again. It’s a common theme here, and we know White is going to need to compile to put up even high-end RB2 numbers in fantasy. It’s just who he is. It’s why we tout Sean Tucker as somebody who could benefit if the Buccaneers decide to get somebody else more involved, but it’s not like Tucker has been taking advantage of his opportunities either.

Week 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin

Start ‘Em: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Rachaad White, Sean Tucker (clear contingent play), Cade Otton (14-team)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Tennessee Titans

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
DeAndre Hopkins	WR	7	3	48	0	103	40.6%	83.3%	72.3%	29.2%	6.9	28.0%	14.7	1.92	0.721	0.466	25	34
Treylon Burks	WR	6	1	5	0	126	49.6%	76.7%	74.5%	25.0%	0.8	26.1%	21.0	0.22	0.722	0.040	23	35
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine	WR						0.0%	93.3%	85.1%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	28	40
Chris Moore	WR	3	2	41	0	32	12.6%	33.3%	38.3%	12.5%	13.7	30.0%	10.7	4.10	0.276	1.281	10	18
Chigoziem Okonkwo	TE	4	3	7	0	-1	-0.4%	76.7%	83.0%	16.7%	1.8	17.4%	-0.3	0.30	0.247	-7.000	23	39
Trevon Wesco	TE						0.0%	10.0%	40.4%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	3	19
Josh Whyle	TE						0.0%	6.7%	12.8%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	2	6
Derrick Henry	RB						0.0%	20.0%	36.2%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	6	17
Tyjae Spears	RB	4	4	3	0	-6	-2.4%	60.0%	57.4%	16.7%	0.8	22.2%	-1.5	0.17	0.233	-0.500	18	27

The Titans scored three points against the Browns in Week 3 and only had 45 plays — second-lowest to Tampa Bay in Week 3. That’s not good for anything. Only two Titans had more than seven receiving yards. This offense just stinks, and Ryan Tannehill has legitimately been bad through three games. DeAndre Hopkins (seven targets, 3-48) is the only passing game option worth a damn, but even he is not a comfy click right now.

Derrick Henry (36% snaps) was game-scripted out of this game for a good part of the second half, so Tyjae Spears saw eight RB opportunities to Henry’s 11 on the game. It’s gross out here, and this is always the fear when the Titans aren’t competitive.

Week 3 Tennessee Titans Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Derrick Henry

Start ‘Em: DeAndre Hopkins

Keep Them Rostered: Treylon Burks, Chigoziem Okonkwo (deeper 12 & 14-team), Tyjae Spears (elite contingent play)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Washington Commanders

Name	Pos	Targets	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TD	Air Yards	Air Yards %	Route %	Snap %	Target Share %	Yards per Target	TPRR	aDOT	YPRR	WOPR	RACR	Player Routes	Player Snaps
Terry McLaurin	WR	6	6	41	0	40	19.5%	76.9%	81.5%	20.7%	6.8	20.0%	6.7	1.37	0.447	1.025	30	44
Jahan Dotson	WR	4	2	21	0	27	13.2%	97.4%	94.4%	13.8%	5.3	10.5%	6.8	0.55	0.299	0.778	38	51
Curtis Samuel	WR	4	2	54	0	64	31.2%	82.1%	77.8%	13.8%	13.5	12.5%	16.0	1.69	0.425	0.844	32	42
Dyami Brown	WR	1	0	0	0	18	8.8%	28.2%	22.2%	3.4%	0.0	9.1%	18.0	0.00	0.113	0.000	11	12
John Bates	TE	2	2	12	0	10	4.9%	48.7%	57.4%	6.9%	6.0	10.5%	5.0	0.63	0.138	1.200	19	31
Cole Turner	TE	7	4	35	0	52	25.4%	56.4%	57.4%	24.1%	5.0	31.8%	7.4	1.59	0.540	0.673	22	31
Brian Robinson	RB						0.0%	15.4%	37.0%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	6	20
Antonio Gibson	RB	5	3	7	0	-6	-2.9%	71.8%	61.1%	17.2%	1.4	17.9%	-1.2	0.25	0.238	-1.167	28	33
Chris Rodriguez	RB						0.0%	0.0%	1.9%	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.00	0.000	0.000	0	1

Give the Commanders some credit: with the team trailing big time, they’re letting Sam Howell pass through it. He did throw four interceptions and took nine sacks on the day, but the only way to get reps with your guys is to throw to your guys.

Cole Turner (seven targets, 4-35, 56% routes) and John Bates split snaps with some two-TE looks, but Turner was the clear receiving option as he led the Commanders in targets in Week 3.

What is worrying is Howell’s lack of connection with Jahan Dotson (four targets, 2-21, 97% routes), who has 16 targets, 83 yards and has run routes on 94% of Washington’s dropbacks. He’s been a bit “All-Exercise” so far, but the connection may need time to develop. Still, it’s a bit disappointing, but we’ll have to be patient here. Until then, it’s much harder to start him going forward.

Brian Robinson’s routes have cratered from 43% in Week 1 to just 15% in Week 3, with Antonio Gibson’s routes and snaps growing. Gibson’s fantasy production hasn’t really grown that much in conjunction with the increased opportunities, but if he’s going to see 72% routes and 61% snaps, I mean… it’s going to.

Week 3 Washington Commanders Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Start ‘Em: Terry McLaurin, Brian Robinson

Keep Them Rostered: Antonio Gibson, Jahan Dotson, Logan Thomas (missed Week 3 - concussion), Sam Howell (deeper 12 & 14-team leagues)

Add ‘Em: N/A

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Stat Credits:

Fantasy Life (All running back short down and distance, long down and distance, and two-minute snaps data)

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